Mystical Bewilderment

The highly destructive wildfires that have battered the US and North America in recent years have significantly increased emissions and been linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths, but their impact on air quality is greater than previously known, according to new research.

A study published in Science on Thursday found that, since 2015, wildfires have reversed US progress toward ozone air quality standards, as the worsening pollution caused by wildfire smoke has undone years of efforts to reduce emissions. Ground-level ozone (O3) is created when pollutants from cars, refineries and industrial sources react with sunlight, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Wildfires also create their own massive ozone problem as they emit carbon monoxide and other gases that can contribute to the formation of ozone, and smoke, which can spread far beyond the source of a fire, can lead to increasing ozone hundreds of miles away.

“Despite regulated reductions in anthropogenic emissions of O3 precursors, observation stations indicate that policy-relevant surface O3 levels have plateaued,” Weizhi Deng and other authors wrote. In other words, despite emissions of the chemicals that create ozone pollution going down, the amount of ground-level ozone has stopped declining. The study links this plateau to wildfire emissions and finds that the rise in O3 emissions is correlated with premature deaths, some 318 each year since 2013.

Wildfires are worsening around the world with global heating leading to extreme blazes and causing billions of dollars in damage and catastrophic loss of life. Canada and the American west have seen particularly devastating fires in recent years.

Addressing the climate crisis, which has created conditions for more frequent and destructive wildfires, is an important step to reducing pollution.

“Mitigating climate change and implementing fire prevention measures can lead to improved standards in air quality and potentially bring large benefits to public health,” the study notes.

The findings add to a growing body of research that aims to shed light on the extent to which wildfires have affected the environment and people. Wildfire smoke contains PM2.5, microscopic particles that can embed themselves deep in the lungs and enter the bloodstream. The pollutant has been linked to numerous health conditions and premature death.

A 2024 study found that more than 50,000 people in California died prematurely over a decade due to exposure to toxic particles in wildfire smoke.

The scammers on AO3 seem to be upping their game - now their comments may actually relate specifically to the story. Otherwise the comment follows the usual formula.

On top of this, this is a registered user, which means I can't simply mark the comment as spam. I'll have to manually file a report.

TLDR: In ten days last month, the Wikimedia Foundation fired the longtime lead developer of MediaWiki and disbanded the team whose entire job was to listen to volunteers. Most of the people they fired were union organizers. Wikipedia’s editors are now threatening to strike in solidarity. The Foundation is sitting on $296 million in reserves and a freshly profitable AI revenue stream. This is a confrontation with global implications.

Israel is killing thousands of civilians in Lebanon. Israel wants the US to keep killing civilians and school children in Iran.

I can't even count how many headlines like this one I've had to read with my own eyes.

This one is from today.

If you care about Animal Cruelty in Factory Farms, you need to get legislation passed. It must become a crime to mistreat animals in those ways, and when malfeasances occurs, the onus of responsibility for those crimes must fall upon wealthy shoulders. That, also, requires legislation. It requires regulations, and regulators.

The largest source of Microplastics is wear and tear on automobile tires. It doesn’t matter what brand of shampoo you buy. It doesn’t matter which company you support with your dollar. The issue of Public Transit is too large-scale to be handled at anything less than the municipal level.

It’s not enough to just not participate in society

If you want the world to Change, you must leverage the mechanisms of political power.

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!