|
 |
|
|
|
Emergency Response Archives |
|
|
|
July 30, 2008
How Should We Respond to Wildfires?Emergency Response
, Natural Resources & Environment
 Wildfires happen, either through natural causes, human intention, or carelessness. Many are happening now. Today.
In general, when wildfires do occur, the firefighting arsenal is brought in to stop them.
The question is, should it be?
Fire wreaks havoc. It destroys timber, reduces vegetation, creates conditions that encourage erosion. Of course, when it impinges upon developed areas, it also threatens people, homes, towns and livelihoods.
And with more people building in wildland areas, such unfortunate encounters are happening more and more frequently. And costing more and more money to fight.
But fire isn't all bad. Dubbed "Nature's housekeeper" by some, wildfires can be beneficial to the forests they engage. They help maintain forest health by burning downed trees and fallen leaves, releasing soil nutrients, thinning the canopy and triggering seed germination. Some ecosystems even depend upon fire for their re-generation.
How do we balance the costs and benefits of wildland fires? Where should we draw the line on fighting them? Should they be stopped or simply managed? Is it even possible to have a hard-and-fast policy for something that is so unpredictable?
And how do your answers change when it's your house that's in the line of fire?
Or maybe your answers don't change, because you draw the line at building homes in likely fire zones. Maybe those developments simply are somewhere they shouldn't be.
This week the Los Angeles Times is turning over some of these questions in a five-part series titled "Big Burn."
The series delves into the financial, political, social and environmental factors that feed into our individual and collective responses to wildfires. It also examines the policies, decisions and actions that might be contributing to a growth in such fires.
Two parts into the series, and I'm hooked. I've never lived in an area prone to wildfires, so these issues haven't popped up for me with every fire season. Not being well-versed in them, I want to know more.
Fortunately, there's no shortage of resources.
In addition to the the lastest media offerings, I'm looking at NAL's Forestry and Grasslands page. I've also added two recent reports from the Congressional Research Service (a unit within the Library of Congress) to my To Be Read pile: What's your take on all this? Is this a firefighting issue or a municipal planning one? Are we tempting fate by building in known hot spots? Are we spending too much money fighting fires? Smokey wants to know.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Emergency Response and Natural Resources & Environment on July 30, 2008
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
Submitted by: NeidapyHeplal on October 1, 2008 09:58 AM
|
|
This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
<< Are You Ready to Bet the Farm? |
Main
| Photo of the Week: A Brooding Goat >>
|
|
| Back to Top |
|
|
|
June 19, 2008
A Safety Raft for the MidwestEmergency Response
 The good people of the Midwest, in the small towns and larger cities that sit alongside the Mississippi and its tributaries, have seen enough water, thank you very much. Rivers are cresting at record levels and in some areas have begun to recede. However, many points further downstream are still waiting for that moment when the water finally stops rising.
Most of those evacuated don't know what they're going to find when they finally get to return home. For many, these disastrous few days will take months if not years to recover from.
To help, the Web folks at the United States Department of Agriculture have collected information that will prove essential to those needing recovery assistance. This new page points to topics such as emergency food assistance, food safety during natural disasters, farm loans, emergency haying and grazing for livestock, and the basics of crop insurance.
In addition, NAL's Rural Information Center has its own collection of resources covering disaster assistance, while other Library sites offer guidance on preparing for disasters and other emergency situations: Finally, if you have children asking questions about what they're seeing on the news and wondering what they can do to help or to prepare, take a look at FEMA's great kids' site. A little knowledge can go a long way in helping them manage their fear by learning to be ready and to take action -- the right action -- should disaster strike.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Emergency Response on June 19, 2008
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
Submitted by: jane on June 30, 2008 04:17 AM
|
|
This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
<< Ditto Veto, Ditto Vote |
Main
| Urban Farming & the D.C. Land Grant >>
|
|
| Back to Top |
|
|
|
December 05, 2007
Six Important Updates You Don't Want to MissAnimals
, Emergency Response
, Farm Bill
, Food and Nutrition
, History of Agriculture
, Plants and Crops
 In just the last two days I've noticed how many of the stories I've addressed over the last two months continue to pop up in the news. Given that, I thought it'd be interesting to see how things have moved on a few of them, or what fresh angles more recent coverage offers.
So, without further ado, here are the updates you don't want to miss: - Since my October 15 entry on food recalls, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a Food Protection Plan that seeks to identify potential foodborne hazards before they sicken or kill anyone, but the plan isn't impressing Congress. Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions have made some pretty strong statements indicating that neither it, nor the plan to enhance import safety, goes far enough.
- The potato cyst nematode doesn't seem too interested in joining the Year of the Potato celebration. Instead, it's spoiling the party by spreading to its eighth field in Idaho, threatening crop production there.
- Faster computers are accelerating the pace of discovery, but they're also making it possible to generate more realistic, more accurate and more powerful computer simulations. Such progress validates our October post on schools and industries moving away from using animals for education and experimentation.
- Avocado farmers who have started to regroup after October's wildfires are learning that their crop insurance doesn't cover as much as they thought it would. And even those that can expect some payments might not see money until early 2009.
- The farm bill has stalled on its way through the Senate, and there's really no telling where this one's gonna end up. Today word hit that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would be filing a cloture motion this afternoon. Such a motion, if passed, would limit any further debate on the farm bill to 30 hours, but a similar attempt a few weeks ago failed to get the 60 votes required for passage.
- "Sometimes it pays to read the old literature." So said Dr. Peter Palese, a researcher who determined why winter is flu season. And though I've not written a lick about the flu, I thought the lesson Dr. Palese offers to be a timely reminder that some ideas have been thunk before, which was, in fact, the main point behind the Starting Right with Turkeys entry. The Web holds valuable, historical stuff. Make use of it.
If you have more updates to add, feel free to send 'em along.
|
|
|
|
October 25, 2007
Wildfires Impact People, Farms and AnimalsEmergency Response
 With wildfires having forced evacuations through a wide swath of Southern California -- from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border, and east into San Bernardino County -- government agencies at all levels have assembled resources to help the victims.
Please make use of these resources or let others who might need them know about them.
That last link might be particularly helpful for farmers, ranchers and small business owners seeking loans or other types of aid after the fires, help many will most definitely need.
The extent of the fires has limited officials' ability to assess the full scope of the damage, but some reports have started to emerge about the impact on agriculture in the area. The California Farm Bureau Federation reports that "winds and wildfires have damaged or threatened avocado and citrus groves, nurseries, vineyards, rangeland and other farm and ranch operations."
In addition, hundreds of horses have had to be evacuated, many to Pierce College, and volunteers are trying to save grazing livestock caught in the fires' path. Numerous groups, shelters, kennels and animal sanctuaries are coming together to rescue or board pets and large animals. The San Diego Humane Society is also serving as an information hub for the area's animal rescue.
For the rest of us watching the conflagration and wondering how we'd respond, take the steps now to be prepared later. The Library offers a range of resources on disaster planning for animals and on keeping your food safe.
Or take a look at GovGab's entry for today on general emergency preparedness and storing or replacing important documents.
Bottom line: The government has great information available to help you be ready should Mother Nature get the upper hand. Use them and keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Emergency Response on October 25, 2007
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
It is past time, that we all realize the natural resourses around us are not ours. However, as they are being used by us, we need to plan for the use of the same resourses by the next generation and take necessary precautions, now, to guarantee they will be there tomorrow for them as well. |
Submitted by: joyce in kentucky on October 26, 2007 11:25 AM
|
|
These are great stories to hear from the Eastern area. I last resided in the Western areas (Idaho) and they also have great EPA(DEQ) groups working with local cattle groups and farmers alike - If we can now get the mid-section as clean and on the same sheet of music - all the way to the gulf, we'll be in really good shape. |
Submitted by: Tim on October 26, 2007 11:30 AM
|
|
I do not have a comment, but I want to know "How were these fires started?" What was the source? |
Submitted by: Chaelina on October 26, 2007 11:34 AM
|
|
Chaelina,
News sources are reporting that arson is alleged in at least a few of the fires. See CNN and the TimesOnline (out of the United Kingdom) for two of the more recent stories that address this aspect of things. |
Submitted by: Mary Ann on October 26, 2007 01:38 PM
|
|
Not to downplay the arson allegations, but the chaparral and oak-pine communities of Southern California are largely dependent on fire for their re-generation. This is probably not the place to go into detail, but there's also ample evidence that the distribution of areal extent for fires is scale-free: fires consuming any number of acres, no matter how large, will happen.
All the finger-pointing in the world won't change this ecological reality. Now that most of the desirable acres in California have been built on, it's time to ask whether developers should be allowed to keep pushing up into the flame zone unchecked, with the implicit expectation that public resources to come to the rescue when the inevitable happens. If we can't start this discourse, which is at this point the most meaningful one we can have, sites like this one will only dance around the real issue. |
Submitted by: Norm on October 26, 2007 11:46 PM
|
|
Submitted by: Mary Ann on November 5, 2007 09:45 AM
|
|
This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
|
|
|
<< Move Over, Rover |
Main
| Trust and Clean Water >>
|
|
| Back to Top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
