Fires only are expected to get bigger and costlier as humans keep pumping heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, primarily by burning fossil fuels for heat, electricity and transportation. A 2011 report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, for example, says certain parts of the American West could see up to a 650% increase in the median area burned by wildfires each year if temperatures rise another 1 degree Celsius. Humans already have warmed the climate about 1 degree Celsius compared with temperatures before the industrial revolution.
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by cleaning up pollution we can make fires like the one in Canada less likely.
“Sometimes it takes a few bloody noses for human behavior to change,” said Flannigan, the professor at the University of Alberta. “I was hoping maybe Hurricane Sandy would be a springboard for change. In part, this fire may be a springboard for change — at least for Canadians.
“As a global citizen who has any concern for their children or their grandchildren we need to take action,” he said. “We can’t continue on this business as usual [path] without severe repercussions.”
Ones that look a lot like the hellish fire in Canada.
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/06/opinions/sutter-canada-wildfire-climate/