Greece Is Burning

But, it is not just Greece, there have been wildfires raging around the world. A larger version of the global fire map is here. I know fire living in Southern California. In 2003, in two days in October, wildfires burned over 400 square miles of San Diego County (below), consuming 5,000 acres an hour.
It is convenient to blame the fires on arson. The proximate cause often is. But there is another reason these fires become so large and so destructive and man is still the cause. One of the predicted effects of global warming is fire. It is something of a feedback loop. Warmer temperatures causes drier vegetation which catches fire easier, as more vegetation burns there is less to consume carbon dioxide which accelerates the greenhouse effect which, in turn, causes warmer temperatures, drier vegetation, and still more fires.


Think Hell on Earth.


Other links: satellite images of fires from around the world;
Science Magazine on climate change and fire;