Hell on Earth
The Wildfire Pandemic
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
The world is burning, and it appears that we are to blame. Conditions that create large-scale fire disasters are occurring more frequently every year, spurred on by global warming. And the potential for damage, loss of life, and greater harm to the environment is staggering.
As devastating fires increase throughout the western and southern United States, the number of fires in the Brazilian rain forest continues to increase as well. Vast areas of the wilderness are dying throughout the West, setting the stage for a human and environmental tragedy.
David L. Porter has been covering wild fires in the west for more than twelve years. After losing his home to a wildfire in 2003, he set out to find how and why this was happening, not only in the western US, but around the world. Hell on Earth chronicles the origins of these catastrophes as well as the effects they are having on our planet.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the past five years, the Southwest U. S., and in particular Southern California, has suffered three seasons of crisis-level wildfires; 2003 alone saw the loss of 32 lives, nearly 4,000 homes and buildings, and over 1,100 square miles of burning land; in 2007, firestorms "quickly surpassed imagination within hours." In a rapidly moving, thriller-like account, ecology writer Porter, who lost his own home to a 2003 blaze, details the human, economic, and environmental impact of this ongoing problem, looking to precipitate change. Porter profiles wildfires and their causes, focusing early on the arsonist; he includes a frank, revealing interview with an anonymous, self-identified perpetrator. Also revealing is his investigation into wildfires' impact on global warming: "a potential feedback loop that could accelerate warming beyond current predictions." With reduced precipitation over long periods of years, destruction of trees by insects, and insufficient land management and fire control, Porter concludes, gravely, that the "threat of wildfires is real and growing." His lively narration and detailed stories from the ground, however, should catch on with a wide audience, particularly in the Southwest.
