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Your Fire Foolishness Burns Me Up
As we light up more places in the Pyrocene, I am fuming and confused
Roaring Rivers
Torrents, currents, and ripples by Christyl Rivers, PhD
Broken record time again: record numbers of fires
Clare Frank writes in the New York Times today about “fire foolishness.”
For me, who witnessed a neighbor set himself on fire with by tossing a can of gasoline on soggy yard brush, the word “foolish” seems somehow too light. Also, it’s a bit feeble for the loss of life through smoke, wildlife disruption, and lost ecosystems.
Still, she sparks some thoughts.
We have record numbers of fires this year— more than 400 in Canada so far — and more are on the way.
Also like a broken record, I have blogged before about my biggest complaint about where we live: people BURN stuff almost every day in their yards.
Rather than mere fools, I see them as pilgarlic pyromaniacs. I do not think people realize what they are doing. They have a sense of entitlement to just burn garbage and brush. They have learned, erroneously, that burning is easier than hauling it away (or better yet letting it decay into mulch, compost, soil, and…