Should wildfire prevention be a larger part of America's carbon-emissions strategy? In this October 2023 essay, I examine forest fuel buildup, the resources needed for treatment, and the tension between reducing fire risk and protecting habitat. Mechanical thinning and commercial logging have different costs and incentives, which complicates the choice.
I argue for directing more public funding toward fuel reduction while considering the concerns of firefighters and environmental groups. Keeping valuable old-growth trees and paying to remove smaller trees and deadfall raises a direct budget question: who should cover work that is not profitable? The essay weighs that spending against other climate priorities and acknowledges the difficulty of measuring wildfire emissions. Reducing risk requires deciding what trade-offs we are willing to fund.
Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2023/10/31/wildfires/
