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The fire-ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
Fires undermine tourism in B.C., Maui
Tourist operators in both British Columbia and Hawaii are suffering as a result of catastrophic wildfires. Both want and need potential customers to return, though travel restrictions remain in the parts of B.C. that are still on fire.
In Maui, 115 are confirmed dead and hundreds remain missing as a result of the wildfires in Lahaina, which experts blame on climate change. The blazes destroyed the historic town, and more than 8,000 people have been thrown out of work by the sudden collapse of the tourism industry. Still, other parts of Maui remain open for business, and tourism operators in those areas are hoping visitors will return before they go broke.
Gov. Josh Green launched an appeal on Tuesday, asking tourists to return. “When you come, you will support our local economy and help speed the recovery of the people who are suffering right now.”
In British Columbia, where the fires are still burning, the industry is worried about the long-term impact because the area’s brand is dependent on its natural beauty. But travel bans on fire-stricken areas are likely to remain in place for some time.
After a summer from hell, will voters embrace climate action?
Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, is having a pretty good summer. He’s holding well-attended “Axe the tax” rallies across the country, promising to get rid of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his unpopular carbon tax, which is hitting drivers at the pumps.
This week, though, Poilievre had to postpone rallies in British Columbia and the Yukon because of wildfires that have forced tens of thousands to flee their homes and burned 15 million hectares of bush, leaving an area the size of Illinois in ashes. Since the carbon tax was designed to reduce the emissions that contributed to these catastrophic fires, it was bitterly ironic that Poilievre’s campaign against the tax was interrupted by the fires, but he is not changing course.
In both Canada and the United States, this has been a hellish summer, with so much climate-related extreme weather that it is hard to keep track. The summer started with wildfires and floods in typically temperate Nova Scotia. Heat records have fallen in Arizona. Ocean water the temperature of a hot tub has killed coral in the turquoise waters of the Florida Keys. A deadly fire laid waste to tropical Maui. A hurricane hit L.A.
Have voters been listening?
For decades, climate scientists have been warning these disasters would come if we don’t reduce the emissions that are warming the planet. Now that the disasters have started, will people recognize the urgency of the problem?
“That is the multi-trillion dollar question,” says Shari Friedman, Eurasia Group’s managing director for climate and sustainability, who has been working on climate since the 1990s.
“When I started on climate change, the assumption was that people weren't believing this, but that when people saw the effects, they would start to see it .. Now, I think the question is a little bit different because we're seeing the effects – it's pretty clear. And the question now is, what is going to change these trajectories?”
Climate scientists have done heroic work on a massive scale to understand and describe the processes that are causing extreme weather. But this has failed to convince voters to do what is necessary to bring down the emissions that are causing ecosystems to dissipate heat in ways that threaten human existence.
People are not wising up. The Pew Research Center, which tracks attitudes toward climate around the world, has observed a decline in the number of Americans who consider it a major threat, from 59% in 2018 to 54% in 2022.
The role of disinformation
Canadian pollster Frank Graves, of EKOS Research Associates, observed the same decline in Canada over the last three years, which he attributes to online disinformation. To many people, he says, climate change “is fake news. This is made up. This is a plot by the woke left to collect their useless carbon tax.”
In his most recent poll of Canadians, this month, while wildfires were top of mind, Graves observed that a growing number of people — mostly conservatives — blame arson, not extreme weather, for the blazes. (This is a pattern of misinformation found wherever there are wildfires.) Voters who believe fires are caused by arson, not a warming globe, will not support policies to reduce emissions.
“The patterns of who gets this disinformation are very, very similar in Canada and the United States,” Graves says, “because they are emanating from the same sources. And those sources are now telling people climate change is a hoax, and these forest fires are either just bad luck or, more pointedly, they are being produced by arsonists, saboteurs, activists.”
The issue, in both countries, is divided along partisan lines, with conservatives less willing than liberals to accept the views of climate scientists.
Riley Dunlap, emeritus professor at Oklahoma State University, has been studying American attitudes about environmentalism since the first Earth Day in 1970. He watched as the issue, which used to be of concern across partisan lines, became polarized in the 2000s. Now, he notes, opposing climate policy is an identity issue for Republicans – it’s up there with “God, guns, gays, and abortion.”
He has watched with dismay as opinions got harder, with Trump followers going against anything liberals support. Some 40% of Americans do not believe humans are causing climate change.
Researchers at American universities have found that attitudes about personal experiences of extreme events appear “socially constructed and interpreted through ideological lenses, rather than driven by individuals’ objective experiences of changes in weather and climate.”
Researchers found that hot, dry days — as opposed to sudden, extreme weather events — seem to convince some people that climate change is real.
“So far, actual experience doesn't seem to have had a significant effect,” Dunlap said. “But I'm open to the possibility that personal experiences and media coverage could be really shaking people up.”
If you thought this summer was bad …
Gerald Butts, vice chairman of Eurasia Group, who helped Trudeau implement Canada’s carbon tax, points out that researchers will have more opportunities to carefully study the effect of extreme weather on public opinion.
“This is the hottest summer of your life, but it's going to be one of the coolest of the rest of your life. Sure it's weird that the remnants of a hurricane are flooding the California desert while the northern part of the continent is burning. But we're going to see versions of that in every northern hemisphere summer for the rest of our lives.
“I think the deeper question is — because human beings are nothing if not adaptable — and part of that adaptation mechanism is, how do we tune out the things we don't want to see or hear? I mean, as these things get weirder and weirder, what is the new normal for what people can absorb, or will absorb, and react to?”
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Windham, NH.
Hard Numbers: Trump’s bond, Saudis target Ethiopian migrants, missing in Maui, Ecuadorians’ pro-Amazon vote
200,000: Former President Donald Trump's bond in Georgia has been set at $200,000 ahead of a Friday deadline to turn himself in. As part of his release conditions, Trump, who is reportedly set to surrender for processing on Thursday, is banned from using social media to intimidate witnesses.
750,000: Saudi border guards have reportedly opened fire and launched explosives at Ethiopian migrants fleeing their country’s civil war in recent years, killing hundreds as they tried crossing into Saudi Arabia from Yemen, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. Some 750,000 Ethiopians now live in Saudi Arabia, the majority of them unauthorized.
850: That’s the number of missing people in Maui, Hawaii, following last week’s devastating wildfires. While 850 is far lower than the earlier estimates, which were closer to 2,000, officials are asking locals to give DNA samples to help with the sluggish victim recovery effort.
59: Ecuadorian voters failed to deliver a decisive win to any of the country’s presidential candidates on Sunday, paving the way for a runoff vote in October. But there was a clear win for the Amazon with 59% voting in favor of a referendum to reject all oil exploration in Yasuni National Park.
The McDougall Creek wildfire burns next to houses in the Okanagan community of West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
Hard Numbers: Canada fires, Israelis killed, Nicaraguan visas, Niger junta's plans … and where was William?
30,000: At least 30,000 households in British Columbia, Canada, have been told to evacuate, with another 36,000 homes on alert, as the province battles an unprecedented number of wildfires. Further north, 20,000 residents of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, have also been ordered to leave their homes. Overall, 1,000 fires are burning across Canada in what is now the country’s worst fire season on record.
3: Two Israeli men were killed on Saturday in a suspected Palestinian attack at a West Bank car wash, and on Monday, an Israeli woman was shot and killed in Hebron. Since the start of 2023, Palestinian attacks against Israelis have claimed 30 lives while nearly 180 Palestinians have been killed in the worst spate of violence in the region in 20 years.
100: The US has canceled the visas of 100 Nicaraguan officials accused of restricting human rights and undermining democracy by supporting President Daniel Ortega’s regime. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the measures on social media, stating, “We call on the regime to unconditionally and immediately release Bishop Álvarez and all those unjustly detained.”
3: Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the leader of the military coup in Niger, took to the country’s airwaves on Saturday to propose a three-year transition of power to civilian rule, without giving further details. Tchiani also warned that any attempt at military intervention by ECOWAS or other forces would “not be a walk in the park.”
1: Prince William, president of England’s Football Association, was heavily criticized for not attending the FIFA World Cup final between England and Spain, while Queen Letizia got kudos for making the trip Down Under with her daughter Sofia. Maybe it made the difference – the Spanish squad trounced the Lionesses 1-0.Aftermath of the fires in Lahaina
Hard numbers: Hawaii protects homeowners, Pakistan mob destroys churches, another migrant tragedy, aliens question humans
129: In Pakistan, 129 people were arrested in eastern Punjab after a mob of more than a thousand Muslims set fire to four churches and desecrated the homes of Christians. The mob, which was incited by claims that two men desecrated the Quran, reflects the rising religious and social tensions that have Pakistan on edge.
60: At least 60 migrants are presumed dead after capsizing off the coast of Cape Verde. Their boat, which left Senegal for Europe on July 10, originally had more than 100 migrants on board. Only 38 were rescued. The number of migrants that have left Senegal this year has surged, with many making dangerous journeys in bids to escape political unrest, violence, climate change, and poor economic prospects.
46/47: Are aliens messing with us? That was the question many had after seeing the question-mark-shaped star formation captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The photo shows a tightly bound pair of young stars known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, which are being studied by scientists to learn how young stars gather mass over time.
A view of the damage caused by wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
Maui fires fan political flames
With 96 people confirmed dead, more than a thousand still unaccounted for, and an estimated $5.6 billion in rebuilding costs, last week’s Maui wildfires are shaping up to be one of the US’ most devastating natural disasters. The catastrophe may also set the scene for nasty political battles in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Over the weekend, Republican US Rep. Lauren Boebert questioned why President Joe Biden remained on vacation in Delaware, railing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "There is a total crisis in Maui. 3,000 destroyed homes. 80 people dead. Where's Joe Biden? On vacation of course. There is no bottom for this president.”
The post immediately garnered both bouquets and brickbats. Some equated Biden’s absence with President George W. Bush’s delay in visiting New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit there in 2005. Others commented that “the last thing the rescue effort needs is a presidential entourage.” Meanwhile, Democratic Hawaii Gov. Josh Green praised Biden for approving the state’s request for a disaster declaration on Friday.
But the most significant impact may be on public support for Biden’s green energy policies and the fight against climate change. Boebert’s attack came after Biden noted that she, "along with every other Republican,” voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden recently credited for creating 850 clean energy jobs in Boebert’s own district, in Pueblo, Colo.
Far from being Biden’s Katrina, Maui may drive home the point that Americans ignore climate change at their peril. While Republicans like Florida Gov. and presidential candidate Ron de Santis busy themselves with removing the subject from school curricula, Democrats may simply point to images of a torched Lahaina as evidence that the country cannot wait to take the threat seriously – while claiming that they are the only party that does.Smoke rises from the Texas Creek wildfire south of Lillooet, British Columbia.
Where there’s fire there’s smoke
Americans living along the Eastern Seaboard can be forgiven this summer for thinking Canada’s number one export to the United States is smoke. Once again this week, wildfires in eastern Canada have sharply reduced visibility in New York City and other cities in the US Northeast. But even residents of southern states like the Carolinas and Georgia are feeling the effects. Now, fires from Canada’s northwest are triggering air quality alerts from Portland, Oregon, to Plano, Texas. Some 44 million people in 28 states and Washington, DC, have been affected.
Firefighters in Canada are reportedly battling as many as 900 fires across the country, with two-thirds of those burning out of control. This year’s fires have burned more than 26 million acres in Canada, about 850% the usual number. The previous record, 17.5 million acres, was set in 1995. Canada’s wildfire season will continue for a few more months.
Aware that extreme weather events have both human and economic effects, governments in both countries are pledging to spend more on plans to help the most vulnerable citizens protect themselves. You can read a good summary of what policymakers are up to on both sides of the border here.Flames reach upwards along the edge of a wildfire as seen from a Canadian military helicopter near Mistissini, Quebec.
Cross-border deal for fighting wildfires
Canada’s wildfires are again causing smoke-filled haze to descend, along with air quality alerts, in parts of the United States and beyond, with residents everywhere from Chicago to Europe breathing in some Canadian smoke. And it’s still June – fire season doesn’t end until September.
To better battle blazes on both sides of the border, Canada and the United States have signed an agreement to cut through the red tape and make it easier for their respective firefighters to fly to each other’s aid as needed. This also gives Canada access to US wildfire intel. Before this, cooperative efforts were dependent upon individual agreements, which slowed efforts.
As the earth’s climate gets warmer, the vast northern forests are getting hotter and drier, making fires more likely. Wildfire seasons are starting earlier and running longer, and the fires are getting bigger and more dangerous.
On Monday, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported that 76,129 square kilometers of forest and other land has already burned in Canada this year, beating a record set in 1989. More than 600 American firefighters have been able to come north to help this year because the US season did not get an early start, but they may soon be busy at home as American forests heat up.
President Joe Biden’s administration is spending billions to try to clean up forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth, but these efforts have fallen behind schedule, leaving hundreds of communities near federal forests at possible risk.
What’s worse, the Canadian fires have also hugely increased the emissions that cause climate change, sending 160 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere so far this year, according to Copernicus, a European Earth observation center.
Polling shows most Canadians believe climate change is at least partly responsible for the terrible wildfire season, and the majority believe the country is transitioning too slowly to clean energy. In the US, meanwhile, experts think that smoky air in big American cities may help change attitudes about the need for quick action to combat climate change.