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Wilkes-Barre Times Editorial: Wildfire Smoke A Reminder Of Our Shared Vulnerability

This editorial first appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Luzerne County, on June 7, 2023--

With any luck, and if the local weather gurus are right, by the time you read this the worst of our Smoke Apocalypse (Smokepocalypse?) should be over. The eerie Outer Limits-style orangey haze will have begun to ebb, the campfire smell should be subsiding.

It’s easy to make light of this very real problem. Just think of the playlist available for your own mix: Smoke gets in your eyes (The Platters), Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple), Blue Smoke (Dolly Parton), and of course, multiple songs by different artists simply titled “Smoke.”

You can quip about blowing smoke, smoke screens, smoking in bed, holy smoke, smoke and mirrors, and all that secondhand smoke from our Canadian neighbors

(Please don’t call and write about putting down our allies to the north. We love Canada, and hope they can get through these dangerous wildfires soon and with minimal loss).

It’s also easy to underestimate the risks.

If you are elderly or very young, if you already cope with pulmonary problems, or if you have other health risks during these days of dystopian skies and ash aroma, please follow the recommendations.

Stay indoors as much as possible, close windows, use AC (if you have it) on “recirculate,” consider wearing a breathing mask outdoors even for short trips.

If you have kids, rub against the grain for a few days and encourage them to “go play inside!”

Even if you are healthy and fearless, it’s still a good idea to skip outdoor runs or bicycle rides, unnecessary work in gardens or on the house exterior, or other strenuous activities that will have you gulping huge amounts of the fine-particle pollution clouding our county.

We will briefly point out the possibility that this is a consequence of “climate change.” We know those who don’t believe won’t be swayed by a few days or even a week of lowered visibility and nostrils filled with the ubiquitous scent of smoke.

But we humbly suggest at least considering the logic: Warmer temperatures lead to dry forests, increasing the risks of fires starting and increasing the size of them when something does ignite.

Even if our current haze isn’t clear evidence of climate change, it serves as a physical example of the potential consequences.

Maybe it’s worth making some changes to avoid the possibility of more of this?

But we think the most obvious lesson is how little Mother Nature cares about man-made borders.

We can put “America First” all we want (and we should want to do that in many cases) but our efforts on that front only impact interactions with people.

The wind currents clearly don’t respect any nation or state. They are of a higher order than any government.

Our Haze Days are a powerful reminder of just how consequential distant natural events can hurt us.

Fires hundreds of miles away and across the border can and will impact the air we breathe.

Earthquakes can occur elsewhere but still touch our lives by disrupting supply chains and businesses here.

Hurricanes never actually form in the U.S., but they wreak a great deal of havoc when they visit.

Smoke spewed into the air from factories an ocean away can become acid rain pouring into our fields and waterways.

And yes, a virus outbreak anywhere can sweep into our homes and kill millions.

So, no, smoke from Canadian wildfires is not a catastrophe in Luzerne County. But we believe it should be a cautionary reminder of how vulnerable we can be to events not only out of our country, but out of anyone’s control.

NewsClips:

-- Tribune-Review Column: Where There's Smoke, There's Wildfires And Serious Questions To Answer - By Lori Falce, Tribune-Review Community Engagement Editor [PaEN]

-- Centre Daily Times: Climate Watch - Baseball: The Common Ground On Climate Change

-- PA Capital-Star - John Micek: What The Wildfires Teach Us - We Might Not Survive Our Own Climate Foolishness, But The Planet Will Go On Spinning Without Us

-- Scranton Times: ‘You Can Feel The Smoke Right In Your Throat’

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Air Quality Reaches Hazardous Levels, How Long Will It Last?

-- TribLive: Western PA Air Quality Worsens As Canadian Wildfires Continue To Burn

-- Post-Gazette: What Are Local Health Implications Of Canadian Wildfires?

-- Erie Times: Erie’s Air Quality ‘Unhealthy’ Due To Canadian Wildfires

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Canadian Wildfire Smoke Likely Contributing To Delays, Cancellations Of Flights Out Of Pittsburgh

-- WHYY: Wildfires: Philadelphians Urged To Stay Indoors, Phillies Game Rescheduled

-- Inquirer: Bad Air Quality Poses A Particular Risk To Children With Asthma, In Philly That Means Mostly Black And Hispanic Kids