skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: "Mega" Wildfires Likely to Increase in West

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 18, 2017   

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – As the Trump administration takes steps to sideline environmental science, recent research confirms that states will need to brace for more frequent, and bigger, wildfires because of climate change.

South Dakota State University scientist, Mark Cochrane, studied more than a decade's worth of satellite data examining nearly 23,000 fires worldwide. He says the biggest fires emerged from similar conditions.

"Extreme drought, high wind, high heat and low humidity are getting more and more common," he said. "That correlates completely with where we see these, we'll call them 'mega-fires,' and those conditions seem to be worsening, and therefore we would expect more and more of these very large fires to continue occurring."

Cochrane says western states will continue to be most at risk in the U.S. unless leaders get serious about cutting carbon emissions.

President Trump has blocked EPA efforts to reduce climate pollution and wants to cut the agency's budget by at least 30 percent, citing a need to reverse what he sees as government intrusion and also to create jobs.

Using 15 years of weather data, researchers modeled how fires would behave as the planet gets warmer, and predict the number of days in fire seasons is likely to increase by 20 to 50 percent. Cochrane says it's important to take steps to adapt.

"Part of that would be not building our houses in extremely flammable landscapes, or, if we're going to do that, then to build them to be more survivable in those landscapes," he added. "Right now we're building very flammable houses in flammable landscapes, and so that's a recipe for disaster."

Cochrane says assuming business-as-usual CO2 emissions, by 2041 western states should expect four extreme fire events for every three that occur now.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021