Episode 12 - The Impacts of Wildfire

Perspectives on Sustainable Development

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For this episode Chris was joined by Sarah Henderson (Scientific Director, British Columbia Centers for Disease Control) and Christine Wiedinmyer (Associate Director of Science at Cires at the University of Colorado Boulder). Chris went heavy on the graphics and visuals during his intro this time because wildfire is such a visceral issue. Annual acreage burned is rising each year, insurance costs are a huge problem that not enough people are addressing, and air quality impacts from wildfire smoke are substantial.
It seems like many of the east coast of the US woke up to this issue when their skies were darkened multiple times in 2023 by Canadian wildfire smoke. Perhaps this is due to the level of change that would be needed to cause such an effect? I say this every time, but this episode made me feel smarter on these issues, made me have more questions, and made me wonder what coming years would look like? Turns out that Sarah and Christine have pretty nifty modeling programs that can help answer many of those questions. They are two brilliant leaders, enjoy.