Sustainability — Wildfires rage across the West

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View Online Sustainability Sustainability The Big Story  Late-season wildfires wreak havoc across US West  With just 10 days of summer left, late-season wildfires are continuing to unleash their wrath across the U.S. West and are showing no signs of stopping.   © AP Photo/Noah Berger In California alone, 17 active incidents collectively burned 675,724 acres as of midday Wednesday, a Cal Fire database showed. To date this season, 6,078 blazes have scorched 977,923 acres across the Golden State.     "It feels like the Inland Empire is virtually surrounded by fire currently on almost all sides," climate scientist Daniel Swain said at a Tuesday webinar, referring to a Southern California metropolitan region.     Yet at the same time, he stressed that the fires had "escalated across not just California, but [in] adjacent states as well."      Among those blazes is the Davis Fire near Reno, Nev., where flames have engulfed thousands of acres, as well as others in the Pacific Northwest.       The extent of wildfire activity this late in the season across the U.S. West is "stretching firefighting resource availability," warned Swain, of the University of California, Los Angeles.      Many members of U.S. Forest Service wildland fire crews are slated to complete their seasonal employment in October, he explained.      "There's not a lot of time before that happens. And there's still an awful lot of fire activity on federal lands and otherwise," Swain added.      California officials announced Wednesday that they had secured federal assistance to bolster its response to the burgeoning Airport Fire, which has led to the evacuation of thousands of people in the southern portion of the state.     "California is continuing to see extreme fire behavior across multiple locations in Southern California, where hot, dry weather has led to rapid fire growth," Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a statement.      The Airport Fire, burning in Orange and Riverside counties, was 0 percent contained as of midday Wednesday. Cal Fire characterized the incident as "an immediate threat to life," noting that the blaze "is actively impinging upon structures in the area."      On Tuesday afternoon, officials confirmed the mobilization of nearly 6,000 boots on the ground, in an effort to quash the quickly growing wildfires across the state.     The firefighters, soldiers, law enforcement and first responders on duty were accompanied by 141 water tankers, 51 helicopters and nine fixed-wing aircraft, the governor's office stated.   Welcome to The Hill's Sustainability newsletter, I'm Sharon Udasin — every week we follow the latest moves in the growing battle over sustainability in the U.S. and around the world. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  Latest news impacting sustainability this week and beyond: Girls may be starting puberty earlier due to chemical exposure: Study Girls exposed to certain chemicals that are common ingredients in household products may be starting puberty comparatively early, a new study has found. Substances of particular concern include musk ambrette — a fragrance used in some detergents, perfumes and personal care products — and a group of medications called cholinergic agonists, according to the study, published on Tuesday in Endocrinology. These chemicals are …  Full Story Southern California representatives call for federal state of emergency amid transboundary pollution crisis U.S. House representatives from Southern California on Monday called for a federal state of emergency declaration, with hopes of bringing urgent relief to a region coping with toxic, transboundary air pollution. Democratic Reps. Juan Vargas, Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin and Scott Peters pressed for urgent action “in light of new findings that alarming levels of noxious gas are emanating from the Tijuana River” in a …  Full Story Southern California officials plead for help as cross-border sewage crisis poisons air Southern California’s border-adjacent communities are pushing for emergency assistance from regional and state agencies as they contend with a cross-border sewage crisis that is poisoning the air they breathe. The writers, led by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, pushed for immediate action to cope with dangerous air pollution impacting area communities, in a Sunday letter sent to officials from the San Diego County …  Full Story Parts of Texas 'out of water' as the rest dries out, ag commissioner says Some regions of Texas have already run out of water — and the rest face a looming crisis, the state's agriculture commissioner said on Sunday. "We lose about a farm a week in Texas, but it's 700 years before we run out of land," Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told WFAA's Inside Texas Politics show on Sunday. "The limiting factor is water."                                    …  Full Story Environmental Justice  Californians of color face air pollution disparities  © AP Photo/J. David Ake Communities of color in California have seen significant improvements in air quality levels in recent years, but they are still exposed to pollutants at much higher rates than white individuals, a new study has found.      Dramatic declines: Californians across the board are inhaling far fewer contaminants from vehicle emissions than they were 25 years ago, according to the study, published in Science Advances on Wednesday.   Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) from cars, trucks and other automobiles has plunged by 65 percent. Over the past two decades, the biggest reductions in air pollution levels have occurred in Black, Hispanic and Asian communities.  Exposure inequalities: Nonetheless, stark differences in exposure rates remain, warned the authors, from the University of California Berkeley, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the University of Washington.     "Systemic inequality in terms of relative exposure disparity can persist even if the most overburdened areas receive the largest reductions in exposure in absolute terms," they stated.      Decreases statewide: The scientists developed a model to estimate total PM 2.5 levels that resulted from California vehicular emissions from 2000 to 2019 — differentiating the data by racial group and calculating population-weighted averages.  For Black Californians, exposure levels dropped from about 3.5 to 1.2 micrograms per cubic meter. For Hispanic Californians, from 3.5 to 1.3 micrograms per cubic meter. For Asian Californians, from 3.3 to 1.2 micrograms per cubic meter. For white Californians, from 2.7 to 0.9 micrograms per cubic meter.   Demographic disparities: For each demographic group, the scientists then computed the relative difference between their average pollution levels versus that of the overall state population.  They found that the relative disparity for Hispanic Californians increased from 12 percent in 2000 to 13.9 percent in 2019. Black and Asian Californians also experienced similar increases: 10.5 to 11.5 percent and 5.4 to 6.2 percent, respectively.   But for white Californians, the relative disparity in exposure decreased from negative 13.5 to negative 15.5 percent, per the study.     Shifting priorities: In light of their findings, the researchers stressed a need for policy approaches that prioritize populations most impacted by air pollution exposure.   They acknowledged that California is already addressing this challenge to some extent, with certain equity-driven, community-focused initiatives. Regulations and incentive programs are helping accelerate zero-emission vehicle deployment in lower-income areas, the authors added.   "When we find that disparities persist, they persist in a larger story of environmental inequity in California," they concluded.  On Our Radar  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: U.S. crude oil prices rose more than $2 per barrel Wednesday, which Reuters attributed to fears of production shutdowns as Hurricane Francine slams the Louisiana coast. That surge occurred despite growth in U.S. crude stockpiles last week — the first such increase in four weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported.  In Other News  Branch out with different reads from The Hill: Some schools pushing back start dates due to extreme temperatures Temperatures have been soaring due to climate change, leading more and more schools to push back start dates to avoid extreme summer heat for students.  Full Story Trump addresses climate change by returning to tariffs Former President Trump responded to a question about climate change by returning to the idea of tariffs to protect domestic industries from competition with China. Full Story Around The Nation  Local and state headlines on sustainability issues: Drought Shrivels the Mississippi River and Threatens to Disrupt US Food Exports (Bloomberg)  A Combination of Heat and Drought Walloped Virginia Vegetable Farmers (Inside Climate News)  Federal regulators call for major changes to how Vermont regulates water quality on farms (Vermont Public Radio)  What We're Reading  Sustainability news we've flagged from other outlets: Climate change is leading to higher utility bills — and not just because of rising temps (Marketplace)  U.S. Election Looms Over Climate Talks With China (The New York Times)  Climate change leaves future of Pacific Islands tourism 'highly uncertain' (BBC News)  What People Think  Opinions related to sustainability submitted to The Hill: Don't believe the talking points — Pennsylvania natural gas can be a winner for Harris  To win the clean tech race, America must prioritize energy efficiency Saving democracy can save the climate — and vice versa    You're all caught up. See you next week!  Check out The Hill's Sustainability page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001 Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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