Fighting Wildfires Using Indigenous Practices
Wildfires are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity. Since 2015, wildfires in the United States have burned about 8 million acres each year on average. For the past 100 years, the prevailing government policy has been to suppress, or prevent, fires in national parks and other public lands. However, some federal and state agencies […]
Maui Wildfire Relief Efforts
The wildfires on Maui that began on August 8, 2023, have caused extensive damage on this Hawaiian island. Severe drought and high winds from Hurricane Dora created conditions that fueled several fires on the island. Precise causes of the fires are still under investigation. A rapidly moving fire destroyed the town of Lahaina, Maui. […]
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Higher Pork Prices Coming? In 2018, voters in California overwhelmingly approved an animal rights proposition (Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Proposition). It required more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens, and calves. The law applies not only to California farmers, but to any products imported by California from other states. Only 4 percent of […]
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An Incomplete Count? btw and Election Central have covered the importance of the 2020 Census throughout this year. Census information is used to determine everything from how many social services resources a community receives, to how many seats a state will have in Congress. But getting a complete count of an entire nation is more […]
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Back to School–Sort of “Back to school” can always be stressful. But this year it comes with a new set of challenges. School district leaders must make difficult decisions about whether to begin the school year in-person, remotely, or in a hybrid combination of these two directions. All plans bring with them their own difficulties. […]
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California Tackles Homelessness Crisis Widespread homelessness can sometimes feel like an impossible problem to solve. But in the wake of receiving a troubling report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently, the governor of California has decided to make a bold attempt at tackling his state’s homelessness problem: by declaring a […]
Mandatory Power Outages Fail to Stop California Wildfires
Devastating wildfires in California have become so commonplace that they barely make national headlines anymore, despite causing catastrophic damage, loss of property, and loss of life. A large utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., has been blamed in the past for not properly maintaining power lines and transmitters, and that this poor care has […]
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Power Company to Blame for California Wildfires Last December, btw brought you the story of the recent California wildfire, the Camp Fire, that was more deadly than California’s other seven worst wildfires combined. The Camp Fire killed at least 86 people, destroyed roughly 18,500 structures, and nearly leveled the town of Paradise, California. Now, the […]
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Paradise Lost Once again, Northern California is finding itself ravaged by wildfires–and this year is the deadliest and most destructive one yet. The confirmed death toll currently stands at 85, but with at least 249 still missing, it’s expected to continue to rise. Furthermore, after two weeks, the Camp Fire has destroyed more buildings than […]
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Fight Fire with . . . a Bill? You can’t stop wildfires with a law. Or can you? California state legislators, facing a second year of record-level wildfire destruction, are trying to do just that. One proposal is to pass laws requiring a more rigorous emergency alert system, to give more people time to evacuate. […]