Anna Miller

Giambanco

ENG170

19 February 2023

Flames in Nature

Lai, Olivia. “10 Interesting Facts about Wildfires”. Americas Europe Oceania. June 2022. https://earth.org/10-interesting-facts-about-wildfires/. Accessed 19 February 2023.

This article written by journalist Olivia Lai lists some of the facts about wildfires which creates helpful insight into the discussion of these catastrophes. Something to look out for is the biased possible statements made within the article, as the author shows a liking to one side of the argument. The second fact in the article talks about the natural occurrence of wildfires. Lightning is a key cause of natural wildfires in which their strikes can cause combustion. It notes that fires are natural things that happen in the wild but, goes on to explain how we exacerbate these events with our lifestyles. This will effectively get my point across that not only are wildfires drastically increasing, but gives a hint at my main claim that humans are the cause of this.

The journalist speaks about how climate change is intensifying the risk of lightning strikes, specifically, they state for every rise in degree Celsius, will increase the frequency of lightning storms by twelve percent. I will be using this statistic to explain why the counterargument is invalid, due to fires’ frequent reoccurrences there is no benefit to nature. When a fire is controlled it can be beneficial but, these events have become uncontrollable.

The third fact states that eighty-four percent of all wildfires in the US are caused by careless acts of humans. This directly supports my claim that humans expedite wildfires due to their lack of environmental care. Humans are proven to be ignorant on the subject and more awareness needs to be brought to the matter. This helps introduce its relevancy that people need to be more thoughtful because they are the problem, and possible solutions to aid in fire prevention.  

They also give information in other statements that show the intensity of these fires increases pollution from smoke because of the way we treat our environment. Again being useful when proving why this issue is essential to everyone living on earth, as smoke in the lungs can cause health defects. Furthermore, it mentions the worst fire in US history, the 2020 California fire, and the many awful effects it had on the area which brought devastation to all. This will give readers a direct insight into how this has affected many people and could affect them individually.

Lastly, the journalist suggests land management as a stepping stone to reducing the number of wildfires which will help give my argument a viable solution. Being able to map out areas for vegetation to succeed is important to our ecosystem and will help prevent fires from spreading or occurring.

Moore, Peter D. “Fire Damage Soils Our Forests.” Nature (London), vol. 384, no. 6607, 1996 pp.312–13, https://suny-new.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01SUNY_NEW/1nnhbfk/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_14431082.Accessed 16 February 2023.

This article argues the point that the impact of wildfires on soil could be beneficial more than it is harmful. Their point of view shows the opposite of what I argue about the damage these events have done to our environment. I would argue that these fires destroy organisms and take away nutrients from the organisms that are still living. However, Peter D. Moore explains how fire can produce charcoal which is important to the soil in aiding it to absorb organic molecules needed for healthy sod. He goes on to list the effects charcoal could have on the environment overall— how it could improve the succession of vegetation and grow better crops. This helps introduce the counterargument and the reasoning behind opposing sides’ beliefs. Their main focus point is around the benefits of charcoal on an ecosystem.

It is spoken that practices of fire as a use of manipulating ecosystems for human desire have been used since Mesolithic times and are said to be effective and useful. The author uses this example to explain the usefulness of fire as a tool. This argument is only beneficial towards plantation that thrives in dry, hotter climates leaving out room for organisms of wetlands and variations in plant life. Destroying plantation that desires different conditions by fire will cause them to not grow back efficiently or not at all. This aids in my argument that fires can cause long-term damage to the environment.

The examples and data they use show plantation that thrives in dry lands can be benefited from fires yet, excludes organisms that need different climates to live within the study. This is a weak argument considering there is a small population of plants that would evolve for their benefit and a large population that would for the worse. This proposal isn’t plausible, it would take centuries to see any significant improvements and by then we would have already destroyed the planet. This will benefit my argument by showing that these events have no bright side and instead proclaiming we must take action against these issues because of their urgency.

Serna, Joseph. “Fires Did Lasting Harm to Forests; The State’s 2020 Wildfires Will Leave

Many Ecosystems Altered for Centuries.” The Los Angeles Times, 2020. 

https://suny-new.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01SUNY_NEW/1nnhbfk/cdi_proquest_newspapers_2472248487 . Accessed 16 February 2023.

This newspaper talks about the fires that occurred in California in 2020, its worst wildfire season on record. These fires are said to have been devastating to the alteration of the state’s iconic forests for an excessive time period, possibly forever. The North Complex Fire was a massive fire that killed 16 people and damaged or destroyed 2,455 buildings, many of them being people’s homes. This will show a direct relationship between human lifestyle and the risks of wildfires, invoking the fact it has taken away people’s homes. 

The burns were too intense to be seen as beneficial for the forest ecology overall official scientists say. The first vegetation to return will be easily burnable— grass and bushes will cover these areas making future fires easier to indulge. Explaining this helps us understand the emergency state our environment is in and how it will continue to escalate if we continue abusing natural resources. 

The fire is said to have been caused partially by logs and dead trees where humans had left them to rot. The information given not only shows undeniable statistics on the severity of wildfires but, shows humans played a part in this catastrophe and this is changing our environment terribly and permanently. In my argument, this will be useful when explaining the lack of awareness humans have and raising alarm in the audience that the issue needs to be dealt with.

Supriya, Lakshmi. “Ecosystems Could Once Bounce Back from Wildfires. Now, They’re Being 

Wiped Out for Good.” Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 

2017, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar8089. Accessed 21 February 2023.

This news article, written by Lakshmi Supriya helps me argue against my counterarguments using a study to prove the fact that fire, at this rate, is damaging and not beneficial to our ecosystem when they aren’t serving a specific purpose. The counterargument talks about the use of fire as a management tool since Mesolithic times and how it can bring nutrients to the soil. The relevance of this information is weak as we are past the Industrial Revolution and times have changed.

Information here will grasp the point that the regrowth process isn’t a viable option for us— considering statistics show the number of areas with no regrowth has doubled since 2000. The number of damaged areas shows to be too overpowering to compensate for our resource intake. This will raise the issue of the abusive tendencies humans have towards nature, and how it adds to the problem of wildfires.

Studies show the side that continuous fires will not kill all life but, will still leave behind the remaining organisms that are adapted to those climates. While this is possible it is not an ideal situation because of the lack of diversity it will create. Once again proving the point these fires need to be taken more seriously or we will face dire consequences because where plant life used to be able to bounce back, it no longer can.