Political Quotes

“wildfires have already burned almost 300,000 acres in Nevada this year, and over 1.7 million acres were destroyed by fire last year. One particularly devastating fire last year burned over 500,000 acres in southern Nevada. Well-established science indicates small, normally occurring wildfires are part of the healthy life-cycle of forests. Large, catastrophic fires, though, can sometimes cause extreme and irreversible damage to the delicate ecosystems in the West. People in Nevada have always been concerned about wildfires and their ability to destroy homes, businesses, and our State's natural beauty. Recently, though, Nevadans and people throughout the West have begun to notice and ask questions about the dramatic changes in wildfire intensity and frequency. The Congressional Research Service has concluded that many factors contribute to the threat of wildfires. These factors include unnaturally high fuel loads, the urban-wildland interface, the increase of invasive plant species, unnatural wildfire suppression, and grazing and logging practices. A recent scholarly article titled ``Warming and Earlier Spring Increases Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity'' published online on July 6, 2006, in the Journal of Science focuses on the previously unexplored correlation between climate change and wildfires. The article found that the frequency and intensity of wildfires in the West are growing as the climate gets hotter.…”