Chat

[arboggs]

My default mode is sarcasm so if they said "it's not any worse than any other year" I'd probably come back with "I'll be sure to inform the Canadian wildfires" or something equally snippy.

But then, I'm the same kind of person that when the weather is unseasonably "nice" in the winter and someone comments on it positively I will be sure to point out that it's a bad thing, actually.

[Michael]

CBC has made a Podcast about the Canadian wild fires. It's very interesting. I spent 20 years as a forest fire meteorologist for the Yukon Wildland Fire Service.

[Morgan]

THANKS! I knew I would get witty replies. Now when in this situation, I will snicker trying to decide which to use!
Michael, you must be just devastated by the fires. Perhaps my best come-back will be related to that.

[pommystuart]

Now quite Canadian wildfires but a devastating fire in Sydney shows just how quickly a fire can raze a building.
Some very opportune video footage from a returning chopper.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-13/ ... /102560828

[Michael]

Hi Morgan, I was thinking of a reply to your friends about climate change.

I can see why why the idea of climate change bothers you. It really troubles me, too. The idea that climate change is happening is very scary, and finding ways to deny that it's happening can be a comfort. Sadly, denial doesn't change the fact that climate change is real.

[pommystuart]

Ever wondered what to do with your used beer cans?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-17/ ... /102610484

[Randi]

[Michael]

As for fires in Canada:

The number of wildfires in Canada classified as “out of control” is approaching 600, according to a national monitor. The country is experiencing its worst wildfire season in decades.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), there were over 900 active wildfires in the country on Monday, with 599 of them labeled out of control. Another 104 were “being held” by firefighters, while 204 were considered under control.

British Columbia is the worst-affected province, accounting for a third of active fires, according to CIFFC statistics. The blazes have devastated 10.7 million hectares (26 million acres) nationwide during this fire season, with over 4,200 outbreaks reported this year.

The area is the largest since the monitor started compiling statistics in the 1980s. The previous record was set in 1995, when over 7 million hectares (17 million acres) burned out in Canada.

We're 3,000,000 plus hectares over the old record, and the fire season is only half-over!!!

[pommystuart]

To put a small positive slant on the fires, the undergrowth has been burnt away meaning less severe fires for a few years.
Australia's first nation used to set staggered, slow burn, low temp fires on a regular basis to burn undergrowth and still allow animals to escape.

[Michael]

They've been trying the same things here, but not in a major way. These fires are so intense, though, that the soil is destroyed. It then takes quite a number of years until plants are able to establish themselves. Sometimes the soil becomes like glass, so water doesn't seep in and areas on slopes become prone to flooding.

[Randi]

Happy Birthday
Dean / dmaschen

[Michael]

Happy Birthday, Dean!!!

[arboggs]

Happy Birthday, Dean!

[Caro]

Happy birthday Dean!

[jil]

Happy Birthday, Dean!

[pommystuart]

Happy Birthday Dean.

[Randi]

Hurlock
Gone but never forgotten

Burials at sea and other recorded deaths

[Michael]

[Randi]

He was a lovely person

[Michael]

Living on an island. Taylor Swift is performing in Seattle this weekend, and the Toronto Blue Jays will be playing the Seattle Mariners. At 7:30 this morning, there was a six ferry wait to sail from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen (essentially Victoria to Vancouver). The first available ferry is at 4:00 PM and the 5:00 PM ferry is already fully booked. I've seen a three ferry wait during my time here, but never anything like this!