So, you're at your second home complaining about the air particulates - from Canadian wildfires? From your favorite AI, Perplexity (abstracted snippets):
"A significant majority of Canadian wildfires are started by humans, rather than natural causes such as lightning...Human causes include arson, campfires left unattended or improperly extinguished, discarded cigarettes, vehicle sparks, and fires originating in homeless encampments.
As much as 80% of wildfires in Canada—outside the far north—are started by human activity. Alberta, as an example, saw virtually all wildfires in spring 2024 classified as “human-caused,” attributed to recreational activity and careless behavior."
And it mentions other fire causes as well (like deliberate arson).
So yes, Lloyd, Canada can be blamed (even if only partly). That said, there has been a lot of wildfire smoke identifiable as stemming from Canadian lands, so it fits.
And to be even handed, American forests suffer the same issues and those billows of smoke are owned by the US regardless of the cause type.
Here's a post idea for you: California Gov Newsom and LA Mayor Bass has pulled a Magoo after telling the burned out residents in the Palisades et al that they will expedite rebuilding permits. The truth is that they are not and have changed the regulations to make it almost impossible to rebuild (regulation-wise and financially) what residents had. The already stated intention is to support higher density low income multi-family housing in that formerly upper valued housing.
E.g., I think they are targeting your "Goldilocks density" to replace what was the norm.
I asked perplexity what percentage of canadian wildfires were started by arson and got a completely different answer
Arson is responsible for approximately 5 to 10 percent of wildfires in Canada in any given year. For example, in Alberta in 2023, 8.4 percent of all wildfires were categorized as arson, which is slightly above the previous five-year average of 7.8 percent. While these percentages may vary from year to year and by region, the overall national proportion typically falls within this 5–10 percent range.
It is important to note that arson-related fires account for much less than one percent of the total wildfire damage, as most of the area burned is caused by lightning and not by fires started intentionally by humans.
Wikipedia links to a URL on the 2023 Canadian wildfires that states roughly half of all fires in Canada are directly started by people and account for about 20% of the area burned each year.
I think it’s a question of logistics in assigning resources to fight a fire. Even if the overall acreage burned due to humans pales to those started by lightning, they likely are burning closer to populated areas and pose greater monetary and mortality risks.
I dryly note that you sidestepped my "Goldilocks density" replacing burned out single housing units. Which policy should reign supreme - your push for higher density living or single family rebuilds?
Please note that I didn't state that arson was a main driver - it was only in passing.
However, to your main point: My question would be "How was your query formatted?" as I have found that, even with Perplexity, HOW a question is asked can vary the result.
Mine was rather simplistic: "How many of the Canadian wildfires of the last few years have been set by arsonists, careless campers, or homeless?". Even as "arsonists" was used first, it wasn't the highest rated cause.
If your query was even a little different, I'm not surprised at your results. One thing that Perplexity revealed that I didn't know was how Canada categorizes fires:
"Canadian fire authorities often track the cause as “human,” “natural,” or “undetermined,” rather than specifically distinguishing arson, careless campers, or fires started in homeless encampments across regional or national annual reports. As a result, no official annual tally breaks down the total number of such fires by these exact categories for the entire country.
There's more textual answers but here was the summarization:
Summary Table: Fire Cause Trends (Sample Regions, 2022–2024)
Year Region Human-Caused Fires (%) Notable Details
2022 Canada-wide ~80% Majority from carelessness; some arson
2022 Ottawa -- 8 homeless encampment fires
2023 Alberta Nearly all Spring/summer—no lightning; human-caused
2023 Ottawa -- 19 homeless encampment fires
2024 Alberta Nearly all (to April) Human recreational/careless activity; few natural
2024 Prince George -- 7+ fires in homeless encampment"
Summary Conclusion: "Most Canadian wildfires in recent years have been caused by humans".
So yes, I think that I'm on safe ground in asserting that the Canadian wildfires were not directly caused by climate change and, given that they were set by humans on Canadian soil, we can safely call them Canadian wildfires.
Thanks for sharing this! I’m in Colorado, so we either get our own share of wildfires or are adjacent to other western states on fire. I just read this morning about the two fires in the Grand Canyon. I had heard about them before today but my lungs and throat certainly sensed smoke over the last week. I’m sensitive to smoke and get an asthmatic reaction to it, but, of course, my apple weather app wasn’t showing even the “if you’re sensitive, stay inside” notice either.
And as a fellow educator, I continue to be utterly freaking amazed that there are still climate change deniers. It’s called science, people. Just like with that little virus called Covid. Perhaps a little more time getting educated and a little less time kayaking in the smoke is called for 🙄.
Don't blame Canada. Blame the deep state. They set these fires on purpose to make us all "see the effects of global warming". So I will not stay in my house. Because they want us to be obedient slaves fearful of everything. This is just like Covid. it's just like taking the vaccine after you get Covid. The deep state made that too. So I will not follow the government rules. Even if it means, I cough and get a little bit sick. Which I did after kayaking all day on Sunday. Also, why did the smoke smell like plastic? They're obviously dumping more stuff in our sky to mix in with the smoke coming over Minnesota. They want us confined to our homes in our "smart cities" on our computers and to eventually just loose our souls connected AI. I will not do it. Nature is my savior.
"And don't blame Canada!"
So, you're at your second home complaining about the air particulates - from Canadian wildfires? From your favorite AI, Perplexity (abstracted snippets):
"A significant majority of Canadian wildfires are started by humans, rather than natural causes such as lightning...Human causes include arson, campfires left unattended or improperly extinguished, discarded cigarettes, vehicle sparks, and fires originating in homeless encampments.
As much as 80% of wildfires in Canada—outside the far north—are started by human activity. Alberta, as an example, saw virtually all wildfires in spring 2024 classified as “human-caused,” attributed to recreational activity and careless behavior."
And it mentions other fire causes as well (like deliberate arson).
So yes, Lloyd, Canada can be blamed (even if only partly). That said, there has been a lot of wildfire smoke identifiable as stemming from Canadian lands, so it fits.
And to be even handed, American forests suffer the same issues and those billows of smoke are owned by the US regardless of the cause type.
Here's a post idea for you: California Gov Newsom and LA Mayor Bass has pulled a Magoo after telling the burned out residents in the Palisades et al that they will expedite rebuilding permits. The truth is that they are not and have changed the regulations to make it almost impossible to rebuild (regulation-wise and financially) what residents had. The already stated intention is to support higher density low income multi-family housing in that formerly upper valued housing.
E.g., I think they are targeting your "Goldilocks density" to replace what was the norm.
Which is fair?
I asked perplexity what percentage of canadian wildfires were started by arson and got a completely different answer
Arson is responsible for approximately 5 to 10 percent of wildfires in Canada in any given year. For example, in Alberta in 2023, 8.4 percent of all wildfires were categorized as arson, which is slightly above the previous five-year average of 7.8 percent. While these percentages may vary from year to year and by region, the overall national proportion typically falls within this 5–10 percent range.
It is important to note that arson-related fires account for much less than one percent of the total wildfire damage, as most of the area burned is caused by lightning and not by fires started intentionally by humans.
Wikipedia links to a URL on the 2023 Canadian wildfires that states roughly half of all fires in Canada are directly started by people and account for about 20% of the area burned each year.
I think it’s a question of logistics in assigning resources to fight a fire. Even if the overall acreage burned due to humans pales to those started by lightning, they likely are burning closer to populated areas and pose greater monetary and mortality risks.
I dryly note that you sidestepped my "Goldilocks density" replacing burned out single housing units. Which policy should reign supreme - your push for higher density living or single family rebuilds?
Please note that I didn't state that arson was a main driver - it was only in passing.
However, to your main point: My question would be "How was your query formatted?" as I have found that, even with Perplexity, HOW a question is asked can vary the result.
Mine was rather simplistic: "How many of the Canadian wildfires of the last few years have been set by arsonists, careless campers, or homeless?". Even as "arsonists" was used first, it wasn't the highest rated cause.
If your query was even a little different, I'm not surprised at your results. One thing that Perplexity revealed that I didn't know was how Canada categorizes fires:
"Canadian fire authorities often track the cause as “human,” “natural,” or “undetermined,” rather than specifically distinguishing arson, careless campers, or fires started in homeless encampments across regional or national annual reports. As a result, no official annual tally breaks down the total number of such fires by these exact categories for the entire country.
There's more textual answers but here was the summarization:
Summary Table: Fire Cause Trends (Sample Regions, 2022–2024)
Year Region Human-Caused Fires (%) Notable Details
2022 Canada-wide ~80% Majority from carelessness; some arson
2022 Ottawa -- 8 homeless encampment fires
2023 Alberta Nearly all Spring/summer—no lightning; human-caused
2023 Ottawa -- 19 homeless encampment fires
2024 Alberta Nearly all (to April) Human recreational/careless activity; few natural
2024 Prince George -- 7+ fires in homeless encampment"
Summary Conclusion: "Most Canadian wildfires in recent years have been caused by humans".
So yes, I think that I'm on safe ground in asserting that the Canadian wildfires were not directly caused by climate change and, given that they were set by humans on Canadian soil, we can safely call them Canadian wildfires.
Thanks for sharing this! I’m in Colorado, so we either get our own share of wildfires or are adjacent to other western states on fire. I just read this morning about the two fires in the Grand Canyon. I had heard about them before today but my lungs and throat certainly sensed smoke over the last week. I’m sensitive to smoke and get an asthmatic reaction to it, but, of course, my apple weather app wasn’t showing even the “if you’re sensitive, stay inside” notice either.
And as a fellow educator, I continue to be utterly freaking amazed that there are still climate change deniers. It’s called science, people. Just like with that little virus called Covid. Perhaps a little more time getting educated and a little less time kayaking in the smoke is called for 🙄.
How does particulate exposure from burning fossil fuels compare to particulate exposure from tires and break pads?
Oh, Lloyd has complained about the latter two items as well.
Don't blame Canada. Blame the deep state. They set these fires on purpose to make us all "see the effects of global warming". So I will not stay in my house. Because they want us to be obedient slaves fearful of everything. This is just like Covid. it's just like taking the vaccine after you get Covid. The deep state made that too. So I will not follow the government rules. Even if it means, I cough and get a little bit sick. Which I did after kayaking all day on Sunday. Also, why did the smoke smell like plastic? They're obviously dumping more stuff in our sky to mix in with the smoke coming over Minnesota. They want us confined to our homes in our "smart cities" on our computers and to eventually just loose our souls connected AI. I will not do it. Nature is my savior.
Go fuck yourself 😤