Podcasts about national interagency fire center

We're toppling TBR piles and preorder lists today with our quarterly "Books we're excited to read" list! We're name-checking more than 50 romance novels we're looking forward to, and looking forward to hearing about the ones you're waiting for, too! If you're a romance novelist and have a book coming this year, please head over and fill out this Google form to let us know!If you want more Fated Mates in your life, please join our Patreon, which comes with an extremely busy and fun Discord community! Join other magnificent firebirds to hang out, talk romance, and be cool together in a private group full of excellent people. Learn more at patreon.com.The NotesLos Angeles, we are thinking of you. After our very silly firefighter episode, we chatted with magnificent firebird and wildland firefighter, Emma, who gave us the lay of the land as a woman firefighter. You can listen to that conversation on YouTube. Emma recommends the following resources: the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters account on Instagram, and you can make donations to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. If you are looking for factual, reliable information, check out the website of the National Interagency Fire Center, inciweb is the national situation report with information from wildland firefighters. If you are looking to make donations to aid those impacted by the fires, we recommend World Central Kitchen, Baby2Baby, the Pasadena Humane Society, and Octavia's Bookshelf which has details mutual aid collection efforts on their Instagram. The Ripped Bodice has free wifi and period products .If you have a 2025 release you have written or you are a reader looking forward to something this year, please use our handy form to submit books for upcoming episodes in spring, summer, and fall.For more Romantasy recs, follow Jen's friend Gabriella Guava on Instagram.The BooksJanuary Empire of Temptation by Mila Finelli Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update we have 5 stories for you, New DJI Action 5, Air 3S hits FCC Database, Pilot Institute Community, a Drone finds missing Louisiana girl, and a press release on drone incursions into wild fire aircraft operations. First up, DJI has released the new Action 5! The action 5 comes with a new 1/1.3” sensor (the same size as the Mini 4 Pro), 10-bit D-Log M, HLG, horizon steady, subject tracking, a barometer/hydrometer, 47GB of internal storage, magnetic mounting, 4 hour battery life, 113 degree max operating temperature, and connection with the DJI Mic 2s! Whew, lots cool specs, we'll be getting on to check out and post some content on! Next, the Air 3S has hit the FCC database! We've seen quite a few leaks about the Air 3S, including some images with an RC-N3 series controller, what appears to be a larger sensor in a dual camera setup, and potentially larger batteries. Rumors have also included that batteries may be compatible with the current Air 3. We've seen some decent images of the Air 3, we'll have to wait and see if DJI publishes an announcement any time soon! Third up, a big Pilot Institute update. This week we launched the Premium Community with the goal to help part 107 pilots use their certificate to get paid work. In premium you'll find tons of interviews and workshops, we'll be releasing exclusive content every month. And, if you're a fan of News Update, we have an extended version every week called Post Flight. Each episode we discuss News Update stories in more detail and give our personal opinion on the facts. Visit Pilotinstitute.com/community to check it all out! Third up, a drone in Louisiana located a missing child this week. A 10 year old Louisiana girl was reported missing early in the day on Sunday. Searchers were unable to locate the girl, and a company from Arkansas, Drone Management Services, stepped in to assist. Using what appears to be a Mavic 3 Thermal, Co-Owner Josh Kolber located the girl sleeping on the ground. Great use of the drone Josh! Last up, the National Interagency Fire Center has published data this week about 21 incidents where drones have operated near wildfires. In 10 of these events, firefighting aircraft operations were suspended. Generally, firefighting aircraft operate within a TFR, meaning other aircraft including traditional aircraft are not permitted in that area. Be sure to check the TFRs before you take off, especially in wildfire prone areas. Alright, that's all we've got! Greg will be back on Monday, so he'll see you then for the live Q&A!

Have you ever wondered how teaching children to understand their emotions can transform not just their lives, but your entire family dynamic? Join us as we dive into the world of Penny Panda and uncover how one author's journey to teach emotional intelligence to kids might just offer the breakthrough we all need. You will discover: Practical strategies for teaching your child emotional intelligence Learn how creative storytelling can make complex emotional concepts accessible for your kids Gain insights into the reciprocal nature of parenting and personal growth. Tune in to explore how Penny Panda's adventures can equip your child with essential emotional skills while offering you fresh perspectives on nurturing resilience and empathy at home. About Nicole One Nicole Oke is an award-winning children's book author, mother, and member of the wildland firefighting community. She is based in Boise, Idaho where she works at the National Interagency Fire Center and spends her spare time helping to build tomorrow's leaders as a Girl Scout leader. Nicole is a champion for social emotional intelligence and as a parent of two girls with big emotions she understands the importance of teaching children the skills they need to identify, process, and regulate emotions. Her debut bestselling book, Penny Panda and the Gift of Possibility, was the first in a series of books that provide children and parents with the tools to talk about emotions and emotional skills that will last them a lifetime! Learn more from Nicole: https://subscribepage.io/CXw35J About Theresa A wife and a mother to two children and grandmother, Theresa Alexander Inman is a Parenting Coach, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and Infant Toddler Development Specialist. She was introduced to the field of behavior analysis in 2007 after working in many capacities in the juvenile justice system. Her goal is to improve the lives of children and families by helping them strategize child develop skills to prevent or reduce the effects of possible delays while having fun! She also served as a panelist on the first annual Autism World Summit. Theresa is also an author, having published ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠“Pathways to Early Communication”⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ in 2022. Connect with Theresa today! • Instagram | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theresa Inman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • LinkedIn | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theresa Inman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • BabyBoomer.org | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theresa Inman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parenting with Confidence⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Tiktok | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@parentcoachtheresa • Spotify via Anchor.fm | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Parenting with Confidence ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: https://www.theresaalexanderinman.com/ About Parenting with Confidence Parenting with Confidence with Theresa Alexander Inman presents you with answers if you are a tired and frustrated parent with a child diagnosed with a developmental delay. We aim to lift you up from the pressure of doing it right and provide you with the resources to set you and your child up for success! Please share, comment, rate, and download! Thank you! Blessings! Theresa --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theresa-alexander-inman/support

Bear Beware! Montana officials have euthanized a bear after it attacked a child at a campground. A new social media Instagram filter, "Selfie Control", helps tourists maintain safe distances from wildlife. Plus, wildfire updates and tips on the shelf life of sunscreen and insect repellent. Join radio hosts Rebecca Wanner aka 'BEC' and Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt with The Bend Radio Show & Podcast, your news outlet for the latest in Outdoors & Western Lifestyle News!   Episode 198 Details Wildlife Safety: Bear Attack, Instagram Filter Plus Wildfire, Sunscreen & Insect Repellent Tips    Bear Attacks Young Child In Tent At Private Campground Bear Beware In Montana & Other National Parks According to Outdoor Life, Officials in Montana tracked down and killed a black bear that attacked a three-year-old girl, on Sunday, August 11th, while she was sleeping in a tent at a private campground near Red Lodge. The attack occurred around 9:45 p.m. at Perry's RV Park and Campground, leading to the evacuation of the site. The bear was trapped and euthanized by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) officials, who believe it was the same bear involved in the incident. The girl was taken to a hospital in Billings, but her condition remains undisclosed. MFWP's Facebook post noted that "unsecured attractants" like garbage and human food likely lured the bear into the campsite. The campground remains closed as officials continue to monitor the area for any other bears Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks emphasizes being “Bear Aware” when camping or recreating in bear country, especially at established campgrounds where large concentrations of people can attract opportunistic bears. In its guide to camping in bear country, MFWP points out that most conflicts between humans and black bears at campsites involve food-conditioned bears.  In a statement, MFWP said, “A food-laden campsite can be a bear's death sentence. After trying scare tactics and multiple relocations, FWP wardens and biologists have to kill 10 to 12 bears each year when the animals, attracted by food, repeatedly raid campsites and put human safety at risk.” Reference: https://www.outdoorlife.com/survival/montana-black-bear-attacks-girl/ https://fwp.mt.gov/homepage/news/2024/aug/08132024_child-hospitalized-in-black-bear-attack-south-of-red-lodge https://fwp.mt.gov/binaries/content/assets/fwp/activities/bearproofcamping.pdf NEW Social Media Instagram Wildlife Filter: Safety First! Tourists and Wildlife Do Not Mix, Selfie Filter Provides Safety The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board has launched the "Selfie Control" Instagram filter, designed to help tourists maintain safe distances from wildlife while taking photos. Preloaded with safe viewing distances for iconic species like bears, bison, and moose, the filter helps users determine if they are too close to the animals. If the animal appears larger on the screen than the icon, users are in the danger zone and should back up. This tool addresses the challenge of accurately estimating safe distances, as recommended by the National Park Service, which advises keeping at least 25 yards from wildlife and 100 yards from predators like bears. The filter aims to prevent dangerous encounters, especially with "tourons" who often disregard safety, leading to incidents such as bison-related injuries in Yellowstone. By making it easier to gauge safe distances, the filter is expected to enhance visitor safety and protect wildlife during the busy summer season. Reference: https://industry.visitjacksonhole.com/travel-tourism-board-inspires-a-little-selfie-control https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touron National Wildfire Update: Key Insights, Safety & Prevention Tips The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reports significant wildfire activity across the United States. As of August 13, 2024, there are 77 large active wildfires that have burned over 2.3 million acres. More than 28,750 wildland firefighters are currently assigned to wildfires. Year to date, since January, over 29,500 wildfires have burned more than 5.2 million acres in the United States, compared to 1.3 million acres during the same time frame in 2023. This is about one million acres above the 10-year average number of acres burned. More than 25,600 wildfires have been caused by people, compared to about 3,700 ignited by lightning. As wildfires continue to threaten communities and natural landscapes, it's crucial that we all do our part to prevent new fires from starting. Remember, it only takes a single spark to start a wildfire, but together, we can prevent them. "Warming temperatures, drier conditions, and shifts in precipitation are contributing to an increase in the frequency of large wildfires and acres of land burned in the U.S. each year," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. So far in Fire Year 2024, 14 Unma nned Aircraft System (UAS) incursions have been reported near wildfires in 10 states. Seven of these incursions have caused firefighting aircraft to be grounded while the unauthorized drone operator was located. Unauthorized drones have no communication with wildland firefighters and pilots working on the ground and in the air. Regardless of your motivation, flying a drone near a wildfire is putting someone else's life in danger. Always Know Before You Fly and keep drones away from wildfires.   Key Safety Tips Stay Informed: Monitor local news and official sources for updates. Use apps and websites for real-time wildfire information. Prepare an Emergency Kit: Include essentials such as water, food, medications, and important documents. Follow Local Instructions: Adhere to evacuation routes and safety measures. Traveling During Wildfire Season: Avoid high-risk areas unless necessary. Wear protective clothing and a mask to reduce smoke inhalation. Meeting Location that all members of the party know to gather.   Packing List for Safe Campfires in Dry Conditions Fire-Safe Gear Portable Fire Pit: Prevent fire from spreading. Fire Blanket: Quickly smother accidental flames. Fire Extinguisher: For emergencies. Fire Control Tools Shovel: For digging a fire pit and extinguishing the fire. Bucket: To fetch water for dousing the fire. Water Supply: At least 5 gallons dedicated to extinguishing the fire.   Choosing a Site, Preparation & Management for a Camp Fire Select a site with no overhanging branches or flammable materials. Use established fire rings if available. Clear a 10-foot diameter around the pit. Dig a small pit and surround it with rocks. Keep the fire small and manageable. Never leave the fire unattended. Avoid burning trash or leaves. Allow the fire to burn down to ash. Pour water, stir the ashes, and pour more water until cold. Alternatively, cover the fire with dirt and check for hot spots. Check the area for stray embers or signs of heat. Ensure the fire is completely out before leaving. Always stay informed about local fire restrictions and weather conditions before lighting a campfire. For the latest updates, visit the National Interagency Fire Center's website. References: https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/nfn   How Long Bug Spray Lasts: Shelf Life and Effectiveness of Common Insect Repellents Bug Spray with DEET or Picaridin Bug spray with DEET or picaridin can last up to three years when stored properly. Synthetic repellents like DEET and picaridin have longer shelf lives compared to natural repellents with essential oils. Bug Spray with Essential Oils Bug sprays made with essential oils are effective for about a year. These natural repellents can degrade faster than synthetic ones. Checking Expiration Dispose of insect repellent after three years as it may lose efficacy over time. To check if bug spray has expired, look for changes in smell, color, or consistency, or test its effectiveness by applying it and monitoring for bites. Reference: https://www.marthastewart.com/8228048/does-bug-spray-expire Sunscreen: Shelf Life and Effectiveness FDA Guidelines The U.S. FDA mandates that sunscreen retains its full strength for at least three years, allowing you to use leftover sunscreen from previous years. Checking Expiration Dates Always check for an expiration date on the sunscreen bottle and discard any that have expired. If there is no expiration date, write the purchase date on the bottle and dispose of it after three years. Proper Storage Store sunscreen properly by keeping it out of hot weather and direct sunlight to maintain its effectiveness. If the sunscreen's color or texture changes, it's best to throw it out, according to the Mayo Clinic. Reference: https://www.mayoclinic.org/ FIELD REPORTS & COMMENTS Call or Text your questions, or comments to 305-900-BEND or 305-900-2363 Or email BendRadioShow@gmail.com FOLLOW Facebook/Instagram: @thebendshow https://www.facebook.com/thebendshow SUBSCRIBE to The Bend YouTube Channel. Website: TheBendShow.com https://thebendshow.com/ #catchBECifyoucan #tiggerandbec #outdoors #travel #cowboys The Outdoors, Rural America, And Wildlife Conservation are Center-Stage. AND how is that? Because Tigger & BEC… Live This Lifestyle. Learn more about Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt & Rebecca Wanner aka BEC here: TiggerandBEC.com https://tiggerandbec.com/ WESTERN LIFESTYLE & THE OUTDOORS Jeff 'Tigger' Erhardt & Rebecca 'BEC' Wanner are News Broadcasters that represent the Working Ranch world, Rodeo, and the Western Way of Life as well as advocate for the Outdoors and Wildlife Conservation. Outdoorsmen themselves, this duo strives to provide the hunter, adventurer, cowboy, cowgirl, rancher and/or successful farmer, and anyone interested in agriculture with the knowledge, education, and tools needed to bring high-quality beef and the wild game harvested to your table for dinner. They understand the importance in sharing meals with family, cooking the fruits of our labor and fish from our adventures, and learning to understand the importance of making memories in the outdoors. Appreciate God's Country. United together, this duo offers a glimpse into and speaks about what life truly is like at the end of dirt roads and off the beaten path. Tigger & BEC look forward to hearing from you, answering your questions and sharing in the journey of making your life a success story. Adventure Awaits Around The Bend.

Send us a Text Message.Emotions, Confidence, Friendship, And A Panda  Author's Journey Into The World Of Children's Books#author #childrensbooks #pennypanda #emotions #confidence #friendship Nicole Oke is an award winning children's book author, mother, and member of the wildland firefighting community. She is based in Boise, Idaho where she works at the National Interagency Fire Center and spends her spare time helping to build tomorrow's leaders as a Girl Scout leader.Nicole is a champion for social emotional intelligence and as a parent of two girls with big emotions she understands the importance of teaching children the skills they need to identify, process, and regulate emotions. Her debut bestselling book, Penny Panda and the Gift of Possibility, was the first in a series of books that provide children and parents with the tools to talk about emotions and emotional skills that will last them a lifetime!Website: https://nicoleokeauthor.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.oke.author/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.oke.authorLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-oke-1b38521a4/Thanks for tuning in, please be sure to click that subscribe button and give this a thumbs up!!Email: thevibesbroadcast@gmail.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/listen_to_the_vibes_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevibesbroadcastnetworkLinktree: https://linktr.ee/the_vibes_broadcastTikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeuTVRv2/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheVibesBrdcstTruth: https://truthsocial.com/@KoyoteFor all our social media and other links, go to: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/the_vibes_broadcastPlease subscribe, like, and share!

Carrie Bilbao is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Public Affairs Specialist at the National Interagency Fire Center.  Before diving into her wildland fire management career, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from Boise State University.  She has spent 26 years working for the BLM in Boise in wildland fire management as a wildland fire investigator, fire prevention officer, mitigation and education specialist, and public information officer.  Carrie also dabbled in fire suppression operations as a wildland firefighter, engine operator, helitack crewmember, and a type 5 incident commander.If you enjoy the podcast, we'd really appreciate it if you drop us a review, share it with a friend, or find us on Instagram.Topics Discussed:  The Big Burn of 1910 and its lessons.Fire management on public lands.Hunting safe around wildfires.Gear and prep for staying alive.Urban fires and the need for vigilance.Finding fire safety info at NICS Predictive Services. You can find more about Everett Headley, your host, at his website or Instagram. Elevate the Hunt also produces For Those Who Serve, a podcast connecting military members with hunting opportunities.  Intro Music: Jason Shaw- Back to the WoodsOutro Music: Bumy Goldson- Keep WalkingSupport the show

In addition to the tragic loss of lives in the Maui wildfire, residents and insurance companies are assessing property losses which are currently coming in at about $3.2 billion. But it won't just be Maui residents paying for this fire. Insurance companies will be raising rates for everyone to help cover their losses.   Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review.   As reported by Barron's, insurance companies won't have any problem paying claims for fire losses in Maui. The U.S. property and casualty industry is well-capitalized with about $980 billion at the end of last year. That's according to the Insurance Information Institute. The Institute's Janet Ruiz told Barron's: “The Hawaii insurance market is stable. Insurance companies are prepared to handle catastrophes.”   Property Insurance Rates    But analysts and industry experts say insurance companies are already raising rates as natural disasters cause more and more damage across the U.S. and the Maui wildfire will only reinforce this trend. Insurance companies will raise rates based on what they expect to pay out in the next few years.   The National Interagency Fire Center says an average of 4.4 million acres have been burned by wildfires in the U.S. each year for the past decade. Currently, the average cost of homeowners' insurance is about $1,700 a year or about 10% more than it was just one year ago.   Scaling Back Insurance Coverage   In addition to raising rates, insurance companies have also been scaling back coverage in areas they see as the riskiest. State Farm and Allstate have stopped selling new policies in California. Farmers Insurance is also restricting coverage in California and Florida.   Analyst Adam Klauber at William Blair told Barron's: “We'll continue to see more geographic restrictions and nonrenewals.” That's expected to push those consumers into the surplus market for coverage, which will cost more and cover less.   Families Without Property Insurance   There's also another side to the devastating impact of the Maui fire. Many of the residents live in homes that have been in their families for generations. If they are fully paid for without a mortgage, there's no home insurance requirement. News reports say that many of the victims are working class families who may not have splurged on home insurance, and for people without any insurance, rebuilding could be difficult or even impossible.   What was already a difficult housing shortage before the fire, it is now much worse. Demand has increased for homes in Maui as remote workers expand their horizons, and pay cash for homes on the island paradise. Short-term rentals have also reduced the supply of affordable homes. That's left many working class families renting homes or sharing homes with extended family members. And it's these folks who are crucial to Maui's tourism industry.   High Cost of Living   It's not cheap to live in Hawaii. Many products like food and building materials need to be imported, and that makes them more expensive. And there will be a huge need for rebuilding. Maui officials say the fire damaged or destroyed almost 3,000 structures.   But before that happens, displaced residents need to find a place to stay. The Washington Post reports that a local Realtors association is hoping to get many of those people into vacation homes that are currently vacant.    Investors and realtors are also reportedly contacting victims with offers to buy their scorched land. That's triggered some amount of outrage and a warning on Instagram by an organization dedicated to the preservation of land and native species in Hawaii. The message begins: “I am so frustrated with investors and realtors calling the families who lost their home, offering to buy their land. How dare you do that to our community right now.”   Realtors Donating $1.5 Million   On a brighter note, the National Association of Realtors also announced that the REALTORS Relief Foundation is donating $1.5 million in disaster aid to the Hawaii REALTORS association to help communities devastated by the fire.   Relief Foundation President Mike McGrew says: “Maui's recent wildfires have deeply impacted its residents, and we stand by them during this challenging time. RRF grants aim to ease the path toward recovery, offering tangible aid to those rebuilding their lives. As real estate agents, we recognize that unity and community spirit are invaluable, especially when facing such trying circumstances.”   That's it for today. If you've missed some of our episodes, you can catch up at https://www.newsforinvestors.com. You can also hit the Join for Free button to become a RealWealth member. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!   Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.   Links:   1 - https://www.barrons.com/amp/articles/maiu-hawaii-wildfire-homeowners-insurance-2fbc156   2 - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/us/maui-wildfires-housing.html   3 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/08/14/hawaii-housing-crisis-lahaina-homes-maui-fires/   4 - https://www.newsweek.com/investors-calling-maui-wildfire-victims-buy-their-land-1819600   5 - https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/realtors-give-1-5m-to-aid-maui-wildfire-recovery

A winter heavy in snowfall has slowed the start to the wildfire season across parts of the West, although the return of the El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean could reverse that start and contribute to another smoky summer in the National Park System west of the Continental Divide. Climate change, coupled with the departure of the La Niña weather pattern over the Pacific Ocean and the arrival of the El Niño pattern, are making it more challenging to predict fire seasons and fire behavior from year to year.   Last year when we talked with James Wallman, a meteorologist in the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, he said fire managers don't know what the “new normal” in wildfire seasons and behavior is because “everything is still changing." With a somewhat slow start to the 2023 fire season in the Southwest, and drier weather patterns over the Northwest, what can we expect from this year's fire season across the National Park System? We'll be back in a minute with Mr. Wallman to see.

Axios' Margaret Talev and the Associated Press's Darlene Superville discuss the political fallout from Thursday's indictment of former President Donald Trump for mishandling of classified documents. And Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, talks about the expected wildfire season in the U.S. Then, in her new book "Tenderheart," Chinese-Australian chef Hetty Lui McKinnon shares stories of what it was like to lose a parent as a child and how she found healing in cooking, especially in cooking vegetables.

The number of billion dollar weather disasters in the United States has jumped in recent years. Lead Scientist on the NOAA quarterly report, Adam Smith, talks about how they arrive at those figures, what types of disasters are most expensive, and what part of the country is most vulnerable. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-272-7099 and leave a message. You might hear your question and get an answer on a future episode! About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Hello, everybody. I'm meteorologist Sean Sublette and welcome to Across the Sky, our National Lee Enterprises weather podcast. Lee Enterprises has print and digital news operations in 77 locations across the country, including in my home base in Richmond, Virginia. I'm joined by my colleagues from across the sky, Matt Holiner in Chicago, Joe Martucci at the Jersey Shore. Our colleague Kirsten Lang continues to take a little time off in Tulsa for a few weeks. Gentlemen, we've got a great guest this week. We've all heard about the billion dollar disasters report. Adam Smith from NCI. That's Noah. National Centers of Environmental Information is joining us to talk all about this, because this this is fascinating stuff. I mean, some of this can get very complex and deep into the weeds. So Adam does a really good job, I think, talking about how they come up with this data and why it's relevant. Yeah. And most of us across the country have been hit by some billion dollar disasters since they've been tracking this year, going back to, I believe it was 1980. So it's something that probably has impacted you, whether you remember it or not. So we were happy to have Adam on in the end to drop his knowledge on us here for our podcast. And really what caused us to reach out to Adam is when they came out with their report at the beginning of May, looking at just the for the first four months of the year, we've already had $7 billion disasters and that's the second most all time if they've started keeping records in 1980. And probably what's more remarkable is if you look at the average number of billion dollar disasters for the entire year from 1980 to 2022, it's $8 billion disasters in the entire year. And we've already had seven in the first four months. So that is not what we want to see. But that's been the recent trend because if you look at just the last five years, 2018 to 2022, we've had $18 billion disasters on average. So in the last five years the average is 18. When you go back to 1980, the average is eight. So there is a clear uptick in the number of billion dollar disasters. So we had to get Adam on that talk about, yeah, fortunately he was telling us so much of this was driven by a very recent uptick in tropical cyclones slash hurricanes. We also talk about the droughts. You know, there's long term drought that until this past winter has been plaguing the western United States. So we get into all those things. We'll also talk about, you know, some of the intricacies of this and why it's sometimes the data is misinterpreted. So we'll get to all of that as we begin our conversation with Adam Smith at the National Centers for Environmental Information. And we welcome Adam Smith, visible scientist at the Climate Sciences and Services Division at the Noah National Center for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. He is the lead researcher for the quarterly Billion dollar Disasters Report, and he has been involved in the nexus of climate and weather risk for more than a decade. Adam, welcome and thank you for taking the time with us on the podcast. Thank you for having me. So I wanted to started at the big level because a lot of this stuff is kind of esoteric or for the home listeners, home viewers. So take us at a top down level. Our is this kind of stuff quantified in terms of this disaster? Is this amount of money? This disaster is this amount of money? You aggregate this up. So at the bigger level, how was this done? So to do this type of analysis require is a broad array of public and private sector partners. For example, the insurance and reinsurance industry, of course, even the catastrophe modelers also federal agencies like FEMA, USDA, the National Interagency Fire Center, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Energy Information Administration, and at the state level, of course, state agencies and management authorities, they have a lot of data pre and post disaster. And so we're looking at quantify in total direct losses across about 16 different asset classes using the combination of that public and private sector data. So this would be insured, under-insured and uninsured damages to homes, to businesses, to government buildings like schools, the contents of all of these structures. Even time element losses such as business interruption or loss of living quarters. When you're out of your home lost, being repaired or rebuilt. But there's other assets even that the private sectors that often pay attention to as comprehensively, for example, public assets, roads, bridges, levee systems, even the Department of Defense, military bases, electrical grids are also something we look at as far as damage that's also a public private partnership and damage to to vehicles, to boats, to offshore energy platforms. And finally, the agriculture sector, of course, is heavily impacted by heat waves, cold waves and drought. So we look at crops, livestock being calls that increase in particular with drought damage to commercial timber, often with hurricanes in the southeast and wildfire fighting suppression costs. So those are the 16 different asset classes that we have homogeneous data over space and time. Going back many decades. That's consistently available. But it's equally important to know what we are not able to capture. So that would be things like non-market losses to environmental damage, environmental degradation, a natural capital, those type of losses, mental and physical health care related costs, which are likely substantial in the downstream ripple effects outside of a hazard region. There's also not quantified, so you could say this is a conservative but solid baseline estimate. Another piece of the puzzle would be one of the first key transformations we make would be the reciprocal of the insurance penetration rate, which varies by asset, by region and by hazard. Because we're looking at hurricanes, severe storm events like tornado hail and high wind events, heat waves, cold waves, winter storms, wildfire drought and urban flooding and river basin flooding. And some of those are very discrete events. And M.S., a day to day, three days like a severe storm complex or a hail storm. But some we treat more seasonal like droughts and wildfires because they're often slow onset events that get more impactful, particularly in the fall as the West dries out, as we've seen many times in recent years. Hey, Adam, it's Matt. So looking through April of this year, there were seven confirmed $2 billion assets. But what I noticed is underneath that, you lost three more potential billion dollar disasters. And I'm just curious, what is the difference there? Why are there three additional ones that could not be confirmed yet? You have seven confirmed billion dollars of three additional ones that cannot be confirmed yet. So what's the what does it take to become a confirmed billion dollar disaster versus these preliminary ones? Yes, that's a great question. This is this is a new feature we just added in recent months based on user feedback and requests. So that has to do with the data latency across all these different public and private data sources. We partner with the data latency, basically a fancy word for how long it takes a data to mature and stabilize. That varies based on the size and the impact, the intensity of an event. So we like to probe. Probably one month is about the bare minimum for the smallest billion dollar disaster event, like a hailstorm in Colorado, for example, whereas hurricanes could take many months, you know, six months or more. As we've seen in Florida, often times the claims process continues and continues. So this provides this section you're talking about the potential billion dollar disaster events. It kind of pulls back the curtain a little bit to say what events are we looking at as far as the data maturity that may be added to the list in the coming months? And correct me if I'm wrong, but if those three were confirmed, that would put us at ten through the first four months of year, which would be a new record because the current record is $8 billion disasters in 2017 and 2020, right? That would be correct. So these are not yet confirmed, but if they were all confirmed, we would be on a record base. That's correct. I mean, I'm going to parlayed and said more of a, let's say, 30,000 feet view of this where we've been over the past couple of decades with these billion dollar disasters. And I'll note, I know you adjust for inflation so the numbers are accurate in terms of something in 2000 is the same as now. But also furthermore, you know, where are we seeing what types of events are giving us our biggest increases and as are anything that we've seen, decreases that over time as well, a lot of these different hazards have had frequency and cost trends that are really going in the wrong direction in terms of they're getting worse for different parts of our nation. So if you can remember, the last three hurricane season is 2020 through 2022 were quite active. I believe we had more Category four and Category five landfalling hurricanes on record in that period than most of what the record shows and heard. That and hurricanes to the point are the most costly of these extremes we measure and it makes sense are big, powerful storms. So we have a lot of assets, a lot of population in harm's way along the Gulf Coast, in the southeast. We've also seen a lot of inland flooding events, urban planning events, more in the 20 tens decade than we had in the 1980s, nineties and 2000s combined. It implies, of course, we have more population, more exposure, but climate change is putting its thumb on the scale for some of these extremes, like heavy rainfall in the eastern U.S. As we know, the costliest flaperon equation, everyone see increase in temperature. The water vapor increases and therefore it adds to the heavy rainfall potential, which we've seen. But of course, how we build, where we build the vulnerabilities there, the floodplains, those all go into the to the equations as well. But if we go to the West Coast, you know, we've seen four of the last six wildfire seasons have been pretty off the scale in terms of cost, really almost an order of magnitude more costly than the average wildfire season in place. Yeah, just over the last four decades. Last year in 2022, thankfully, wasn't quite as bad in much of the West, with the exception of a few states like New Mexico and and some of the north central northwestern states. Yes. So so there's a lot of trends are going in the wrong direction. But what I like to highlight is, well, we can learn from this. We can learn from one way wrong, what we can do better in the future because we know these extremes. We're going to continue with exposure, with vulnerability, with climate change, all in the mix. And so I think the key is to learn from them and to mitigate future damages. So looking at 2022, for example, the most costly events were a hurricane in impacted, you know, southwest Florida, but trapped across Florida. And so it had the trifecta of impacts, a storm surge, the very high winds, but the flooding also well inland and really across Florida, many places that are not properly insured for flood insurance. And so that was in excess of 100 billion is is in the top some of the top most costly hurricanes on record. But I think that what sneaks under the radar a bit was the the drought from 2022. It was very expansive and expensive from California to the Mississippi River. This was a $22.2 billion event, really is the most costly drought in the U.S. in a decade, dating back to 2012, which was a very impactful drought. We may still remember. So and drought also people focus on agriculture, aspects of the impacts of drought. But there's also the the the loss of hydropower in parts of the West and California in particular. And as we know, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, they were dredging parts of the Mississippi River to help open up the flow because the low flow was reducing the commerce, the traffic up and down the river. So, yeah, all these impacts from an impact from an asset point of view and from a socioeconomic point of view are multidimensional. And so we have to address our vulnerabilities. Yeah. Before we toss to break, I want to go back to the drought situation in the West because that is such a long evolution event. How our are you able to say, you know, well, this fits into this timeframe, You know, there's one drought or did the drought, you know, you know, we know it's a multi-year, almost multi-decade old drought or they ratification. So how do you decide, okay, well, the drought we're going to fit into this quarter or this specific calendar year, How do you kind of get through that? For example, back in was the 2016 or 2017, there was like a flash drought that impacted North Dakota, South Dakota and maybe Montana, I believe. And it was a more bust, a smaller, isolated, but a very intense drought, you know, d3d for drought conditions, which are the most severe, but since the year 2000, what we've seen more often is just large swaths of the West with, you know, half a dozen to a dozen states that are heavily impacted throughout their growing season of their primary crops, anywhere from D2 to D3 to D4 impacts. And a lot of the states are giving drought designations based on weather is data in the East or G-3 or higher in the West. And so we track, you know, using s and other great drought data and USDA crop insurance data. We track how the maturity of the the crop season correlates with the the drought intensity. You know, often what we've seen is drought in Tennessee with heat in the summer and early fall will spike right when the crops are most vulnerable. And so therefore it amplifies the crop loss and the damages. Also, we see certainly for the larger area droughts and the long duration droughts, which we've seen much since year 2000. In the West, different states will struggle with wildfire cattle feed costs. So we look at cost per ton for things like corn or hay, silage and just that the delta between that year's drought impact price increase versus the five year state cost per ton increase for those feeding commodities. So there's a lot that goes into it and drought is one of the more complex assets to to analyze for as an event. Yeah, because everybody gets a little bit differently I'm sure. All right. So we'll take a little bit of a break. And on the other side, we'll dig a little bit deeper into the weeds about some of the pitfalls and irregularities and difficulties in quantifying this information with Adam Smith from Noah and CGI on the Across the Sky podcast. Stay with us. And we're back on the Across the Sky podcast. Our guest is Adam Smith, the Noah National Centers of Environmental Information, talking about the billion dollar disasters, reports that that come out about every quarter. And I'm I want to talk a little bit about the methodology. So, you know, even when we adjust for inflation, it seems like growing population, that coincident increase in wealth development along the coasts, more people building on property. How do you handle all those things in the report? Historically, inflation using CPI, you A-Z as a means for doing so is what we do, and we adjust that monthly based on the end date of an event or for drought. We use the begin date. But I think a fair question has come up in recent years about adjusting for things like housing population, other assets in harm's way, because we do know that people are moving to the south and the southeast in the west, which are really hot spots for different hazards hurricanes, severe convective storms, drought, flooding, you name it. And so we are actually embarking barking this late summer into fall and looking at some of the different assets and trying to add some additional adjustments. We do actually normalize for things like population or state level GDP. In our mapping section, you can look at any combination of years, any combination of hazards, any individual disaster. Of the 355 separate billion dollar disasters over the last 44 years, you can look at state level analysis that does normalized by population GDP. We just haven't taken that through all of the different pools throughout the entire site. But we're going to do more work on that front. I think one of the challenges, though, is a lot of the literature does talk about using, you know, population density or housing density as ways to normalize. I think that's a start, but I don't think that's a complete answer because we are looking at 16 different asset classes that are highly variables in terms of their spatial distribution, how much the concentration and the value of those have changed where they've happened. So we really need to come up with a more robust strategy to deal with the normalization in a in a really comprehensive way. But we have partners at Treasury, federal agencies and academia that are also looking at similar questions. So this is an active area of research. And Adam know has been keeping track of these billion dollar disasters since 1980. But it does raise the question of why 1980? So why is that the start point and could we look back farther than 1980? Is it possible can we try and calculate, well, how many billion dollar disasters that were in the seventies or sixties, or is there something that's preventing that? Yes, in 1980 when we started doing this work, and I think the reinsurance companies like Munich Reinsurance and Sports Reinsurance have actually looked back pre 1980. But in the United States, looking at the public and private sector data, 1980 in terms of the beginning of a decade is really where we get the first consistent snapshot of the comprehensive homogeneous data over space and time. This was a good starting point. For example, I think the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program data really doesn't really get going until the late seventies, if I'm if I'm not mistaken. But, you know, if you look at some really extreme events like tornado outbreaks, which we had many in the 1970s, because they were so impactful, they killed so many people, they were there historical events, you could do some analysis. I think the caveat would be pre 1980, the farther you go back in time, the larger the error bars would be in terms of the uncertainty of the data in the assumptions and the impact those assumptions would make on the analysis. And so what got you interested in getting into these EO, registering these billion dollar disasters or even working within NCI memory? Always interested and, you know, climate and this kind of information. What what was your journey that brought you here? Yes. So I've worked at NCI since really beginning Charles in five. And this this was kind of a legacy project actually predated my time, of course. But the way it was structured, the data that went into it was it was a comprehensive it wasn't peer reviewed, it was embedded. It was it was not quite as comprehensive as it could have been. So we spent probably five years working at mini partners, developing different data relationships and understanding and writing some papers, having conferences, and then kind of made it more robust and did a reanalysis. But I think in terms of my involvement with it, I've always been kind of a, a natural interdisciplinary thinker. I like I like thinking in that problem space, chaos and uncertainty don't really scare me as much as it might other people. And so I think it's a challenge and it's in frankly, it's just interesting. It's fun to do. And as we've seen over the last seven years, from 2016 through 2022 and 43, these billion dollar disasters have cost over $1 trillion of damage to the United States. It took about 34, 35 years from 1980 through about 2014 to get the first trillion before we got the second trillion in the last seven years. So the point being, you know, there's a lot at stake here in terms of understanding the spatial dimensions of impact, the socioeconomic vulnerabilities and trying to bring that as just one of many different federal data tools to help people unpack and better understand the a data analysis and our tools, not the be all end all. There's been a proliferation of different tools, like FEMA's National Risk Index is a great one, but there's there's probably half a dozen in the last two years. So we're just trying to do our part. And it's a very it's an interesting and active space to research. Now, I have another question for for people who really are not overly familiar with this. Adam, if you could kind of enlighten folks I know everybody's under everybody can understand what insurance is, but can you talk about what reinsurance is? Because that's a term that gets tossed around a lot that I don't think gets a lot of its a lot of explanation. So something like Munich Re Would you would you reference early what what is reinsurance. So yeah, reinsurance is effectively insurance for insurance companies. It's it's when really impactful events like a hurricane Ian hits Florida and causes tens of billions of dollars of insured loss that's so impactful. And so far on the distribution potential as a rare event that insurance companies wisely back up their investments with paying for additional insurance, which are often global bodies like Munich Reinsurance. Willis Reinsurance. But even the public sector, like FEMA's national Flood Insurance Program, has wisely recently started investing more and more in reinsurance layers to basically backstop the federal government payouts for flood insurance. Because as we've seen with hurricanes in particular, like Harvey, like Ian, like Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the costs quickly run up into the billions in terms of just the insured flood losses alone. But the uninsured flood losses are several times often the the insured losses from these events. And Adam, of course, looking at the big picture, we're seeing the number of billion dollar disasters going up. But I wonder if we could dive in a little bit more and talk about regionally, what are these? Are we seeing a particular region that's seeing more events than in the past and also as far as that type of event? So are we seeing a trend in the type of events that are causing billion dollar disasters compared to the eighties and nineties and what we're seeing now? So as far as types of events go in peculiar regions that are really seeing a particular uptick. So looking at the state scale, Texas, Florida and Louisiana would be the top three states In terms of the impact, yeah, Texas is close to $400 billion of total losses from these billion dollar disasters 1980 to present. Florida is also close to 400 billion. Louisiana is above or around 300 billion. And you can dive into all this data online. But if you were to normalize that by population or state GDP, you would see Louisiana certainly has the most acute impacts because they have a much smaller population, much more GDP, economic size than either Texas or Florida. And you can think back to 2020. We had, I think, four or five landfalling hurricanes make landfall and in Louisiana. So it lengthens and makes more costly the cleanup effort. But we saw the same thing last year in Florida with Hurricane Ian hitting. And then four or five weeks later, Hurricane Nicole hitting the other part of Florida and some similar counties had impacts. So this is an example of compound extremes with cascading impacts. And we're seeing that in the Gulf Coast. We're seeing that in in California with wildfire seasons lengthened due to the kind of semi persistent drought. Thankfully, that a lot of that drought's been diminished early in 2022 from absolute rivers. But anyway, we go from drought to wildfire to mud flow. Debris flows in the mountainsides from the burn scars in California. So you get this compound linkage that amplifies the impacts in the national Climate Assessment has has targeted this as a topic and really amplified and put a spotlight on it. So, yeah, certainly certain regions of the country are have been struggling in recent years in terms of high frequency events. And in Austin, these events hit similar areas and populations and even places like Louisiana, people are actually moving out of parts of Louisiana because I think it's just it's just too much to deal with. One thing I kind of, I guess, struggle with my head is that, you know, we're having Morty's billion dollar disasters. At the same time, I feel like there's never been more importance on messaging and emergency management here. Can you link the two? Because we would think that we're trying to be a more weather ready nation at that. That's a NOAA initiative, but we're still seeing Morty's billion dollar disaster. Yeah, I think that one challenges, as we talked about, people are moving of course, to different parts of the country, say they retired, they went to Florida or Texas and they may be from the northeast or somewhere in the Midwest. Well, when you move to a new place, I think it's one besides, you know, picking out where your your your location, where you want to live, you need to know your hazard. You need to know your natural born abilities, what has happened in the past. And you have so many great resources at the federal level, at the state level, academics have have published a lot of great papers looking at, you know, where the extremes and hazards are. And it's not one hazard. Often it's different, it's multifaceted. And so educating yourself in terms of what can happen, but also educating yourself and preparing in case if you are confronted with a high risk and you can actually act on it and protect yourself, your family, your business, your home, your assets. And so it does ultimately come down to the individual. But I think there's, you know, certainly an education process and understanding and some responsibility. And it's at all levels. And we have more than enough events in recent years to learn from and better prepare and for future extremes. Yeah, for sure. We get all kinds of weather across this country for, you know, everybody gets it a little bit differently. And before we let you go, I anything else you want to share where people can find this information online and anything else that y'all are working on that we should look forward to. One thing I did not mention is we worked in recent last few years with FEMA and Census, and we integrated as a county level in the census tract level a lot of socioeconomic vulnerability information and you can compare that with hazard risk or information and the billion dollar disaster information for your for your area, for your region. Yeah, just type. Billion-Dollar Disasters or weather costs in Google and it will come up. But we have many different tools and we're always trying to expand and add more nuance and depth and usefulness to the tools we we're working on developing user reports, dynamic reporting, so that can be developed and you know, like a PDF, you could just take it with you and read it separate from a web page. But there's there's just so much to do in this space. And there, you know, it's not just us, as many different research groups across the federal government, private sector and academia who are doing very valuable and important work in this area. Excellent. And again, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast and for all the work you're doing there, Noah, and give our best to you, everybody who's working there at Noah, NCI in Asheville. A lot to take in there, guys. But I mean, Adam has been doing this for a long time and by that he admits that there's no perfect way to do this for sure. But, you know, I think it's clear that as the as the climate has warmed, we are more at risk. There are more people, there are more things at risk, there's more property risk. And we're going to have to continue to guard against these kinds of weather. Sometimes are cold. Climate disasters are like environmental disasters. Kind of avoid avoid the political political nonsense with this stuff. But the end result, whether it's tropical cyclone, whether it's heavy rain, whether it is locally severe storms, whether it is the drought, flooding, all those things, we are more vulnerable than we have been in the past. And Joe, you know, you brought up the weather resignation and how I do think, you know, we're getting better at communicating and keeping people safe from these extreme weather events. But what we can't do works for, you know, is when these hurricanes are making landfall or when a tornado is tracking across ground, we can get people out of the way of the hurricane. We can get people out of the way of tornado, but we can't get their homes out of the way of these storms even there. And there can be preparations, you know, to make it. You know, we see people put a clipboard in the windows and such. But, you know, when it it's a high level event, there's going to be destruction. And I think, you know, especially, you know, in kind of what Adam mentioned, too, there's a little bit of a concern that people are moving to these places that have more climate disasters. I mean, just historically, Texas, Florida, anywhere along the Gulf Coast, the population has really been rising in the south. And that's typically where we have more of these billion dollar disasters and they're happening more often. So this is what happens. We end up getting more billion dollar disasters as people move to areas that experience more extreme weather. Yeah, and he kind of answered it when I was saying about, you know, emergency management and yeah, like we said, weather ready Nation. But to your point, you know, I mean I think Florida was the had been the fastest growing state since 2020. So a lot of those are going to the coast. Real estate is expensive in Florida. I was just in Sarasota two months ago. Prices are going up over there as well. And that ultimately outstrip the the increase in these disasters, too. And with things like rising sea levels. Yeah, you talk about hurricanes, right? I mean, yeah, if you had 12 inches more of sea level rise in 100 years, well, you know, now that that hurricane that's coming through, you know, is going to be 12 inches higher, what your storm surge and that might go in an extra block and an extra block is an extra million dollars or real estate or whatever it might be. So it's all these incremental things. And that's you know, we talk about climate change. A lot of this is coming in incremental steps. It's not the day after tomorrow where, you know, the Statue of Liberty is frozen in time. That that's how it is shown, right? Is that what happened? The Statue of Liberty? Oh, my God. They can't see me. But I have the little torch in my head now. But what it is, you know, it's these incremental steps. It's, you know, hey, the water's now half a block up the street. This storm now it's a full block up the street. The next storm, you know, and those kind of things add up dollar wise and help create some of these billion dollar disasters as well. You know, and there's a lot of focus on the, you know, tornado outbreaks and the hurricanes that are often the cause of billion dollar disasters. But you know what's interesting, I mean, so far this year, it's mainly just been some regular severe thunderstorm outbreaks, you know, that have been hail. People often forget about how costly ALA is. A lot of times people can get inside and you don't frequently die from hail. You go inside, you're fine. But the damage the hail caused that's been real costly this year and just straight line wind damage, it doesn't take a tornado. You get 60, 70, 80 mile per hour straight line winds and that does a lot of damage. So you don't need tornadoes. You don't need hurricanes at billion dollar disasters. That's really been the biggest problem so far this year. Yeah. Once that wind gets past 55 or 60 miles an hour, that's when we really start to see more physical damage to structures and the like. Gentlemen, I think that's going to be it for this week. But as as you know, and we'll let the folks at home know we've been working on another podcast next week. We're very excited to have the new director of the National Hurricane Center joining us next week, Michael Brennan. I will be here to talk about some of the new products that they've got working for the for the new hurricane season starts June 1st. I talk a little bit about about his role moving from my home state of Virginia through the ranks. NC State and on the way to the as director of the National Hurricane Center So very excited to have Director Brennan join us next week. Joe, I know you've been working on a couple other things that you want to kind of ease the audiences to some things I know you've been working on. Yeah. So we'll start off with we did a collab with Front page Betts on our Lee Enterprises family, so I had my said, Son, we're talking about sports betting and the weather and then we said it last week. It's something of a personal hero of mine, George Shea, Major League eating Commissioner, coming out to talk about the Nathan's hot dog eating contest. That's going to be our July 3rd episode. Talk about SEO Shawn. What better SEO do we have than is putting out on July 3rd a podcast about hot dog eating contest and the weather. And I'll tell you what, I've been to the hot dog eating contest before. It is definitely weather definitely makes a difference because I love having been there and seeing it on TV all these years. Those hot and humid days, just kind of hazy, different than those nice day for it's 82 degrees on the corner surf and still well in Coney Island, New York. Thanks. Thanks for that visual. I'll try not to have nightmares about it. I appreciate it. While I think about it, I would just do it this way. I think we're gonna take the reins on this day by. But yeah, we got a lot coming up and you know, we appreciate everyone listening and subscribing. You know, over the past year we've only been doing this for like 13 months. It feels like we've been doing it forever, but I bet we've been doing for 13 months. So really appreciate all of you tuning in. If you know someone who likes weather, if you know someone you interesting climate, tell them about it too. You know, we'd really appreciate it. That's a labor of love, to be sure. Go ahead. Go ahead, Matt. No. Yeah, we just started last April. I can't believe it's been over a year, but we are past the year mark. We have over 52 episodes now. So with APA, if you are, you have plenty of material to go back and listen to. If you're new to the podcast, we have plenty of episodes of scroll back in our history and I'm imagine there'll be a topic at some point. You'll scroll past. You want to click on and we'll have more and more in the weeks ahead. So again, thank you for joining us. Thank you for listening, Thank you for subscribing and don't miss our conversation next week with National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan on the Across the Sky podcast. But for now, I'm Sean Sublette, the Matt Holiner in Chicago and at the Jersey Shore, our buddy Joe Martucci, and this hot dog eating contest that will see you next time for the Across the Sky podcast.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

U.S. Fire Administration head Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and principals of America's national fire service organizations traveled to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID as part of a western tour acknowledging America's fire problem. During the visit, Idaho Reports producer Ruth Brown sat down with Moore-Merrell to discuss her agency's work and what can be done to reduce fire risk and implement resilient communities. "We can't just look at last year, we have to look at the last five years. In the last five years, we have burned 68% more acreage than we did in the last three decades," Moore-Merrell told Idaho Reports. "That's the important part. Look longer term, understand this beautiful precipitation today will not get us out of the woods."

Wise management and conservation of rangelands in the future will require knowledge from the hard-earned experience of those near retirement and the fresh and uninhibited ideas of young professionals. However, reaching across these generations of ideas and experiences can be challenging. This final plenary will be a thought-provoking discussion that highlights the value of combining well-lived experiences with youthful insight. Tim Murphey, retired rangeland and fire professional, will describe the concepts he has learned that will be valuable to plot a path into the future of rangeland management. Courtney Taylor, student and rancher, will highlight the insight that young professionals can bring to power innovation and engage the next generation of rangeland managers. Tracy Kupchenko will moderate this discussion based on her pivotal experiences in working with both youth and well-worn ranchers and rangeland managers. Courtney Taylor grew up on a cattle ranching operation near Warner, Alberta, Canada. Always ambitious and a self- starter, she was running her own profitable on-farm businesses including a small sheep flock and orphan calf operation by age 10. Through her family operation, she was introduced to the art of rangeland management, and then while attending the Southern Alberta Youth Range Days camp, she further explored the science behind beneficial management practices, potential careers, and opportunities associated with rangelands. Her first exposure to the Society for Range Management was through the High School Youth Forum, then again at the University level, participating in the student conclave and competitions like the Undergraduate Range Management Exam and Extemporaneous Speaking event. She is currently attending the University of Saskatchewan and continues to run several of her business initiatives including a small bull operation specializing in genetics that will sustain the extensive winter grazing and spring/summer calving utilized on the ranch. Needless to say, that as far back as she can remember, she has grown and continues to foster a deep respect for her animals and the land on which her family cattle ranch depends. Tim Murphy is recognized for his long and impactful career in rangeland and fire management. Tim completed a bachelor's degree in rangeland management from the University of Wyoming and after graduation Tim began a 39-year career in rangeland and natural resources management. Tim's career began as a range technician with the Bridger-Teton National Forest and shortly thereafter he joined the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Green River Resource Area managing public rangelands in southwest Wyoming, followed by supervising a range, wild horse, and soils team at BLM's Caliente Resource Area, Nevada. Tim went on to management positions with BLM in New Mexico at the Carlsbad and then Las Cruces Resource Areas followed by a District Manager assignment at Miles City, Montana. Throughout his assignments Tim was active in wildland fire management as a firefighter and was called upon to inform national policy through the results of his leadership involving fatality and serious accident investigation teams. Tim went on to Boise, Idaho as the Director of Fire and Aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center followed by becoming the BLM Idaho State Director. After retiring from the BLM, he has remained active in promoting wise land management that supports local economies and healthy landscapes. Tim is currently chairman of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. TRANSCRIPT available at https://artofrange.com/episodes/aor-104-srm-keynote-address-working-across-eras-courtney-taylor-tim-murphy.

Welcome to Episode 14 of Wildlife Matters Presented by the Bureau of Land Management of Idaho. Katie Wood, Program Manager for the National Wildfire Coordinating Group or NWCG, discusses what NWCG does and how this group operates. Katie begins the session by taking about her career, from being hired right out of high school as firefighter on an engine crew to working her way to up to the National Interagency Fire Center as the NWCG Program Manager. Katie then explains how NWCG got started and how it provides national leadership to enable interoperable wildland fire operations among federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners. From establishing national interagency wildland fire operational standards, to NWCG committees’ operations, to developing incident training, Katie explains the role of NWCG at the national level and how NWCG uses a consensus-based decision process to develop common operating standards for the wildland fire community. As wildland fire continues to expand and become more complex, NWCG is at the tip of the spear working on an integrated incident performance and training modernization training project; an effort focused on modernizing the majority of NWCG's incident positions to include their training, incident position descriptions, development of new position standards, and next-generation position task books along with transitioning to complex incident management to better facilitate participation and increase capacity for the nation’s wildland fire response. This podcast was recorded at SB Studios and distributed and produced by SB Studios, if you or anyone you know is looking to launch or grow their podcast send them our way and mention Wildlife matters for special discounts and pricing. Visit SB Studios at https://www.sbstudios.co/ for more information

In 2022, the National Interagency Fire Center reported over 7.4 million acres were burned by 65,646 wildfires--the most recorded in the past ten years.  We've all seen the headlines about wildfires. They cause disruptions to transportation, communications, utilities, and water supplies. Wildfires cost the economy billions annually. Uncontrolled fires result in losses in property, crops, resources, animals, and human life.  Hazardous and damaging wildfires typically happen under extreme conditions like droughts or high winds. The grounds often have an excessive build-up of woody debris and dense vegetation because controlled fires have not been through the areas in decades or longer. To some, it may seem strange to set fire to a natural area intentionally. When done correctly, however, prescribed burns (sometimes called controlled burns) can benefit the land and environment.  This article will investigate why burning helps natural areas and what happens before, during, and after a controlled burn. ___________________________________________________________________________ The Productive Parks 5-Minute Podcast is for busy professionals working to change the game in the Parks and Recreation field. If you liked this episode, please check out more of our park and recreation maintenance podcasts or view some articles on our blog (https://productiveparks.com/blog). What's Next? SUBSCRIBE to Stay Updated About Future Productive Parks Podcasts -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm3w8OBmlidtNLntib1-6cw?sub_confirmation=1   SEE A QUICK VIDEO of Productive Parks in Action - https://productiveparks.com/features/overview   LEARN MORE and Schedule a Demo of Productive Parks - https://productiveparks.com/demo

Episode Summary Brooke and Margaret recap the passed year of horrifying events, from climate collapse, to inflation economics, to developments with Covid, mass shooting, why the police continue to suck, culture wars, bodily autonomy, why capitalism ruins everything, as well as a glimpse of what could be coming this next year both hopeful and dreadful in This Year in the Apocalypse. Host Info Margaret can be found on twitter @magpiekilljoy or instagram at @margaretkilljoy. Brooke is just great and can be found at Strangers helping up keep our finances intact and on Twitter or Mastodon @ogemakweBrooke Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness. You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness. Next Episode Hopefully will come out Friday, Jan. 31st. Transcript This Year in the Apocalypse 2022 Brooke 00:15 Hello and welcome to Live Like the World is Dying, your podcast for what feels like the end times. I'm Brooke Jackson, your co-host for this episode, along with the indomitable Margaret killjoy. Margaret 00:27 Hiiii Brooke 00:28 We have something extra special for you. Hi, Margaret. You might be familiar with the monthly segment we started in 2022: This Month in the Apocalypse, and today we will take that into a sub segment: This Year in the Apocalypse. But, first we have to shout out to another member of the Channel Zero network of anarchists podcasts, but playing a little jingle from one of our comrades, Boo doo doo doo, doo doo. Brooke 01:18 And we're back. So, before I tell people about this extra special episode, I want to officially say "Hello," to my co host, Margaret. Hi, Margaret. Margaret 01:36 Hello, how are you? Brooke 01:38 I'm doing okay. How are you doing? Margaret 01:42 I'm doing terrible, and I'm not going to talk about it. Brooke 01:45 Okay, that's fair. That sounds like me most of the time. Okay, well, speaking of terrible, how did the last year treat you now that we've flipped the calendar? Is there anything you would like to say to the year 2022? Margaret 01:59 You know, it's fine. It's just the year 2020 part three. As far as the other parts of the year 2020, it's been...it was chiller, then parts one and two. Not from a climate point of view, but from a fascism point of view. Brooke 02:21 Oh, okay. That's a good point. Well, I feel like 2022 as with most years....Sorry. What, Margaret? Margaret 02:30 Everything's fine. Nothing bad happened. That's the end of the episode. Brooke 02:33 Always. Margaret 02:34 Everything's good. Brooke 02:35 Okay, cool. Well, this has been a fun recording. Yeah. Well, as with most years, in the last decade, I say, "Fuck you to 2022," and would like to burn it all down. So, we have that going for us. Margaret 02:51 Alright, fuck you, 2022. I do that when I leave a state. Brooke 02:58 You say, "Fuck you," to the State behind you? Margaret 02:59 Yeah, yeah. Brooke 03:01 Even even Oregon, even when you came to visit us out here? Margaret 03:05 Why would I? Why would Oregon be any different? Brooke 03:08 Because some of the people you love are in Oregon. Margaret 03:16 Whatever, fuck you too....I mean, many of the people I love were also in the year 2022. Brooke 03:21 Okay, all right. You got me. Margaret 03:24 Okay. Brooke 03:24 One point: Margaret , zero points: Brooke. Margaret 03:26 Yep, that's what I was saying. Brooke 03:27 Yeah. So. So, I was thinking about how we do this extra fun, special episode of This Year in the Apocalypse. And being typical Brooke, I was like, let's come up with a very orderly fashion in which to do this. I shall take all of the months and pick one thing per month, and we shall be organized. And spoiler alert for the audience. Margaret and I came up with separate lists. We haven't seen each other's lists. We don't know what each other shittiest things are. Margaret 03:53 Wait, I didn't pick the shittiest things. I just picked stuff. Brooke 03:56 Oh, damn, I pick the shitty stuff. Margaret 04:00 Okay, well, I tried to go with a little bit of, there's not a lot of hope in here. There's a little bit of hope in here. Brooke 04:08 It's funny, because when I was thinking about this, I was like, oh, Margaret should do the happy stuff, because Margaret does Cool People. And I can be the the Roberts Evans, everything's bastards side of the simulation. Margaret 04:20 Okay, well, it's a good thing we're figuring this out right now, on air. Brooke 04:23 Right? Margaret 04:24 Okay. So, we'll start with your month by month and then I'll interject? Margaret 04:28 That's fine. Brooke 04:28 Super fun. Yeah. And like a disclaimer on the month by month is that not all months were created equal. So, it's like, whatever the shittiest thing in one month, maybe, you know, way shittier than next month. That's annoying to like, try and compare them in that way. It was a silly way for me to do it, but.. here we are. Brooke 04:30 All right. flashing back 12 months to January, 2022: America hit a million COVID cases with Omicron surging, so Good job America. COVID ongoing and bad. Margaret 05:04 We're number one. Brooke 05:06 Yeah. The other the other real shitty, horrible thing in January was inflation, which technically was pretty crappy in 2021, as well. But we started feeling it more in January like that's when it started hitting and then was kind of ongoing throughout this year as businesses responded to the inflation, had to start raising prices and stuff. Well, had to...some had to, some chose to because they could get away with it. Margaret 05:34 Should I? I wrote down all the inflation numbers for the end of the year. Brooke 05:39 Yeah, baby. Margaret 05:41 The OECD, which stands for something something something, it's a group of 38 countries that sit around and talk about how great they are, or whatever economic something, something. You think I would have written it down. They do. They calculate inflation for their member countries, based on the Consumer Price index. It averaged. This is as of October, the report in December, talks about it as of October, it averaged about 10.7% overall inflation across these 38 countries in the last year. Food averaged at...I wrote down 6.1%. But, I actually think it was slightly higher than that. I think I typo-ed that. Brooke 06:22 In the US was closer to 8%. Margaret 06:26 Yeah, and then, okay. More developed nations saw this all a little bit lower the G7, which is the Group of Seven, it's the seven countries who have the elite cool kids club, and try and tell everyone what to do. Their overall inflation was 7.8%, as compared to the 10.7%. Inflation in the US actually tapered off most than most other countries, probably because we fuck everyone else over, but I couldn't specifically tell you. Inflation is a bit of a black box that even the people who know what inflation is don't really understand. And, energy inflation in general was the most brutal. Italy saw 70% energy inflation in the last year. It was 58%. In the UK, it was 17% in the US. So energy, inflation is actually outpacing even food inflation. And most of the food inflation, as we've talked about, at different times on this is caused by rising costs of fertilizer and like diesel and things like that. Yeah, that's what I got about inflation. There was a lot of it. It's technically tapering off a little bit in the United States. Just this moment. Brooke 07:41 Yeah, I was actually listening to a economics report about that yesterday about how it's tapering off a little bit. The extra shitty thing that happened in February, which added to the drastically increasing fuel prices and food prices, was that fucking Russia invaded Ukraine,and started bombing shit there. Margaret 08:04 Boo. Brooke 08:06 And that that might win as...if we're taking a poll here of all of the worst things that happened in the last year, I kind of feel like that, you know, that's got to be one of the top three. Margaret 08:16 It's, it's up there. Yeah. Even in terms of its effects on the rest of the world, even like, if you're like, on a, well, what do I care about what two European countries are doing? Because, but it affects the shit out of the global south. Ukraine in particular, and also Russia providing a very large percentage of the grain and wheat that goes to, especially Africa. So, yeah, a lot of the energy inflation in the rest of Europe is also a direct result of Russian imperialism. Brooke 08:47 Yeah, it's pretty...it's fucked up a lot of stuff. There was another shitty thing that happened before that happened in February, which is what the Olympics began. And you know, Boo the Olympics. Yeah. So then we then we moved into March and there was this thing called COVID. And then there was this bad inflation happening and then this war over in Ukraine, but then we also, in Florida decided to pass a bill, the nicknamed 'Don't Say Gay' bill. Margaret 09:18 Yeah. I can't believe that was less than a year ago. That was like eight culture wars ago. Brooke 09:26 I know, because I got some of the other ones coming up here. And it was like, oh, fuck, that's still a thing. And then moving into April, so, there was like this war going on, and inflation was bad, and people were dying of this pandemic that we were living in, and then also, the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial began. And that might not seem like one of the shittiest things, but for like anyone who's been a survivor of domestic violence, and the way that trial it seemed like you know, every social media platform like you were getting like ads for it. Right? I know, other people talked about this, like everyone was seeing all these ads for news reports on it. It was like way at the top of the list. And, you know, again, domestic abuse survivor, like, I don't, I don't need to be reminded about, you know, this awful ongoing domestic abuse trial. Margaret 10:19 Yeah, yeah, that was, um, I like try to avoid everything that has to do with celebrities, but realizing how much that that like, ties into, I don't know, how we all talk about all of this shit. I have nothing really clever to say besides like, oh, my God, it's so fucked up. And I don't trust mainstream discourse around any of it. Yeah, Brooke 10:39 For sure. We also saw because of climate issues, Lake Mead was dropping to dangerously low levels, starting all the way in April. And I feel like we could have done this whole episode on climate catastrophes that happened in the last year, like This Year in the Apocalypse could have just been climate change. It was a lot. Margaret 11:00 Yes, well, fortunately that will start overriding everything else over the next couple of years. So, you know....One or the other just to Lake thing on my note, Lake Powell, which provides power to 4.5 million people could reach minimum power pool status by July [2023]. So that's a that's an upcoming thing to look forward to. Brooke 11:29 Yay, for the year ahead. Yeah, I don't even know what the status of Lake Mead is right now. I'm sure it's not doing great. And we'll probably start hearing about it again in the spring as it's at dangerously low levels, find more bodies and boats and whatever else. Margaret 11:46 And they're both. Both are on the Colorado River. Yeah, they're both on the Colorado River. Brooke 11:51 Yeah. And if you're not familiar with why Lake Mead matters, John Oliver actually did a really good piece on it on his show that talks about the water rights and stuff. I think it was John Oliver. Maybe it was John Stewart. Margaret 12:07 And if you want to read a terrible...a very good, although misogynist dystopia about what's coming in terms of water rights, there's a book called "The Water Knife" by Paulo [Bacigalupi], whose name last name I don't know how to pronounce. It's an Italian name. I think yeah, Brooke 12:21 I actually have that on my to-read-shelf. Margaret 12:23 Yeah, it's, um, that man should not be allowed to write sex worker characters ever again. Brooke 12:29 Thank you for the notice there on what to expect on that aspect. Margaret 12:34 But other than that, other than that, it's very interesting book. Brooke 12:40 Okay. May brought us a couple of big bad shootings, which is, you know, not again, not to diminish any other school shootings or shootings that happened or the fact that they're going on, you know, all the time in schools, but they were the ones that like, hit the news, really big. There was the Buffalo, New York supermarket shooting that happened. And then the towards the end of the month was that just God awful Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas, that I don't know how everyone else experienced it. But I, as a parent, you know, whose child who's only slightly older than that. It was absolutely horrifying for me and enraging, and I had a lot of feelings about it. And you know, school shootings are always hard to see, but that one in particular... Margaret 13:29 This is the coward cops one, where they kept parents out who were the parents who were trying to like save kids? Brooke 13:33 Yeah, for like 72 minutes or something like that, more than that they were outside the door where the guy was actively shooting on children. Margaret 13:41 This is...the character of American law enforcement was laid bare on that day, is how I feel. I mean, I have many feelings on all of it, but... Brooke 13:53 And that was in Uvalde, Texas, where they have two separate police systems. There is a police system just for the schools there in addition to the town's police. Margaret 14:07 There was that, uh, there was that lawsuit 10,15,20 years ago, something, where a man who was like, I think it was someone who's like stabbing people on the train, you know, just like, just just doing that thing. And, and a man stopped him, stopped the stabby guy while the cops cowered in behind, like they went into, like the driver's compartment of the train, and they just hid from the stabby guy. And the the guy stopped the stabby guy sued...I might have the details of this wrong. Sued and was like, the police have a duty to protect people. And it came back, the judge is like, "Actually they don't, it is literally not the jobs. The police's job is not to protect you. That is not their job." And, the sooner we all realize that the safer we'll be, because the more people will realize that safety is something that we're going to have to build without the infrastructure that pretends to offer a safety, but absolutely does not. And legally is not required to. Brooke 14:21 Yeah, I didn't know all the backstory of that. But, I know that that one went to the Supreme Court. And that became, you know, the national standard, because I remember reading about that part of it that, yeah, they don't, they don't have they don't have a duty to protect. Margaret 15:27 I think it was the stabby guy on the train. But I, you know, I'm not like a classic thing rememberer, it's not like my skill set. I didn't put my points in character creation in memory. Brooke 15:41 Well important thing there is was the the outcome of that. The other big bad shooting I remember making the news pretty loudly this year was also the Highland Park Parade shooting that actually happened in July. So that was a couple of months later. But yeah, good times. Guns. Margaret 15:58 Hurray. [sadly] Brooke 15:59 All right. So, we moved into June. And a couple of things are going on, on the global stage. Flooding began in Pakistan. And that flooding continued for a couple of months. We talked about this on one of our This Month, episodes, and even to right now, there is still flooding. And that flooding that did occur, you know, has displaced 1000s, if not millions of people. And it's really, really fucked things up and continues to fuck things up in Pakistan. Margaret 16:25 And I would say that flooding in general, is one of the things that we're seeing more and more of all over the world. And it's one of the things that like...I think a lot of people and maybe I'm just projecting, but you know, I grew up thinking of floods as sort of a distant thing. And then actually where I lived, most recently, we all had to leave because of constant flooding as climate changed. And I think that floods need to be something....It's the opposite of quicksand. When you're a kid you think about quicksand is like this thing to like, worry about, and then you grow up and realize that like quicksand is like not...don't worry about quicksand. That's not part of your threat modeling. And, so I think that flooding is something that whether or not it was on something that you were really worried about, wherever you live, it is something that you should pay attention to. It's not like, a run out and worry, right. But, it's a thing to be like more aware of, you know, there was recent...New Years in San Francisco and Oakland, there was really bad flooding. And then again, a couple of days later, might still be going on by the time people listen to this, but I'm not actually sure. And you know, there's the footage of people running out with like boogie boards or surfboards or whatever into the streets and, and playing in the flood. And, I'm not actually going to sit here on my high horse and tell people to never go into floodwater, you shouldn't, it is not a thing you should do, but it is a thing that people do. But I think people don't recognize fast moving currents, how dangerous they are, just how dangerous floods are, no matter how they look. And, if there's more than a foot of water, don't drive through it. Brooke 17:58 Yeah, if you're not experienced with floods, those are things you wouldn't know. So I have, you know, you said, that wasn't a big thing in your childhood, but because of where I live, it you know, I don't know if this is true of all the Pacific Northwest, but certainly, in my town, flooding is a big concern, we''re right on a river, and when there was bad rainstorms back in 96', like most of downtown got flooded. I mean, I was I was a kid then. I was I was a youth. And that experience, you know, kind of informed some of my youth, you know, we had a lot of lessons learned about how to manage flooding, what you do and don't do inflooding. So that's something that's been in the forefront of my mind. And yeah, as I see other people dealing with flooding for the first time in the news, it's like, oh, no, no, you don't. No. That's bad. Don't do that. Don't go in those waters. But it's their first time. They wouldn't know. Margaret 18:53 Yeah. Unless you were like, directly saving something or someone, especially someone, and then even then you have to know what you're doing. You know, they're a bigger deal, even smaller ones are a bigger deal than you realize, I guess is the thing to say about floods. Anyway, so Okay, so where are we at? Brooke 19:10 We're still in June, because there was, you know, in addition to the inflation, and the flooding, and the heat waves, and the war going on, and people dying of a pandemic, this little thing happened in the US where the Supreme Court's overturned a little a little old law called Roe v. Wade. Margaret 19:29 That was about two different ways of interacting with water? [joking] Brooke 19:33 Yes, exactly. Ties, ties, right and flooding there. Yeah. It was just a minor... Margaret 19:39 Yeah, that's my joke about people losing their capacity to control their own bodies. Just a little light hearted joke. Very appropriate. Brooke 19:48 As a person with a uterus, I genuinely can't...i can't joke about that one. Like, it's just too close to home. Margaret 19:54 Yeah, fair enough. I'm sorry. Brooke 19:57 No, it's I'm glad that you are, because it is good to laugh about these things that are actually very upsetting. It's how, it's part of our, you know, grieving process, how we deal with it as being able to laugh a little bit. Margaret 20:08 Yeah. Yeah, although and then, you know, okay, so we've had this like, fight, you know, America's polarizing really hard about a lot of very specific issues: people's ability to control the reproductive systems being a very major, one people's ability to control their hormonal systems and the way they present being another one, I'm sure I'll talk about that more. And, you know, the, the weirdly positive thing that happened this week that I started writing notes about, but didn't finish, is about how there's now...they're changing the laws about how the accessibility of abortion pills and so that they're going to be available in more types of stores for more people in the near future. This will not affect people who are in abortion ban states. So it's this polarization, it's becoming easier to access reproductive health and control in some states, and it's becoming harder and illegal to access it in other states. My other like, positive...It's not even a positive spin. It's the glint of light in the darkness is that abortion was illegal for a very long time in the United States, and people did it, and had access to it and not as well, and it is better when it is legal. Absolutely. But underground clinics existed. And people did a lot of work to maintain reproductive health. And now we have access to such better and safer tools for reproductive health, whether you know, it's access to abortion pills, or just everything about reproductive health has...we know a lot more about it as a society than at least medical and Western, you know, methods of abortion. We know a lot more about than we did a couple decades ago. And then, the other big thing that I keep thinking about...so there was the Jane Collective, right, in the US is I'm just like moving into history mode. Is that annoying? Brooke 22:06 Go for it. Margaret 22:07 Teah. It's my other fucking podcast, all history and so like there's the Jane Collective in the US. And they were really fucking cool. And they provided all these abortions to people in Chicago, and they actually pioneered a lot of methods of abortion and pushed forward a lot of important shit, right? In the 1920s, in Germany, anarchists ran more than 200 abortion clinics. Basically, if you wanted an abortion in 1920s, Germany, you went to the syndicalists, you went to the anarcho syndicalists. And because they sat there, and they were like, "Oh, a large amount of crime needs to be done on an organized fashion. And what is anarcho syndicalism? But a way to organize crime?" In this case, usually it's like class war against bosses and illegal strikes and stuff. But, "How do we organize that on a large scale?" And the anarchists were the ones who had the answer answers to, 'How do you organize crime on a large scale,' and I want to know more about that information. I haven't found that much about it in English yet. But, that kind of thing gives me hope. It gives me hope that we can, it's better when it is legal, I'm not being like, this is great, you know, it's fucked up, but we can do this. And, you know, on this very podcast, if you listen to one of the Three Thieves, Four Thieves? Some Number of Thieves Vinegar Collective, Margaret, famous remember of details, they they talk about their work, developing reverse engineering or making accessible, different abortion drugs and how to basically like, create them, and get them to where they need to be, regardless of the legality of those things. But, you might have more to say about this, too. I just wanted to go into history mode. Brooke 23:50 No, I I liked that. And yeah, you did those episodes in a few different ways about it that are super important. I mean, I don't think I need to rehash why Roe is so important. We we know that, you know, and it's not just about reproductive rights for people with uteruses, either. It's about the trends towards you know, bodily autonomy and regulation of bodies. And you know, what that signals as well, it's an issue for everybody. Margaret 24:17 Yeah. And remember, like at the very beginning, some people were like, they might be coming for birth control next, and everyone's like, Nah, they're not coming for birth control. And now you can see the same, the same right wing people who are like, "We should probably just kill the gay people." They like say it and city council meetings. They're also being like, "And birth control on my right, like, fuck that thing?" Brooke 24:36 Yeah. Frustrating. Margaret 24:39 Yeah. Get it out of someone's cold dead hands. Brooke 24:45 Yeah, this is one of those things where the months don't necessarily compare. Yeah. Margaret 24:49 There's that meme....Go ahead. I'm sorry. No, go. Brooke 24:52 We...you know there were historic heat waves going on. Continued flooding and droughts. And all kinds of climate nastiness. And then in, in Tariff Island, we saw a whole bunch of British officials resign, and then Boris Johnson resigning, which, you know, fuck the government and all of those kinds of things, and fuck that guy. But, it did also lead into this, what has been kind of a lot of turmoil in the UK as they've gone through now a couple of different prime ministers and just like, you know, just the the, the sign of the crumbles of how just overwhelmingly corrupt political leaders are, you know, at this point in so called, you know, democratic and stable democracies, that, you know, they're falling apart too. Margaret 25:39 Now, that's a good point. Um, what year did that lady I didn't like die? What day? What month? Queen? Brooke 25:48 I didn't put down the month because that's a happy thing that happened, not a shitty thing. Margaret 25:51 I know. Remember positive things about 2022. And like, stadiums full of like, Irish folks being like, "Lizzie's in a box. Lizzie's in a box." There's like some positive things. Brooke 26:08 I might rewatch some of those after this, just for a little pick me up. Margaret 26:11 Yeah. The people dancing in front of the palace, anyway. Yeah. I don't like colonialism or monarchy. I don't know if anyone knew this about me. Brooke 26:20 Yeah. No, same. I've been trying to explain to my kid about why Queen Elizabeth was bad. And she's having a hard time. Because, you know, children and fantasies and stories and kings and queens, and blah, blah, blah. Margaret 26:32 Yeah. Which is the fucking problem. Brooke 26:34 Yeah, a similar kind of thing happened in August in terms of like, you know, unstable, so supposedly stable governments, in that the the FBI had to raid Mar-a-Lago and Trump which, again, fuck Trump and the FBI and the federal government and all of that, but as a sign of, you know, our democracies actually not being very sound, and how just grossly corrupt politicians are and stuff, the only way they could get back a bunch of confidential documents and like, nuclear related stuff was to fucking invade a former president. Yeah. Also in August Yeah. monkeypox started hitting the news, which of course, speaking of culture was, right, that led into a whole bunch of stuff about, you know, a bunch of anti-gay stuff and reminders of what the AIDS epidemic was like, and just a whole bunch of fucking nonsense up in the news because of that. Margaret 27:32 God, I barely remember that. Brooke 27:34 Right, I think we did it on an episode, a This Month episode. Margaret 27:38 I mean, I remember it now. It's just there's so much. There's so much. Yeah. Yeah. Brooke 27:44 So September brought us protests starting to erupt in Iran. Finally. There was a woman, Masha Amini, who was arrested, you know, they had been doing caravans, were doing these crackdowns and the morality police and stuff. And so that was the start of a bunch of turmoil there that went on for at least three months. It's finally settled down some last month. But that was going on, and then also towards the end of the month hurricane Ian hit in Florida. So, not to make it all about the climate. But again, historic hurricanes and flooding and stuff. Margaret 28:19 Yeah. And these things are related to each other. I mean, like, as you have global insecurity caused by climate, it's going to show all of the cracks in the systems and like, it's hard, because it's like, overall, you know, I see the the attempted revolution, the uprising in Iran is an incredibly positive thing and like reminder of the beauty of the human spirit. And also, like, what happened, the end result of that, that, I don't even want to say, 'end result,' though, right? Because like, every social struggle is going to ebb and flow. And, our action is going to cause reaction. And you know, and whenever people have uprisings, they remember power. They also remember fear, right? And the system is hoping that people remember fear. And the people are hoping that they remember power, you know, and, and it seems impossible to predict which uprisings will lead to fear and which ones will lead to power in terms of even when they're crushed, right? Whether that is the fertile soil for the next rising or whether it you know, has salted the earth to try and keep my metaphor consistent. Brooke 29:43 Nah, mixed metaphors the best. Okay, yeah, it's not a bad thing that people were protesting against what was going on there. It's it's awful that they had to get to that point that the morality police were so bad that they had to start protesting and ongoing conflict and unrest in the Middle East, never ending. Margaret 30:06 And I want to know more. I haven't done enough research on this yet, but another like hopeful thing about, you know, sort of global feminist, radical politics, there's been a recent movement of men in Afghanistan, who are walking out of exams and walking out of different positions that only men are allowed to hold, you know, in schools and things like that, in protest of the fact that of women's disinclusion. Brooke 30:33 Okay, I hadn't heard anything about that. So that's, yeah, We'll have to add that to a This Month, because I want to know more about that too. That sounds really positive. Margaret 30:40 Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know whether it's, you know, happened three times, and it's caught headlines each time or I don't know enough about it to talk about it as a movement. But it matters. That kind of stuff matters. And yeah, it's hopeful. Brooke 30:57 Well, we moved into October and the fall season, and y'all might remember this little one, some South African asshole named Elon Musk, Mosh, Mosk, whatever that guy's name is, Margaret 31:10 He's named after the rodent, the muskrat. Brooke 31:13 Okay, that'll be easy to remember. That guy officially took over at the only social media platform that I don't mostly hate, which is Twitter. A lot of his fucked-up-ness...Nah, he did some of that the first week, that was still in October. And then definitely more came after that. But, he's destroying the microblogging site that we all love so much. Margaret 31:36 Yeah, I will say, my favorite meme that come out of that was basically like, you know what, I've decided that I am okay with Elon Musk being in charge of the exodus of all the rich people to Mars. [Laughs] Brooke 31:50 Yes, winning. Do that quickly. Margaret 31:53 Yeah. He'll fuck it up. Like he fucks everything up. You've seen Glass Onion? Brooke 31:58 Yes, I did. Margaret 32:00 I don't want to like spoil it for people. But, I'll just say that movie did a really good job of pointing out that Elon Musk is just a fucking...is not an intelligent person, is not doing genius things. And it was pointed out really well. Brooke 32:15 Can I point out something embarrassing? Margaret 32:17 Absolutely, it's just you and I here. Brooke 32:21 No one will ever know. I didn't realize when I watched it that that guy was supposed to be a parody of like Elon Musk specifically. I thought it was just like generic, you know, rich people are terrible. And then it wasn't till like after I watched it, and everyone else started watching it and commenting that it was Musk and I was like, "Oh, damn, obviously it is." Margaret 32:42 Yeah, it's the like, the car thing and the space thing are the main nods. I mean, it's at the same time. It could be Bezos it could be any fucking, like tech billionaire asshole. But I think it was, I think it was intentionally Musk. Brooke 32:56 Yeah, I've got to rewatch it with that in mind. I was too busy going, "Oh, it's that guy. It's that actor or actress. Someone I know that person. Enjoy the characters. Yeah. That was a thing that happened in December, but we haven't done November, so November, Powerball made some poor asshole into a billionaire. So I feel bad for that guy. Yeah. So the Powerball, nobody had won it for like three months, and the pot got up to like $2 billion. And a single a single person had the winning ticket when it was finally pulled. Which, if they take the cash payout, which I think most people do, it's actually only $1 billion. And then, probably the government takes that. So you're only half a billionaire, probably by the time all is said and done. But still, that's, you know, what a way to fuck up the rest of your existence by suddenly having that much money. Margaret 33:51 I'm like, I'd take a shot. Brooke 33:56 I like to think, you know, I have this list of all these nice things that I would do and people I would support and love, but the evidence bears out that anyone who's ever won something like that doesn't make all the great choices. Margaret 34:09 No, no. Okay. Yeah, I think you need to have a council of people who direct...I think that any anarchist who's like, possibly going to end up rich, like, whether through inheritance or becoming the next Stephen King or whatever needs to, like, seriously consider how the dealing with that money should be a collective effort and not an individual effort. Anyway. Brooke 34:35 I agree. Yeah. Margaret 34:36 I went through this when, at one point, I did not get...I did not become a millionaire. But, at one point, Hollywood was interested in one of my my books, and we had long conversations about it. I had conversations with the Hollywood director around it, about whether or not they would adapt a certain book of mine into a TV show. And it didn't work out in the end. But, I like sat there and mathed it out and was like, oh, if they make it TV show out of my book, I will become a millionaire. And like, what would that mean? And, and so that's when I started having these, like, which just totally the same as winning the Powerball and having a billion dollars, and also not just not my weird...I don't know, whatever. Now everyone knows this. Brooke 35:16 I don't think that's a unique thing. Yeah, so that happened in November. And that sucks. And it didn't make the news the way it should have. So I just wanted to highlight that horribleness. And then, also that orange clown douchebag potato that lives in Florida, said that he's going to run for president again. So, we have that to look forward to. But, then the third thing that happened, which isn't just isolated to November, but the World Cup started, and I have nothing against football, love football, the World Cup as a concept. Fine, but there are so many problems, much like the Olympics, with the way they do it. And what happens around all that. Margaret 36:00 Yeah, yeah, I love...I love that I should be able to like a lot of things. And then the way that they're done by our society precludes me from really deeply enjoying them. Brooke 36:10 Why do you have to take such a nice thing and ruing it. Margaret 36:13 All things. All things. You could name anything, and we could talk about how capitalism and fucking imperialism ruined it. Brooke 36:20 Yeah, pretty much. Down with those systems. Alright, so now we're finally getting into the end. You'll remember this one, because it was only like a month ago that there were some targeted attacks in North Carolina on power stations. 40,000 people without power for several days, in fact, it wasn't like a quick fix thing. They really fucked some shit up there. One that I didn't hear about, but that has some pretty big implications is that the country of Indonesia banned sex outside of marriage, even for foreigners living in their country, and stuff. Brooke 36:54 Yeah. So, I don't know if the ramifications for that are. I didn't dig deeper into like, what is the consequence of you doing that. But you know, Indonesia's massive. I mean, that populations huge. Margaret 36:54 I had no idea. Margaret 37:05 Yeah, Lousiana just banned, as of I think January 1, you're not allowed to access porn on the internet from Louisiana without showing a government ID to the website. Which, means that now everyone, basically they passed a law saying you have to install a VPN in order to access porn in Louisiana. Brooke 37:27 That's madness. Margaret 37:29 Yeah, and it fucks up sex workers, right? Like any of this stuff, any of this bullshit, it always just fucks sex workers. Brooke 37:39 Yeah, they become the victims of the law, even though they're not, they're not the bad guys here. And in porn, they're never the bad guys, Pro sex workers. My last horrible thing that happened in December was that China decided to just completely give up on all of its COVID protocols that it spent the whole year continuing to be super restrictive, and have lock downs and all of that. And then all of a sudden, it's just like, "No, we're not gonna do any of that anymore." Oh, just a great way to change policy is just to stop completely all of a sudden. Yeah. Margaret 38:15 I just think it's really funny, because it's like, what? Sometimes people like really talk about how they want like a multipolar world where there's like, it's like what people use to defend the USSR, right, is that they're like, well, at least, there was someone competing with the US or whatever. But, when I think about COVID response, there was always like the US response, which was absolute dogshit. And then there was the Chinese response, which was like, too authoritarian and caused a lot of suffering and all of these things, but, was not a non response. And now, that one has fallen as well. And there's just like, I mean, there's more countries than the US and China. I'm reasonably sure. I couldn't promise. So, hurray, we're in it. We're just in it. That's...this is just COVID world now. It's COVID's world. We just live in it. Brooke 39:13 Yeah, exactly. So I think you had some, like bigger overarching trends of things that happened in 2022. Margaret 39:21 A lot of the stuff I have is a little bit like what we have to look forward to. Brooke 39:26 Oh, nice. Margaret 39:27 Just some like nice, light stuff. The National Farmers Union in the UK says that the UK is on the verge of a food crisis. Brooke 39:35 Great. Margaret 39:36 Yields of tomatoes and other crops, especially energy intensive ones like cucumbers and pears are at record lows. And there's already an egg shortage in the UK, and a lot of places where there were stores are rationing sales of eggs, you can only buy so many eggs at any given time. And, it's not because there's no chickens. It's that rising costs of production have convinced more and more farmers...it's a capitalism thing in this like really brutal way. It's the markets logic, right? If it costs too much to produce a thing, don't produce it. But, when the thing you do is produce food, there's some problems here. Brooke 40:13 Are there? Margaret 40:14 And I mean, I'm a vegan. And I got to admit, when I hear things like, they're cutting back beef production, because it costs too much. I'm like, that's good. That is good for animals. And that is good for the climate. However, that's not being replaced with more of other types of foods. So it's not necessarily good. Brooke 40:33 And if Casandra were here, and she has very restrictive things on what she can eat, because of her health, she would be jumping in to say, "But protein!" because she needs to be able to have access to that. Margaret 40:45 No, totally. And I'm not trying to, I'm not like specifically pushing for a vegan world. And I recognize that everyone's bodies are different, and have different needs around a lot of things. But, I do think that data shows fairly clearly that the level of animal agriculture that we do, especially in centralized ways, across the world is a major driver of climate change. And, it is a major driving of a lot of really bad stuff. It's just a very inefficient way to produce food for a large number of people. This is different at different scales. And I am not, I'm not specifically trying to advocate for...Yeah, I don't think a vegan world is a good or just idea. I think it is perfectly natural for people to eat animals. However, I think that there's both needless suffering that can be cut back and as well as like, just specifically from a climate change point of view. So... Brooke 41:39 I hear you. Margaret 41:39 That said, UK, dealing with egg shortage. Basically, farmers might stop selling milk because of production...that it cost so much to produce the milk. Not like, I'm sure there's still farmers who are going to produce milk. But, more and more farmers are stopping. Beet farmers are considering the same. There's also just literally about 7000 fewer registered food production companies in the UK than three years ago. Brooke 42:04 Wow. Margaret 42:05 Because at least in the UK, fertilizer costs have tripled since 2019. And diesel costs are up at about...both feed and diesel costs are up about 75% from what they were before. Shortages. The infant formula shortage might last until Spring according to one major formula producer. We very narrowly avoided a major disruption as a result of a diesel shortage in the United States recently. Basically, they like brought more diesel plants...I don't know the word here, refineries? Refineries, like online kind of at the last minute, like because there was going to be like really major disruptions in the way that we move food and other things around the United States because of diesel shortages. Let's see what else... Brooke 43:00 Have...I'm super curious here, have food shortages in the UK ever caused problems of any kind? It seems like that's not a big deal. Like they're...they can deal with that. Right? That hasn't killed anyone, right? Margaret 43:10 Ireland's not part of the United Kingdom. [laughs] Yeah, yeah. No, it's okay. I mean, it's interesting, because like, modern farming has really changed the face of famine. Famine used to be a very common part of...I can actually only speak to this in a very limited context, it's like something that came up in my history research, like Napoleon, the middle one, or whatever. I can't remember. Probably the second, maybe the third I'm not sure. The Napoleon who like took over and like 1840...8? Someone is mad at me right now. In France, who modernized Paris and made it like, impossible to build barricades and shit. Brooke 43:52 We can FaceTime, Robert, real quick and find out. Margaret 43:55 Yeah, yeah, totally. And, but one of the things that he did, or rather, that happened under his reign as a part of 19th century development, is that famine had been a very major common regular part of French life. And it ceased to be, and famine is something that the modern world, developed parts of the modern world, have been better at minimizing as compared to like, some historical stuff. Obviously, a lot of this just gets pushed out into the developing world. And you know, famine is a very major part of a great number of other countries' existence. But, I think that people get really used to the idea that famine doesn't really happen. And it does, and it can again, and it's similar what you're talking about, like we have this like, kind of unshakable faith in our democracies. But, they are shakable they, they they shake. Brooke 43:56 They've been shooked. Margaret 44:48 Yeah, they're They are not stirred. They're shaken. Okay. Okay, so other stuff: Pfizer's currently working on an RSV vaccine. I consider that positive news. My news here is about a month old. It's been given the like, go ahead for further studies and shit and, and that's very promising because we're in the middle of a triple-demic or whatever. But there's actually been as a weird positive thing. I mean, obviously, we've learned that society does not know how to cope with pandemics. But, one thing is we have learned a lot more about a lot of health stuff as a result of this, you know, and the types of new vaccines that people are able to come up with now are very, they're very promising. And a fun news, as relates to the climate change thing that's happening, more and more Americans are moving to climate at risk areas. Specifically, people are leaving the Midwest. And they're moving to the Pacific Northwest and Florida. And these are two of the least climatically stable from a disaster point of view areas in the United States. Brooke 46:04 Okay. Margaret 46:05 Specifically, specifically because of wildfire in the Pacific Northwest, and hurricanes in Florida. Also earthquakes on the West Coast and things like that, but specifically wildfire. And also within those areas, a thing that causes...humans have been encroaching into less developed areas at a greater rate. And this is part of what causes, obviously the fires are getting worse out west as a result of climate change, but it's also the way in which new communities are developed out west that is causing some of the worst damages from fires. So yeah, everyone's moving to those places. That's not a good idea in mass. I'm not telling individuals who live in those places to leave. And there's actually, you know, the Pacific Northwest has some like stuff going on about fairly stable temperature wise, and for most climate models, but this is part of why disasters are impacting more and more Americans as people are leaving the places to move to places where it's greater risk. Yeah, there's this map, just showing where people are leaving and where people are going to. And it's actually, there are other places that people are going to that would have surprised me like, Georgia, North Carolina, parts of Tennessee, like kind of like Southern Appalachian kind of areas, like more and more people are moving towards, and more and more people are leaving upstate New York, which really surprised me. But, and more people are leaving North Texas and moving to Southeast Texas, or like the general eastern part of Texas is growing very rapidly. Okay, what else have I got? Taiwan has set up a set group called the Doomsday Preppers Association, which is just sick, because it's called the Doomsday Preppers Association. And it's like, not a wing nut thing. And they have a wing nut name which rules, I'm all for it. There's about 10,000 people or so who are organizing together to prepare for natural disasters, and also to prepare for the potential invasion from China. Which, China's back to threatening to, to do that. And it's but, it's like people just like getting together to like, build networks, learn radios, and just like, be preppers, but in a, like, normalized way, and it's fucking cool. And, I'd love to see it here. Okay. What else? I don't have too many notes left. Florida, is expected to have major wildfires starting in 2023 according to the National Interagency Fire Center report, as well as Georgia, New Mexico and Texas. I'm willing to bet that New Mexico and Texas in particular, and probably Georgia, that's probably...those are very big states with very different bio regions within them. And, so I couldn't point you, if you live in one of those places, you might want to look for the National Interagency Fire Center Report, and read more about it. Brooke 48:56 Speaking of moving, it's a great time to get the fuck out of Florida. With like, I could have done almost every month something just atrocious happened in Florida. Margaret 49:06 Yeah. And one of the things that, you know, we talked a little bit about the culture war stuff. One of the things that's happened in 2023, overall, is that we've started to see more political refugees from within the United States to the United States. We have seen a lot of trans families, or families of trans children, have had to leave states where their providing medical care for their children has become criminal. Obviously also with the end of Roe v. Wade, a lot of people have had to change which state they live in. Although, I don't like doing this like comparison thing, because it's just fucked for everyone, but you can you can vacation your way out of pregnancy. You know? Brooke 49:50 I don't know that I've heard it described that way, but... Margaret 49:54 But if you want to be a 13 year old on hormone blockers, or whatever that you need in order to stay safe, a lot of people are moving, and a lot of people can't move. And there's really complicated questions that we all have to ask ourselves right now about like, stay and go. And like, like stay and fight, versus get the fuck out. And everyone's gonna have to make those questions differently. Okay, another positive thing a weird, like positive tech thing... Brooke 50:20 Yay positive. Margaret 50:22 So like I own, and I recommend it to people who spend a lot of time off grid or out outside the range of cell service. I own like a Garmin satellite communicator, it's a little tiny device, it looks like a tiny walkie talkie. And it can talk to satellites. And I can like text from anywhere in the world, I can see the sky, whether or not I have cell service. And more importantly than that, I can send an SOS. And these are fairly expensive things, they cost a couple hundred dollars. And then you have to sign up for service. And they make sense for people who are like backpacking a lot or driving in areas where there's no, you know, service or whatever, right? New new phones, specifically the iPhone 14, I hate to be like, I'm not telling everyone to run out get new phone, but as a trend is very positive, that some new phones have this already built in. So you won't need to have a separate device. And I think that is a very positive thing from a prepper point of view, to have access to a way to communicate when cell service is not there. Yeah, that is really important. And I have one final thing and it's very positive. Brooke 51:29 Okay, I'm ready. Margaret 51:30 It's actually a double edged sword. On January 5, I'm cheating. This was in 2023. On January 5, 2023, this current year, like last week, yesterday, as we record this, two assholes in Bakersfield, California tried to set an Immigration Services Center on fire, like it was a center that like, um, I mean, ironically, it helped undocumented folks or like immigrant folks pay income taxes, and like helped people navigate the paperwork of being immigrants, you know, because there's actually something that people don't know, all these like, right wing pieces of shit, is that like, undocumented people, like, many of them pay taxes. I don't know. Whereas a lot of the people who like to talk all kinds of shit about undocumented people, don't pay taxes. Anyway, whatever. What were you gonna say? Sorry. Brooke 52:16 Oh, just this, that as an economist, as a group, undocumented people pay more into the system than they as a group take out of the system. Margaret 52:25 That makes a lot of sense. So, there's an Immigration Services Center. Two assholes, tried to set it on fire. They set themselves on fire, fled the scene on fire and left their cell phone at the scene. The reason it's double edged is, because one it sucks that people attack this and they actually did do damage to the center as well, mostly to some equipment used by someone who ran I believe a carwash out of that shared some space or whatever. But yeah, they like poured accelerant everywhere. And then a guy just like, knelt down over the pool of accelerant and like, lit it. And then just like, his, like, his leg was on fire. So, his friend ran over to help and like got caught on fire too. And then, they just both like, ran out of range of, because it's all caught on camera, you know? And fuck them. And I hope that their fucking wounds are horrible. And by the time you listen to this, they were probably caught because they left their fucking phone there. And fuck them. That's my light news. Brooke 53:36 I'll take it. Margaret 53:37 Okay, what are you excited for, looking forward? Go ahead. Sorry. Brooke 53:40 Well, hopefully more fascists are gonna light themselves on fire and other types of right wing assholes. I mean, I would be very happy about that happening in 2023 Margaret 53:48 Yeah. May this be the year of Nazis on fire. Brooke 53:54 Yes. Agreed. That would be lovely. I don't know about...I don't know if I have a lot of global stuff that I thought about being positive. I have. I have like personal stuff, like I am going to be doing...hosting more these podcast episodes. I've got one coming up. Maybe this month, we're releasing it? But I did it all by myself. Yeah, more lined up to come out in the next couple of months and some really cool topics and people that I get to chat with. So I'm stoked about that. Margaret 54:21 That is also something I'm excited about for 2023 is that this podcast is increasingly regular and it is because of the hard work of me...No, everyone else. Is the hard work of everyone else who works on this show are like really kind of taking the reins more and more and it is no longer, it's no longer the Margaret Killjoy Show and I'm very grateful and I believe you all will too. And if you're not grateful yet, you will be, because there'll be actual other voices, like ways of looking at things and and more of it because, you know, one person can only do so much. So I'm really grateful for that. Brooke 55:03 I'm excited about this book that's coming out next month, that... Margaret 55:06 Oh, yeah? Brooke 55:07 Some lady I know, wrote it. And, and I got to do some editing work on it. And, it's hilarious and the cover is gorgeous. Margaret 55:17 Is it called "Escape from Incel Island"? Brooke 55:19 Yeah, that one. Margaret 55:22 Is this my plugs moment? Brooke 55:24 Did you know If you preorder it right now, you can get a poster of that gorgeous cover that comes comes with the preordered one? Margaret 55:31 And, did you know that if you preorder it, I get a cut of the royalties when the book is released for all the preorders, which means that I can eat food. Brooke 55:43 Oh, we like it when you get food. Margaret 55:44 And I like having food. Yeah. So, if you go to tangledwilderness.org, you can preorder "Escape from Incel Island" and get a poster. And it's a fun adventure book. You can literally read it in a couple hours. It's very short. It's a novella. It's, to be frank, it's at the short end of novella. But that makes it good for short attention spans like mine. Brooke 56:08 Yeah, that's dope. I'm looking forward to that. And there'll be some other books coming out from that Strangers Collective one, one that I just started editing, that I don't know how much we're talking about it yet or not. Margaret 56:20 It's really cool. Brooke 56:20 So, I won't give too much away here, but just sucked me right in as I was editing, and it's cool. I'm so excited to read the rest of it. And then for us to release it. Margaret 56:29 Yeah. All right. Well, that's our Year in the Apocalypse, 2022 edition. And I know...wait, you're doing the closing part. Brooke 56:40 Yeah, sure. Margaret 56:41 I'm just the guest. Brooke 56:43 No, you're my co host. Margaret 56:45 Oh, I'm just the co host. Okay. Brooke 56:47 Yeah. Yeah. So I'm curious what other people think the worst things are that happened in 2022, if it's something that was on one of our lists, or something else that you know of, and reach out to us like on Twitter at tangledwild or Instagram, or you can reach out to me personally on Mastodon @ogemakwebrooke, if you can find me there. And the Collectiva Social, I think is my whatever, I don't remember how it works. But I'm yeah, I'm curious what other people would have to say is the worst which thing they want to vote for, if they have their own. So hit us up? Let us know. Margaret 57:22 Yeah, do it. Brooke 57:29 So, our listeners, we thank, we appreciate you listening. And if you enjoy this podcast, we would love it if you could give it a like or drop a comment or review or subscribe to us if you haven't already, because these things make the algorithms that rule our world offer our show to more people. The podcast is produced by the anarchist publishing collective Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness. Like I said, you can connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, or me personally on Mastodon, or through our website tangledwilderness.org. The work of Strangers is made possible by our Patreon supporters. Honestly, we couldn't do any of it without your help. If you want to become a supporter, check us out patreon.com/strangersInatangledwilderness. There are cool benefits for different support tiers. For instance, if you support the collective at $10 a month, one of your benefits is a 40% off coupon for everything we sell on our website, which includes the preorders for Margaret's new book, we'd like to give a specific shout out to some of our most supportive patreon supporters including Hoss dog, Miciaah, Chris, Sam, Kirk, Eleanor, Jenipher, Staro, Cat J., Chelsea, Dana, David, Nicole, Mikki, Paige, SJ, Shawn, Hunter, Theo, Boise Mutual Aid, Milica, paparouna, and Aly. Thanks so much. Find out more at https://live-like-the-world-is-dying.pinecast.co

Can we fight fire with fire? The American Lung Association has released a report suggesting that this is a healthy way forward, and our Native communities have used ceremonial burns on our lands for generations. I wanted to talk to someone who lives at the intersection of all of this. For this episode, I was honored to be joined by Bodie Shaw. He is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, and previously served as the national wildland fire director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and has worked as the acting Chief of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, ID. He is a veteran of the US Air Force, and previously taught at Oregon State University. He has lectured widely on tribal interests as they pertain to natural resource management. In 2008, Shaw was the first to participate in an international exchange program between the U.S. and Australian governments and lived Down Under with his family from August 2008 to March 2009 while developing a new trilateral wildland fire/bushfire agreement between the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. He currently serves as the Bureau of Indian Affairs deputy regional director of Trust Services for the Northwest Region. Today, we talk about balancing the perils and the promise of prescribed burns in wildfire-prone areas. To Do Got to Firewise.org to learn how to protect your home and family. Learn more about health impacts from prescribed burns from the ALA report “Can Prescribed Fires Mitigate Health Harm.” Tell your representatives how important it is to ensure a professional and well-funded, year round proactive approach to decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Learn more about the health of our wildland firefighters and outdoor workers by listening to “The Health of Our Heroes” episode from Season One. Learn more about the impact of wildfire smoke and how to keep you and your family safe during smoke events by listening to the “Our Health in Wildfire Season” episode from Season Two. Donate to the American Lung Association who works hard to help navigate challenging health concerns such as their evaluation of health effects of prescribed burns. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit blog post for more information, or go to airhealthourhealth.org. Follow and comment on Facebook page and Instagram. Record a question or comment on the Anchor podcast site or send an e-mail via the website. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/airhealthourhealth/message

National Interagency Coordination Center meteorologists Nick Nauslar and Jim Wallmann explain the difference between prediction and potential for weather forecasting. We discuss day-to-day operations in predicative services at the National Interagency Fire Center, how the National Significant Wildland Fire Potential Outlook is produced, and the significance of communicating fire weather to wildland fire managers, media, and the public. We also hear about anomalies such as fire-generated tornadic vortices increasing in frequency and working on wildfires as an incident meteorologist (IMET).

Potential for significant wildland fire is anticipated to be normal this June, according to the latest forecast from the National Interagency Fire Center. However, that could change later this summer, especially in areas east of the Continental Divide.

Potential for significant wildland fire is anticipated to be normal this June, according to the latest forecast from the National Interagency Fire Center. However, that could change later this summer, especially in areas east of the Continental Divide.

Recorded on May 19, 2022, Sean Peterson, Assistant Center Manager of the National Interagency Coordination Center, or NICC, talks about his career in wildland fire management from firefighter to his current position at the National Interagency Fire Center. We discuss day to day NICC operations – explaining the dispatch system and the role of the air space coordination unit, predicative services, and the intelligence section. Sean talks about working with the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group, or NMAC, on setting national wildfire resources priorities, preparedness levels, and the importance of working with interagency, state, international, and military partners to support not only wildfires nationally but also assisting FEMA during all-hazard/all-risk incidents.

Ken Schmid, Branch Chief of Preparedness and Suppression Support for BLM Fire talks about how he started working in wildland fire management, his position at the National Interagency Fire Center, and his role in the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group, NMAC. From overseeing national radio operations, rural fire readiness, and the military veterans fire crew program, Ken also explains his duties as the NMAC Chair and how NMAC functions - setting national preparedness levels, working with geographic areas and international partners, planning for military support, and how national wildland fire management resources are prioritized.

Jessica Gardetto, Chief, Bureau of Land Management Fire Public Affairs, explains what NIFC is, from interagency support to why and how agencies work together to manage wildfires. We discuss what external affairs does, how we communicate our mission, and some of the challenges and changes we are seeing in our workforce.

It doesn't matter if you're a GS3 or a GS "Fantastic" - This job is stressful! And if you're high up on the chain of command, it doesn't mean you're insulated from these stressors...Today on the show: Josh Simmons stops by for his second time to talk about the stressors everyone experiences with a gnarly fire season, winding down for the off season, the importance of taking a break, and some things he does to blow off some steam.Josh Simmons serves as the Director of Wildland Fire Operations for the BIA, Branch of Wildland Fire Management in Boise, Idaho at the National Interagency Fire Center. Josh currently serves as the Chair of the National Multi Agency Coordinating Group, which provides direction and mobilization of resources nationally for Fire and Non-Fire Incidents. In 2020 Josh began a detail assignment as the Fire Director for the BIA, where he provided overall national direction, policy, and leadership for the BIA's Wildland Fire Management Program.Josh is always down to answer questions, he can be found at the following Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mocha_latte_8/You know the drill...Stay safe, stay savage...Enjoy!..........................Updates!EXCLUSIVE MERCH AVAILABLE!https://anchorpointpodcast.com/store..........................Sponsors:The Anchor Point Podcast is supported by the following wonderful folks...Mystery RanchNeed badass packs? Then look no further than Mystery Ranch!https://www.mysteryranch.comHotshot BreweryWanna pick up our Anchor Point Podcast merch or need killer coffee? Hit up Hotshot Brewery!!!https://www.hotshotbrewing.comThe Smokey GenerationWanna get some history and knowledge on Wildland Fire? Hit up The Smokey Generation!http://wildfire-experience.orgNot a sponsor of The Anchor Point Podcast, but a great organization:The Wildland Firefighter FoundationAnd, as always, please consider supporting this great nonprofit organization - The Wildland Firefighter Foundation!https://wffoundation.org

About 45% of the world has been vaccinated so far.迄今 全球近45%的人口已接种新冠疫苗。More than 3.52 billion people worldwide have received a dose of a Covid-19 Vaccine, equal to about 45% of the world population. But ten months after mass vaccination campaigns began, the global rollout remains unequal.目前，全球超35.2亿人接种了一剂新冠疫苗，约占世界人口的45%。然而在全球大范围、大规模疫苗接种计划实施近十个月后，全球各地疫苗接种情况仍有失平衡。Of the 35 countries that have vaccinated less than 5% of their population, 28 of them are in Africa. Africa has the slowest vaccination rate of any continent, with just 6.7% of the population receiving at least one dose of a vaccine.疫苗接种率不足5%的35个国家中，有28个在非洲。各大洲疫苗接种率排行中，非洲最低，只有6.7%的人口至少接种了一剂疫苗。dose英 [dəʊs]；美[doʊs] n. 剂量；(药的)一剂，一服；vt. 给(某人)服药mass vaccination英 [mæs ˌvæksɪˈneɪʃən]；美[mæs væksəˈneɪʃən] n. 大规模接种；大范围接种；群体接种Fawn Fire triggers evacuations in Northern California加州北部“小鹿山火”肆虐 民众大面积撤离Thousands of people are under evacuation orders in the Mountain Gate area of Northern California due to the Fawn Fire, which is 35% contained, Cal Fire said on Sunday. There are currently 63 large active wildfires throughout California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.美国加利福尼亚州消防局周日表示，“小鹿山火”愈燃愈烈，山门地区数千民众接到疏散指令。目前，山火得以部分控制。根据美国国家跨部门消防中心的数据，目前分布在加利福尼亚州、爱达荷州、蒙大拿州、俄勒冈州和华盛顿州的大规模山火共计63处。Wildfires have affected more than five million acres across the US in 2021, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Wildfire season historically runs from May through October, but wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of acres in the US as early as December 2020. The 2021 wildfire season is forecast to be active as many western regions in North America are experiencing drought and extreme heat.据该中心发布的数据显示，2021年，数场大规模山火已经影响了全美500多万英亩的土地。此前，山火多发季大都居于5月至10月区间，然而去年（2020年）12月，山火依旧肆虐难扼，焚毁了数十万英亩的土地。目前，北美洲西部地区正在经历大面积的干旱和酷热，预计，2021年的山火在多发季将更为频繁。trigger英[ˈtrɪɡə(r)]；美[ˈtrɪɡər] vt.触发；引起；发动；扣动（枪的扳机）n.触发器；（枪的）扳机；（有害现象的）起因evacuation英[ɪˌvækju'eɪʃ(ə)n；美[ɪˌvækju'eɪʃ(ə)n] n.疏散；撤离；抽空forecast英[ˈfɔːkɑːst]；美[ˈfɔːrkæst] n.预测；预报vt.预测；预报Port in upper Yangtze River region begins operations长江上游码头重庆新生港今日开港Chongqing's Xinsheng Port, the first 10,000-metric-ton port in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, began operations on Wednesday.重庆新生港是长江上游首个万吨级港口，现于9月29日正式开港运营。The port, located between the Xiangshuixi and Xiushuixi rivers on the northern bank of the Yangtze in Chongqing's Zhongxian county, is 220 kilometers from the municipality's downtown waterway and 437 kilometers from the Yichang waterway in Hubei province.该港口位于重庆忠县长江段北岸香水溪至秀水溪江段，距重庆主城区航道里程220公里，距湖北宜昌航道437公里。The entire project, with a total investment of 5 billion yuan ($774.6 million), covers an area of 3.2 square kilometers and occupies 2,220 meters of coastline. It has 14 berths. Annual throughput is 25 million tons.港口建设总投资50亿元（7.746亿美元），规划用地3.2平方公里，占用海岸线2,220米，有14个泊位，年吞吐量可达2,500万吨。upper reach(es)英 [ˈʌpə(r) riːtʃ]；美[ˈʌpər riːtʃ] （江、河的）上游；上游段municipality英 [mjuːˌnɪsɪˈpæləti]；美[mjuːˌnɪsɪˈpæləti] n. 市；自治市；市政当局throughput英 [ˈθruːpʊt]；美[ˈθruːpʊt] n. 吞吐量；产量；接待人数All eyes will be on the upcoming COP15 meetings held in Kunming, Yunnan Province《生物多样性公约》缔约方大会第十五次会议将于昆明召开COP15, the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, will be convened in two parts. The first part will take place in a virtual format, from October 11-15, 2021. The second part will be a face-to-face meeting from April 25 to May 8, 2022.《生物多样性公约》缔约方大会第十五次会议将分两阶段开展：第一阶段会议将于今年10月11日至15日在昆明拉开帷幕，第二阶段将于2022年4月25日至5月8日，以面对面会议的形式开展。With only 4.1 percent of China's total land area, Yunnan has all the types of ecosystems, except ocean and desert. The number of species of each genus there either approaches or exceeds half of the national total. The special geographical location has a complicated terrain and diverse climates that have nurtured the rich biodiversity of Yunnan. It is crowned as the “Kingdom of Animals and Plants.”云南占中国陆地总面积的4.1%。除海洋和沙漠外，云南拥有所有类型的生态系统，各个属的物种数量都接近或超过全国总数的一半。云南地理位置特殊，地形复杂，气候多样，孕育出丰富的生物多样性，因而享有“动植物王国”的美称。Holding the COP15 in Yunnan offers a window into China's biodiversity. It also highlights the country's efforts in biodiversity conservation and gives a glimpse of China's endeavors and achievements.大会于云南举办，推开了观察中国生物多样性的窗户，益于展现中国在保护生物多样性方面的付出，让世界看到中国所作的努力以及取得的成就。ecosystem英 [ˈiːkəʊsɪstəm]；美[ˈiːkoʊsɪstəm] n. 生态系统biodiversity英 [ˌbaɪəʊdaɪˈvɜːsəti]；美[ˌbaɪoʊdaɪˈvɜːrsəti] n. 生物多样性glimpse英 [ɡlɪmps]；美[ɡlɪmps] n. 一瞥；一看vt. 瞥见；看一眼；认识到

Public Access America Sunday A.M #LiveStream Noon Eastern 9 A.M Pacific 11 A.M Central#New #Podcast #Episode #Free #BigBrainPod00:00 Brief theme - Shorter theme more show00:30 Hello and welcome - Housecleaning02:00 Dozens of Demonstrators attend DC rally https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetillman/insurrection-defendants-jail-rally-political-prisonersDemonstrators attended a rally supporting those charged in January's riot, but were outnumbered by the media and police, according to AP, ABC and Axios reports. The rally took place one block from the US Capitol in support of the hundreds of people who were charged with crimes after storming the building on January 6, 2021, The Wall Street Journal reports23:00 The next electric car battery is here, and it's cheaper than everhttps://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-09-13/the-next-best-electric-car-battery-is-here-and-it-s-sodium-ion-based?srnd=opinion&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=view&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-viewThere's no shortage of excitement for electric vehicle battery startups or multibillion dollar investments in the industry, as companies, backers and scientists look for the winning play. China, though, is already moving on to the next leg in the race — one that isn't dependent on a big, bold breakthrough — with sodium-ion batteries. Done right, this technology could lead to widespread adoption in a market largely dependent on subsidies and where EV sales are still a fraction of all cars.29:00 Plug power technologies opens European officeand plans to grow, and create 500 tons of green hydrogen by 2025. While Plug has had a European presence for ten years now, The new locations will allow for better collaboration with investors, clients, and supply chains35:00 Firefighters work to protect the Giant Forest trees in Sequoia National ParkFirefighters continue to battle the Colony and Paradise fires — jointly called the KNP Complex fire — on Friday as flames continued to threaten California's Sequoia National Park, according to The Los Angeles Times. Efforts are ongoing to protect the large trees, including the largest tree on Earth known as General Sherman. The giant sequoias can grow well past 200 feet tall and live for thousands of years. These fires are among the latest in a summer full of blazes that have burned more than 3,500 square miles (9,065 square kilometers) and destroyed hundreds of homes throughout the state, AP reports. Across the US, dozens of large fires have burned nearly 3.2 million acres in 2021, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.38:00 Russian elections - Apple and google interfere40:00 Employers are being forced to make salaries public — and that's good news for your paycheckhttps://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/employee-benefits-compensation/1094146/growing-nationwide-emphasis-on-pay-transparency-what-employers-need-to-know-Numerous states and even local governments are not inclined to wait for the federal government to act and have instead begun to pass their own pay equity and transparency laws. Many of these laws prohibit an employer from preventing employees' discussion or disclosure of wages, as well as add a requirement that employers disclose a pay range to potential job applicants. 46:00 Nicki Minaj's COVID-19 vaccine 'swollen testicles' claim is false, says Trinidad health ministerhttps://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/americas/nicki-minaj-vaccine-story-false-scli-intl/index.htmlTrinidad-born Minaj sparked an international furor when she alleged on Twitter that her cousin in Trinidad refuses to get a vaccine because his friend became impotent after being vaccinated. "His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding," Minaj, who has 22.6 million Twitter followers, said on Monday.50:00 Hurricane Nicholas levels homes, trees across South TXHurricane Nicholas spared Houston but left greater destruction south of the city. Photos from around H-Town show downed trees and power lines, which left hundreds of thousands without power throughout the region. As the sun rose Tuesday morning, we got our first look at the damage left behind. (God is not happy with something in Texas. For the entire year Texas has been under a biblical assault of weather and nature. 55:00 SnapChat to unveil newest deception multi-player from ZyngaRevamp is the upcoming multiplayer social deception game from Zynga will be exclusively on Snapchat. 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This week, Betsy Russell of the Idaho Press joins Melissa Davlin to discuss President Joe Biden's trip to Idaho where he visited the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. They discuss the roundtable discussion with officials at NIFC, issues of transparency and media access, and the politics surrounding the event.

Kasper and Chris continue to discuss unfolding controversy around coverage of President Biden's address at the National Interagency Fire Center. They also address the removal of troops from Afghanistan as an investigation into the ordeal gets underway.

Parts of the Northeast could begin to feel the effects of Hurricane Henri as soon as late Saturday, as the storm barrels toward the region of the United States. ———— Afghanistan and Haiti dominated the news this week with stunning images from both countries in chaos. ———— U.S. health experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 booster shots for all Americans eight months after they get their second dose of the vaccine, to ensure longer-lasting protection as the delta variant spreads across the country. ———- Full US Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is expected early next week. ————- Both New York City and San Francisco became the first major cities in the nation to require proof of vaccination against the coronavirus for people to dine inside restaurants, work out in gyms or attend indoor concerts. ————- The skies might not be so smooth because the mask requirement for planes was extended this week from September into January. ——— New Zealand placed its largest city, Auckland, into lockdown for seven days following the first case of Covid-19 in the community since February. ———- Nationally, there are 104 large fires burning, mostly in the West, where drought conditions and red flag warnings continue to fuel the raging wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. ———- Moving vans were at the governor's mansion in Albany on Friday and workers were seen carrying out boxes and artwork as Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepared for his last day in office. The Democrat is scheduled to have a last full day as governor Monday, giving way to Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul at the stroke of midnight. ——- The Biden Administration approved the largest single increase in the history of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and permanent increase in the levels of food aid available to needy families as well as will automatically erase student loan debt for more than 300,000 Americans with severe disabilities that leave them unable to earn significant incomes. ——— Finally, Jeopardy's host Mike Richards announced Friday he is stepping aside immediately amid recent scrutiny over past comments surfaced this week about women, Jews, poor people and Haiti seven years ago while he was co-executive producer of “The Price Is Right” and hosting a podcast called “The Randumb Show.” Richards was chosen last week as the successor to Alex Trebek. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sabah-fakhoury/message

The National Interagency Fire Center reports there were 5 new fire starts in Montana on Monday, prompting minimal initial attacks by federal, state and local firefighters. Two of the fires were contained or controlled by late Monday. Evacuation warnings and orders are in effect in some areas.

The National Interagency Fire Center counts more than 70 wildfires in recent weeks. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington issued a state of emergency and evacuated residents from the town of Nespelem because of an encroaching fire. Meanwhile, heatwaves are scorching much of the western half of the country and weather experts […]

More than 80 large fires are burning in 13 states across the U.S. currently, impacting nearly 1.3 million acres. One of the worst remains in Southern Oregon -- the Bootleg Fire. It has been burning for two weeks and has already scorched an area a third of the size of Rhode Island. Carrie Bilbao with the National Interagency Fire Center joins William Brangham with the latest on the fires. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The National Interagency Fire Center counts more than 70 wildfires in recent weeks. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington issued a state of emergency and evacuated residents from the town of Nespelem because of an encroaching fire. Meanwhile, heatwaves are scorching much of the western half of the country and weather experts say there's more to come. The Spokane Tribe of Indians and Colville tribes established heat shelters for community members who don't have cooling systems in their homes. We'll check in with tribes about these recent climate-related emergencies.

The National Interagency Fire Center counts more than 70 wildfires in recent weeks. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington issued a state of emergency and evacuated residents from the town of Nespelem because of an encroaching fire. Meanwhile, heatwaves are scorching much of the western half of the country and weather experts […]

More than 150 people have died in devastating floods across parts of western Germany and Belgium, as rescue operations and the search for thousands unaccounted for. Flooding has now spread to streets in Switzerland and the Netherlands. ——— The British government threw the holiday plans of tens of thousands of people into disarray Friday night when it reversed plans to open up travel from France because of concerns about a COVID-19 variant circulating in the country. As infections rise, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered all health care workers to get virus vaccine shots by Sept. 15 and mandated special COVID-19 passes to go to a restaurant or a shopping mall. The new measures come amid worries over the delta variant. On Friday, The Eiffel Tower reopened in Paris for the first time in nine months as France introduced new restrictions to tame the delta variant. Visitors 18 and older will have to show a pass proving vaccination, a negative coronavirus test or recent recovery from the virus to visit the tower. Daily capacity is restricted to 10,000 people a day, with elevator capacity to 50% and masks will be required. Health care workers in Greece will be suspended if they refuse to get vaccinated under a new mandatory policy announced Monday by the country's prime minister. In March, Italy was first in Europe to make COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all health workers ———- For the second time in less than three months, an exploding oxygen canister has caused a lethal fire in a Covid-19 hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, killing nearly 100 people. ——— Los Angeles County returned to an indoor masked mandate on Thursday this week after Covid cases doubling in 3 weeks in this country. The new order will require everyone, regardless of whether they are vaccinated, to wear face coverings in most indoor public places. It takes effect at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday. Some 1,537 new cases were confirmed on Thursday, according to county health officials, an 83% increase over the previous week. Seven counties in the Bay Area issued recommendations that residents wear masks indoors, even if they are fully vaccinated, citing rising Covid-19 infections and the rapid spread of the Delta variant. Two Northern California counties—Sacramento County and neighboring Yolo County—took the same step earlier this week. ———- Wildfires that torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate burned across 10 parched Western states on Tuesday, and the largest, in Oregon, threatened California's power supply. Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires. ———- A pool deck suspected of being at the root of the Champlain Towers South building collapse in Surfside, Florida had been a problem for more than 25 years, according to a newly disclosed permit. Also on Wednesday, nearly two dozen 911 calls were released by the Miami-Dade Police Department. You can hear the confusion and disbelief among residents and neighbors after the partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in the beachside town of Surfside, Florida, in the early hours of June 24. Frantic 911 calls came in from residents who were trapped inside after approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex's 136 units were destroyed in the collapse at around 1:15 a.m. A judge has decided that the land can be sold. The expected sale could bring $100 million dollars, which will go to the families of the victims. —— The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is instructing airlines to inspect their Boeing 737 fleet for faulty altitude pressure switches that could potentially pose a safety risk. ——- Two recalls were announced by Johnson & Johnson for five of their sunscreens and Ford for Explorers built 2013-2017. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sabah-fakhoury/message

Good Morning, Colorado, you're listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It's Friday July 16th.   Some areas of Colorado's Front Range have been hit harder than others by COVID-19.  In many cases, those neighborhoods are communities of color or made up of low-income households.    Today we take a look at new research that's reinforcing the disparities we've seen during the pandemic.   But before we begin, let's go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett's book “Colorado Day by Day”:   Today, we take you back to July 16th, 1945 when scientists with the top secret Manhattan Project successfully tested the first atomic bomb in New Mexico. It was fuel from western Colorado, in part, that made this terrifying new weapon possible. Prospectors had discovered radioactive minerals in several Colorado counties back in the 1890's.   Now, our feature story.   All of Colorado's Front Range has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but some neighborhoods have been hit harder than others. In many cases, those hardest-hit neighborhoods are communities of color or made up of low-income households. In Denver, the pandemic has been particularly relentless in a cluster of poor neighborhoods within a region known as the “inverted L,” where health impacts of many types have l been notably worse than in more affluent parts of the city. As Colorado Sun health care reporter John Ingold tells Erica Breunlin, new research is reinforcing the glaring disparities behind COVID-19.   To read more about how the pandemic has affected neighborhoods in the Front Range differently, visit coloradosun.com.   And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:   A federal grand jury has indicted Denver-based DaVita Inc. and the dialysis company's former CEO Kent Thiry on charges that they conspired with competing companies not to try to hire certain employees. DaVita and Thiry are accused of two counts of violating the Sherman Act, which involves antitrust law. They are due in court on July 20 for their initial appearance. If convicted, DaVita could face a maximum penalty of a $100 million fine per count. Thiry would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine per count. Thiry has denied the accusations. Although COVID-19 restrictions slowed business across Colorado, the struggle wasn't as terrible as many feared it would be. Some chambers of commerce report having retained most of their members during the pandemic and even signing on new ones. State data shows that operating businesses are keeping steady, and new business filings jumped 32.2% in the first quarter compared to a year ago. Still, many businesses did not persevere through the recession caused by the pandemic. Those that have prevailed are no longer focused on surviving but rather on re-emerging problems, like finding enough workers. The American West is enduring extreme heat and drought, suffering some of the consequences of climate change, scientists say. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. has set 585 new heat records that in the past month. The average daily high temperature for the region from the Rockies and to the west in June was 85.7 degrees, 1.3 degrees warmer than the previous record. Additionally, close to 60% of the West is in exceptional or extreme drought, according to the University of Nebraska's Drought Monitor. That represents the highest percentage in the monitor's 20-year history. Meanwhile, soil moisture levels have plummeted to some of the lowest recorded levels in many Western states while 68 large fires are actively burning, torching more than 1 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.   For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And don't forget to tune in again tomorrow for a special holiday episode. Now, a quick message from our editor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Idaho authorities are stressing the need for people to recreate responsibly, as Idaho is already seeing more than double the number of fires than the previous record. “Idaho is experiencing severe drought and unprecedented fire conditions across most of the state,” said Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller. “Extreme fire conditions are at an all-time high and weather forecasts indicate that no relief is in the weeks ahead.” Miller said during a press conference Tuesday at the National Interagency Fire Center that resources are already stretched thin and there is a significant shortage of people needed to fight fire. Portions of the state are under Stage I and Stage II fire restrictions, and fire managers expect to announce additional restrictions in more parts of the state. IDL has an interactive website that displays current restrictions and what they mean: https://www.idl.idaho.gov/fire-management/fire-restrictions-finder/ Read more on the Idaho Reports blog: https://blog.idahoreports.idahoptv.org/2021/07/13/idaho-sees-shortage-of-firefighters-amid-unprecedented-wildfire-conditions/ Watch the full press conference on the Idaho Reports YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Zo9ia3ZLI90

National Interagency Fire Center reports more than 65 major fires in Western U.S. states that have burned close to a million acres so far. Thousands have fled their homes. The largest fire in the country is in Southern Oregon, and has already burned more than 150,000 acres -- twice the size of Portland. William Brangham discusses the fires with Rich Tyler of the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In This Episode:In this episode, we'll talk about how you can prepare yourself and your family should you encounter a wildfire where you live or while traveling.  Each year an average of over 60,000 wildfires occur in the United States burning millions of acres of forest and wildlands. The two primary ignition sources are lightning strikes which make up 10% of wildfire causes and 90% are attributed to humans. A wildfire is classified as human-caused and can begin via “debris burning, campfires, arson, discarded smoking products, sparks from equipment in operation, arced power lines, and other means” according to the National Interagency Fire Center. On average wildfires are responsible for the destruction of nearly 70 million acres of wildlands per year in the United States and cause an average of 339,000 deaths per year worldwide.Key Topics:IntroductionMake a planPrepare your homeWhen a wildfire is in your areaEvacuationReturning home after a wildfireWildfire safety while travelingConclusion    Resources:The Family Emergency Communications PlanFinancial Disaster PlanningThe Basic Emergency Supply KitFamily Emergency Communications Forms PDFFinancial Disaster Plan Forms PDFBasic Emergency Supplies kit Checklist PDFSocial Media; FacebookTwitterInstagramPinterestWebpage; https://www.typicalprepping.comSubscribe to my email list; Click HereEmail me with your suggestions, comments, or questions; keith@typicalprepping.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/typicalprepping)

William Perry Pendley came to Idaho last week. While he was visiting the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, he told reporters that he has never been the Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management. He said his title has always been Deputy Director of Policy and Programs.

A play on the triumph and losses in performance and life. The Talent Tank podcast will navigate the inner workings of lifestyle, lives, family, teams, careers, programs, and technology in and around the offroad motorsports industry. What breeds success with your Talent Tank on full, failures when its on empty. From the journey to the Starting Line to take that Green Flag, on to exploring trials and tribulations on and off the track in pursuit of victorious achievement and the Checkered Flag.You are in for it in this installment of The Talent Tank. We have one of the funniest, good time having characters in all of the Ultra4 Racing family. None other than Phil Licciardi @liberty_mtn_fab of Liberty Mountain Fabrication in Gardnerville, Nevada. Some may know him by his old Pirate4x4 name of "SillyNeck", while more recently his customers have started calling him "ShockJesus". A long time, lifetime member of the Rock Zombies, Phil exemplifies and embraces the outside wheeling lifestyle. Lives, breathes, eats, sleeps the lifestyle. When you can't find him hard at work at the shop, you can find him in the pits or on the road for one of his east coast shock tuning tours. We cover some don't miss ground from recent forest fires and how he and his family dodged losing everything, to what is the Rock Zombie Bikini Car Wash. Headshot provided by Lona Scott of Scott's Designs @scotts.designs After the Checkered Flag-As many as 90 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by people, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. Some human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, downed power lines, negligently discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava. According to Verisk’s 2019 Wildfire Risk Analysis 4.5 million U.S. homes were identified at high or extreme risk of wildfire, with more than 2 million in California alone. From January 1 to September 28, 2020 there were 44,520 wildfires compared with 39,476 wildfires in the same period in 2019, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. About 7.5 million acres were burned in the 2020 period, compared with 4.4 million acres in 2019. Please like & subscribe.https://thetalenttank.com/https://www.instagram.com/thetalenttank/https://www.facebook.com/thetalenttank/Insiders Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTalentTankInsiders/

With the National Interagency Fire Center reporting 79 large uncontained fires burning across the Western United States, and California experiencing almost 7,900 fires destroying or damaging a total of 6,200 structures since the beginning of 2020, along with California recently experiencing more than 3.4 million acres burn; what are the impacts, implications, and consequences the California fires are having and will have on California Indigenous peoples and their respective First Nations and all plant and animal relations? How is cultural sustainability envisioned given the precarious times we are in? What does California Indigenous nations' cultural fire management practices mean in terms of traditions today and future generations? With the compounded effects of the twenty-year drought; the intergenerational, violent settler colonial forms of violence perpetuated against all relations, how are California Indigenous peoples responding and how does land loss contribute to historical trauma and environment grief? Guest: Don Hankins (Miwok Nation), Professor of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico State.

On this episode, guest Nick Nauslar—a fire meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center—explains what contributed to the so-called "Labor Day Firestorm," that devastated the Northwest and Northern California on the week of September 6. Nick discussed all the factors that made this conflagration so historic, and also discussed how climate change—which took a lot of the blame in national media—played only a small part in what became one of the worst weeks of fire in US history.

Peace talks opened in Afghanistan over the weekend. Representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban are meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha. Are we closer to an end to the war in the country?"The World Health Organization on Sunday reported the highest one-day increase in coronavirus infections since the pandemic began: more than 308,000 new cases," the Washington Post reported Monday. "India, the United States and Brazil logged the largest numbers of new infections on Sunday." How significant of a signal is this? "The European Union has ramped up pressure on [UK] Prime Minister Boris Johnson to step back from breaking the Brexit divorce treaty, delaying a key decision on London's euro clearing just as he faces a rebellion in the British parliament," Reuters reported Monday. Is this political hardball or just a game of chicken? The US West Coast is on fire, again. "The heat from one fire in California has been so strong that it generated its own thunderstorm cloud," Vice News reported on September 10. "There were at least 24 large wildfires in California, 14 in Oregon, and another 12 in Washington as of Wednesday [September 9], according to the National Interagency Fire Center." But heaven forbid we start discussing climate change. What's going on out West, and what will be the longer-lasting impacts? A Monday Reuters headline read "Belarus leader entreats patron Putin for support as protests rage on." The outlet reported, "A day after more than 100,000 protesters demonstrated in Minsk for the fifth straight weekend to demand his resignation following an election they say was rigged, [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko, who has led Russia's closest ally for 26 years, met [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi." What are we to make of this?"Lawyers for the United States on Monday asked judges at the United Nations' highest court to dismiss a case brought by Iran seeking to lift sanctions," Reuters reported Monday. "Lawyer Marik String said Iran had wrongly introduced a subject uncovered by a 1955 bilateral pact, the Treaty of Amity, which Tehran cites as the basis for going to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court. It was 'an inescapable reality,' he added, that the real aim of Iran's legal suit is to restore a 2015 nuclear pact opposed by the administration of President Donald Trump." How will this play out?"Beijing will impose 'reciprocal restrictions' on all American diplomats in China in response to curbs on its embassy personnel in the United States, China's foreign ministry said Friday," Reuters reported."At the start of Togo's coronavirus outbreak, the small West African nation welcomed a team of 12 Cuban health care workers to tend to sufferers of the virus, boost its laboratory testing and help improve its hospital protocols," Reuters reported Monday. What have been the results of this assistance?Guests:Marvin Weinbaum - Director of the Middle East Institute's Center for Pakistan and Afghanistan StudiesRanjeet Brar - British physician and National Health Service worker Daniel Lazare - Investigative journalist and author of "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War"Ted Rall - Political cartoonist and syndicated columnist Mark Sleboda - Moscow-based international relations and security analystElisabeth Myers - Lawyer, former editor-in-chief of Inside Arabia and democracy lead for Democrats AbroadKJ Noh - Peace activist, writer and teacherObi Egbuna - Activist and US representative for the Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald

Our hearts go out to each and every one.-a tremendous community outpouring of housing support and donations for those affected –a magnificent example of the human spirit alive and well in our country! How to Improve Your Timeline – Steps to Turn Your Dreams into Reality: Can we really make a difference? Here's how it's done. Chaos, Fires, the Dissolution of the Current Control Structure, and Transition Requirements to Enter the New Era Vital Health News Update Life Chats: How to Improve Your Timeline – Steps to Turn Your Dreams into Reality: Part 1 Midway through this dialogue the Alameda Fire in Ashland, Oregon broke out less than a mile from home during 90+ degree heat and uncharacteristically high winds for this time of year. Never in Oregon’s history have winds been this high during the month of September (though such is normal for our winters). Arson is suspected in starting the fire, a suspected homicide found at the fire’s starting location, and an arson was arrested in Phoenix, OR, two towns away caught setting an additional fire there at some point after the Alameda Fire had reached Phoenix, over 5 miles away. Hundreds of homes and businesses were lost, some by friends we know, along with many of their friends. The police are investigating the possibility of this being a planned, coordinated attack throughout the West Coast. Over 1 million acres have burned to date in Oregon alone. Similar reports are coming from Washington State and California. Historically, Oregon did not see more than an average of 10,000 acres burn during any fire season. In the last decade alone the average has risen to 500,000 acres per year. The entire West Coast has been hit unusually hard this year: Across the West and Alaska, nearly 28,000 firefighters and support personnel are battling 100 large fires that have burned more than 4.5 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Oregon alone is now over 1 million acres in just the last three months. Arson is suspected in several, lightning in others, yet forest management and the attempt to increase government funds for disaster relief in the state is to account for the majority. Two fires had already been burning for several weeks (!) on a small scale (less than 150 acres) and allowed to grow to over 300,000 acres combined to justify more government funding. Several homes and businesses have been lost to that fire. We are breathing heavy smoke continuously. My air quality monitor Dylos DC 1100 PRO indicates the outdoor air is about 63,000 particles per .01 CF at 0.05 microns in the air, which is 21 times the “very poor quality” rating of 3,000 particles. This is approximately an Air Quality Index of 475. Indoor air is about 18,000 with an Air Doctor purifier working full time in the house. So, this preface is a fitting contribution to the material that follows. We are in the midst of radical changes to the way life will operate as we go forward. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bhsales/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bhsales/support

I think we have a winner for all time top score of rank for the show, hahaha!Josh Simmons stops by to talk about policy, the national direction of the fire program, and coming from the FFT2 all the way up the chain of command to working at NIFC...Josh Simmons currently serves as the Director of Wildland Fire Operations for the BIA, Branch of Wildland Fire Management in Boise, Idaho at the National Interagency Fire Center.  Josh has been in this position since June 2018.  In his current position, he leads the Operations section of Wildland Fire Management and provides support nationally for Indian Country.  Josh currently serves as the Chair of the National Multi Agency Coordinating Group, which provides direction and mobilization of resources nationally for Fire and Non-Fire Incidents.  As of June 21, 2020 Josh began a detail assignment as the Fire Director for the BIA, where he provides overall national direction, policy, and leadership for the BIA's Wildland Fire Management Program.Josh is always down to answer questions, he can be found at the following Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/mocha_latte_8/Stay safe, stay savage, and enjoy!..........................Updates!The new website is live! Be sure to check our the "Resources" page for some folks in the industry that are doing incredible things for us!http://anchorpointpodcast.com..........................Sponsors:The Anchor Point Podcast is supported by the following wonderful folks...Mystery RanchNeed badass packs? Then look no further than Mystery Ranch!https://www.mysteryranch.comHotshot BreweryWanna pick up our Anchor Point Podcast merch or need killer coffee? Hit up Hotshot Brewery!!!https://www.hotshotbrewing.comThe Smokey GenerationWanna get some history and knowledge on Wildland Fire? Hit up The Smokey Generation!http://wildfire-experience.orgNot a sponsor of The Anchor Point Podcast, but a great organization:The Wildland Firefighter FoundationAnd, as always, please consider supporting this great nonprofit organization - The Wildland Firefighter Foundation!https://wffoundation.org

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise has sent wildfire supression crews to help fight the Australian Bushfires. NIFC spokesperson Jessica Gardetto talks more about how countries share resources and how changing fire seasons are impacting the need for firefighters internationally.

In today's Federal Newscast, the Interior Department cleared brush and dead trees on double the amount called for in a 2018 presidential executive order.

Dan Smith is the Fire Director for the National Association of State Foresters. He is the Wildland Fire Representative for 50 states and 8 territories at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. In this role, Dan works collaboratively with the Federal Wildland Fire Directors and serves as a member of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, which provides wildland fire response on a national level. Dan shares leadership advice, some of the challenges the fire community is facing, and so much more!   Key Takeaways: [1:10] A message from Leadership Nature. [1:55] A quick intro about Dan's background. [3:25] How did Dan first get started in his fire career? [7:35] Dan shares a little bit of history about NWCG. [10:55] What are some of the best ways to get qualified in this field? [14:35] What kind of work is Dan up to these days? [17:40] Dan shares a little bit about his work history and some of the most memorable moments of his career. [21:40] What are some of the rewards and challenges of being in wildland fire? [29:00] Each fire has a lesson learned; how does Dan transfer those lessons into practical training for his team? [31:45] Where is the direction that the fire community is going and what additional challenges has the community come across, over the years? [35:00] Getting communities educated about forest health is an uphill climb. [37:50] Dan offers some leadership advice, wisdom, and tips.   Mentioned in This Episode: Nifc.gov Nwcg.gov Stateforesters.org

In today's Federal Newscast, the Department of the Interior fell short of its hiring goal.

As you may be able to tell from the title, this episode is all about fire (and maybe a little about cats). The Poop Detective starts us out with a funny story about a friend of ours who wouldn’t put out the fire and go to bed when it was late, everyone else was turning in, and he’d maybe had a few too many. Don’t worry, nothing burned that shouldn’t have (at least that night), even though he mansplained to us that fire must burn.Our main segment this episode was on wildfires. Wildfires are natural processes and are important for healthy ecosystems, but with a changing climate, years of fire suppression, and new pressures from agriculture, development, mining and forestry, wildfire risk has been greatly increasing.Fires are naturally caused by lightning, but the majority of fires in the US are caused by human activity such as unattended campfires, the burning of trash, and discarded lit cigarettes. The Poop Detective refers to a 2017 study from the University of Colorado which found that 84% of all fires in the US are caused by humans. The Magical Mapper found a wide range of percentages in a Google search so she conducted her own study based on data from the National Interagency Fire Center and found that on average, 86% of fires were caused by humans (over an 18 year period ending in 2018).We’re seeing more fires earlier in the season this year, but even our recent large fires are not as large as historic fires!The Poop Detective laments on the 2015 fire season, which had several impacts to our water-loving friends. A few of the things mentioned in the episode were that spring and summer stream flows hit a record low in Washington and Oregon, fish were dying from heat, the Columbia River lost over half of its returning sockeye salmon due to high river temperatures, and sea lions on the outer coast were having seizures from domoic acid poisoning. Oh, and we had an increase in wildfires. That season over 10 million acres burned with an estimated $2 billion spent on federal firefighting suppression.The Poop Detective drops some history about some unimaginable huge early fires in the late 1800s that led to some early Forest Service practices that worked to prevent and suppress all fire as soon as possible. She then gets into different ideas of the cause and solution related to forest management and fires, including how some people think environmentalists are to blame for recent large wildfires.In more depressing news, the Poop Detective shares that the USDA predicts that the number of acres burned could triple by 2050, and the fire season in the western US has increased by 2 1/2 months since the 1980s. She then gets into the health effects of wildfire smoke and gets science-y about the size of particulate matter in smoke. These particulates not only include burned trees and vegetation, but also structures and all of the nasty hazardous materials that may be inside them!We can do things to minimize fire risk though. Remember that humans cause the majority of wildfires, so humans can change their behavior and stop doing things that cause fires! The Red Cross has some great information on preventing wildfires, and the Firewise program is also a great resource for those living in the urban-wildland interface. More resources can be found here and here. The Poop Detective rounds out the segment by talking about groups such as Conservation Northwest, who are working to create more resilient forests and watersheds.Finally, the Magical Mapper gets a chance to talk! She discusses geodatabase templates, which you can find out more about in our GIS Tools blog.The Magical Mapper then talks about the EPA’s Smoke Sense app, which you can download and use during wildfire season. In order to participate in the citizen science study you have to be at least 18 years old, but you can answer questions about how wildfire smoke is affecting your health and measures you are taking or are willing to take in order to protect your health. The app also gives users information about current wildfires and smoke forecasts, and you can earn badges!The Magical Mapper rounds out the episode with a stewardship opportunity (actually three opportunities) with the Cascade Forest Conservancy. You can help prep for prescribed fires by collecting important information about the locations of dead or downed trees, depth of duff and litter, and understory vegetation. You can also collect seeds from native shrubs and grasses, or help spread the seeds in areas impacted by fire. The first opportunity is coming up on June 29, 2019. View their website for these and other stewardship opportunities.As always, please rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please let us know what you think at outalivepodcast.com or facebook.com/WillWeMakeItOutAlive. See you next month!

You may have never thought of them this way, but forests are a lot like crops. With wildfires and other ecological concerns rising, what does this mean for how we think about our forests? Well, we may find some answers in the Farm Bill. In this episode of NET’s On The Table, we’re talking about what the Farm Bill means to one of our most important resources.Nicky Ouellet, Montana Public Radio;http://www.mtpr.org/people/nicky-ouelletFourth National Climate Assessment Executive Summary; https://science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/executive-summary/National Interagency Fire Center, fire information;https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/fireInfo_main.html

The most destructive fire in California history is also the deadliest. The so-called "Camp Fire," north of Sacramento, and the "Woolsey Fire," near Los Angeles, are keeping more than 8,000 firefighters very busy. Forty-four people are confirmed dead in the fires that broke out last Thursday. The "Camp Fire" alone is blamed for 42 deaths, and that number is expected to rise. More than 200 people remain unaccounted for. The fire has destroyed more than 7,000 structures. For the past 7 to 10 years, California has found itself dealing with more fires with greater intensities. What's going on here? As I understand this, some 60 percent of California forests are on or under federal or private management? Is that correct? Human technology is responsible for more loss from fire than any other cause. But reducing fire's impact will require changes to how people live, not just to the infrastructure that lets them do so.The Florida secretary of state announced Saturday afternoon that the razor-thin races for governor, senator and some state positions will be reviewed in a series of recounts which were triggered because the margins in these contests are under .5 percent. According to unofficial results filed by the counties, Republican Gov. Rick Scott leads incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson by more than 12,500 votes, or about .15% percent. The spread in the governor's race is larger, with Republican former Rep. Ron DeSantis ahead of Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum by nearly 34,000 votes, for a lead of .41 percent. In Georgia, a judge says the state must delay in naming the governor's race winner. A federal judge has ordered Georgia take steps to protect provisional ballots and to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections, including the unsettled race for governor.In a ruling late Monday, US District Judge Amy Totenberg ordered the secretary of state's office to establish and publicize a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted, and if not, the reason why. With all of this chatter of alleged Russian hacking or attempted hacking into our election in 2016, nothing of significance seems to have been done. Why not? The US Supreme Court will take up the issue of redistricting in Virginia, agreeing to hear an appeal filed by Republican legislators after a lower court's ruling that 11 House of Delegates districts must be redrawn to correct racial gerrymandering. Marc E. Elias, an election lawyer representing those who challenged the design of the districts, noted in a tweet: “This is the 3rd time SCOTUS will hear cases related to VA's unconstitutional gerrymander. We have prevailed in each of the first two and expect to again here. What is most important is that the voters of VA have constitutional maps in time for the 2019 state house elections.” At stake is control of Virginia's House of Delegates. The GOP barely held onto its majority last year in the 100-seat chamber after 15 Democrats flipped seats in elections. One Republican prevailed in a random tiebreaker, leaving the GOP with a 51-49 edge.In the latest development in the Mueller probe, Roger Stone associate Jerome Corsi expects to be indicted. Corsi, a conservative conspiracy theorist, said on his YouTube show that negotiations fell apart with special counsel Robert Mueller's team, and he expects in the coming days to be charged with making false statements. "I'm going to be indicted," Corsi said on his show. "That's what we were told. Everyone should know that, and I'm anticipating it." Is Mueller trying to get ahead of the sword of Damocles, or at least the ax, from Matt Whitaker? So, it was my understanding that the initial focus of the probe was national security. GUESTS:Jessica Gardetto - Spokesperson for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.Kendra Atleework - Writer whose work has appeared in Best American Essays 2015. She's on the board of directors of the Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers. Her forthcoming memoir maps the convergence of family, place and history.Dr. Emmitt Y. Riley III - Political scientist and assistant professor of Africana Studies at DePauw University.Dr. Ajamu Baraka - American political activist and former Green Party nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election.

This week on Weather Geeks we go to the front lines of the firefight. The 2018 deadly and devastating wildfires could get even worse as brave men and women put their lives on the line. We explore the day to day conditions that help and hurt the effort and explore the factors that makes their job so dangerous. Weather Channel Correspondent Dave Malkoff, tells some of their stories and explains what it's like to battle these monster fires. Joining the conversation is Jess Gardetto from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. We look at the factors making this season so bad and what it will take to get some of these fires out before the rainy season - which is still months away. GuestsDave MalkoffThe Weather Channel corespondent Jess GardettoDeputy Chief, External Affairs - BLM National Fire and Aviation - National Interagency Fire Center

Ed Delgado, a meteorologist with predictive services at the National Interagency Fire Center, and Boise State Public Radio's Frankie Barnhill discuss the outlook for the 2018 wildfire season.

According to the National Park Service, "as many as 90% of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans, resulting from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, negligently discarded cigarettes, and intentional acts of arson. The remaining 10% are started by natural phenomena, such as lightning or lava." Regardless of the actual cause, wildfires can be devastating. The Insurance Information Institute reports that "the 2015 fire season set a new record for the number of acres burned in the U.S. Between January 1st and December 30th there were 68,151 wildfires, which burned 10,125,149 acres according to the National Interagency Fire Center." Over the 20-year period 1995-2014, fires, including wildfires, accounted for 1.5% of insured catastrophe losses totaling $6 billion dollars, according to the Property Claims Services Unit of ISO. During today’s discussion, we will explore the important areas of risk management and property insurance that must be addressed, to be prepared for the destruction that can be caused by future wildfires.   Key Takeaways: [3:04] What is a wildfire, how do wildfires start, and which areas of the U.S. are impacted the most? [4:13] What is a wildfire hazard zone, and how can policyholders find out if they live in one, and how best to assess their risk? [4:50] Are wildfire insurance claims different from other fire insurance claims? Are the rules and restrictions the same? [5:34] How can a property be compromised if subjected to a wildfire? [6:52] What are things home and business owners can do, to prepare for a disaster such as a wildfire, for easier claims processing? [7:40] Does a standard insurance policy include coverages to assist those affected by an emergency situation? [8:42] What options exist under Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage? [10:26] For renters of apartments, condos, etc., what are their responsibilities, and what are the responsibilities of the building manager, in a wildfire situation? Also, what type of insurance coverage do they need in order to be fully reimbursed? [11:41] What extra coverages should homeowners have added to their policy, in order to mitigate any and all risk? [12:42] What extra coverages should business owners have added to their policy, in order to mitigate any and all risk? [14:16] After a wildfire occurs, contractors are in high demand. How does this affect construction cost? [15:02] What are the biggest hurdles in establishing building valuations post-wildfire? And, what can be done in advance to overcome these hurdles? [16:15] What steps can home and business owners take to help recreate lost personal property? [17:55] Examples of real life wildfire claims. [19:10] What challenges exist when dealing with carriers, due to the volume of claims post-wildfire? [20:10] What about debris removal, county-sponsored authorized companies, and how they affect recovery? [21:48] What actions should a policyholder take, immediately following damage from a wildfire? [23:16] What is meant by ‘rule of thumb’ values, and why some valuations don’t apply in post-disaster environments? [24:26] Who is available to assist policyholders to become familiar with the ins and outs of their insurance policies? [25:57] The panel shares expert advice regarding wildfire insurance claims.   Panel of Insurance Experts: C. Todd Thomas, Executive Director of Consulting Services and member of the Society of Risk Management Consultants — Adjusters International Bruce Tibert, Professional Public Insurance Adjuster — The Greenspan Co./Adjusters International Jody DuVall, Inventory Specialist — The Greenspan Co./Adjusters International Kyle Hensiek, Professional Public Insurance Adjuster — The Greenspan Co./Adjusters International   Moderator: Marjorie Musick, Social Media Specialist — Globe Midwest/Adjusters International, Adjusters International/Basloe, Levin & Cuccaro, and Jansen/Adjusters International   Mentioned in This Episode: Adjusters International