The assumption that forest fires are a part of a "natural cycle" is partly wrong, says Michael Lind, and offers a solution for preventing forest fires that endanger homes and lives.
"Most of us assume that these giant conflagrations, often started by lightning, are a normal part of the natural cycle. That's partly true -- and partly wrong.The worst fires tend to occur where enormous amounts of dead tinder have accumulated in thick stands of trees. In much of the American West, neither the trees nor the tinder are "natural." They are there because something else is missing. That something is the buffalo....It is time to stop the century-long conversion of former buffalo country to forest -- and of that forest into firewood."
Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan
Read the full story: Opinion: Bring Back Buffalo Herds to Prevent Fires
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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