{"id":139288,"date":"2026-07-22T10:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/139288\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T10:31:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:31:07","slug":"letters-the-intense-wildfires-in-canada-a-symptom-of-global-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/139288\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters: The intense wildfires in Canada a symptom of global crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

As recent summers have made clear, wildland megafires are no longer a regional anomaly but have become a global hazard. NASA reports<\/a> that, due to human-induced<\/a> climate change, \u201cExtreme wildfire activity has more than doubled worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hotter temperatures evaporate<\/a> soil moisture and create dry vegetation, making the land more likely to burn. According to climate scientist Phillip B. Duffy<\/a>, \u201cWhat would have been a fire easily extinguished now just grows very quickly and becomes out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

More intense wildfires are just one symptom of a much larger problem. A study in the journal Science concludes<\/a> that global soil moisture is in \u201cpermanent\u201d decline because of our warming climate.<\/p>\n

The drying of continents, driven by increased heat and evaporation, has been so pronounced that the transfer<\/a> of water to the oceans has altered the distribution of our planet\u2019s mass and affected the Earth\u2019s rotation<\/a> on its axis.<\/p>\n

As continents dry and water resources become polluted and overused, researchers warn<\/a> that the world has entered an era of \u201cglobal water bankruptcy<\/a>,\u201d in which critical water systems can no longer realistically recover to their former state.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Water bankruptcy is already evident in the United States. America\u2019s largest groundwater reserve, the Ogallala Aquifer, which supports Great Plains agriculture, is being pumped<\/a> far faster than it can refill. Water levels have fallen by hundreds of feet in some areas, with portions now effectively nonrenewable under current climate conditions and irrigation practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As evidenced by toxic Canadian wildfire<\/a> smoke drifting across the U.S., a deadly European heat wave<\/a>\u00a0and rapidly expanding \u201cmega-drying\u201d regions<\/a> in South Asia, the atmosphere has no borders.<\/p>\n

As guests of this world, we must insist that our legislators enact policies to cut emissions, conserve water and protect the Earth\u2019s life\u2011support systems on which we all depend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2014 Terry Hansen,\u00a0Grafton, Wisconsin<\/p>\n

A preview of what\u2019s to come<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has created a perfect storm of purposeful abuse, neglect and inaction. Dangerous wildfire smoke is smothering the Chicago area, and there is a public health crisis across much of the country. Forecasters warn we will endure more bad air quality alerts and scorching heat this month.<\/p>\n

Climate change is making the world hotter and wildfires harder to fight. Blazes have been erupting faster<\/a> than usual this year in the United States and Canada. National leadership at the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House offer no solutions, instead opting to play the blame game with Canada. Meanwhile, millions of people in red, blue and purple states are suffering through the worst air readings since we started keeping records.<\/p>\n

On top of this, the EPA\u2019s repeal of critical air quality protections in the last two years are all adding fuel to the fire.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a \u201cnatural\u201d disaster. It\u2019s a human-made one. We can still take action to avoid a future in which our summers are filled with smoke and searing heat. Coordinated efforts at the federal level are a critical next step. But as long as the EPA caters to polluters and not people, we will have more days and weeks like these.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nicole Cantello, president, American Federation of Government Employees Local 704, Chicago<\/p>\n

Broadcasters should be direct<\/p>\n

Regarding the smoke from Canada\u2019s wildfires, millions of people are wondering how to deal with the pervasive and dangerous clouds. We get lots of updates and warnings, but it is rare to hear a weather person or newscaster mention the connection to climate change. I heard one person say that \u201cthis is what to expect\u201d in succeeding years.<\/p>\n

As far as I am concerned, this is a teaching moment, a time to point out that the fires, winds and temperatures are a climate-warming reality. While the political powers would have us believe otherwise, science is the bottom line. Why can\u2019t the news and weather reporters emphasize that the smoke is a symptom of climate change and what to expect? Isn\u2019t it astounding that cities hundreds of miles from the deadly fires are experiencing very poor air quality? We are all connected and need to act with this reality in mind.<\/p>\n

The responsibility to alter the trends lies with all of us, but at this juncture, it is undeniably incumbent on the weather reporters to disregard any political backlash and use their platforms to inform and warn their listeners and viewers.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrea Amend, Highland Park<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t blame Canada for smoke<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump can\u2019t even accept responsibility for having chosen an unqualified vendor in a no-bid process and then asking them to do a rush job on the Reflecting Pool. He has to invent vandals and hope that if he keeps talking about them, some gullible Americans will believe him.<\/p>\n

But, oh boy, is he quick to point the finger of blame when wind currents bring smoke from Canadian wildfires across the border.\u00a0It would be excusable behavior if he was holding down a barstool in a neighborhood gin mill, but not when he sits in the Oval Office.<\/p>\n

Where I live, we\u2019ve had some of the worst of this. But I don\u2019t want a president looking to impose tariffs on Canada for smoke while denying climate change, preventing utilities from closing belching coal generators and paying to stop wind farm development.<\/p>\n

I want a president who doesn\u2019t just market himself as a smart guy.<\/p>\n

\u2014 John Podulka, Wolverine, Michigan<\/p>\n

Locked into taxation system<\/p>\n

Regarding the editorial \u201cOur neighbors are rethinking income taxes. How about it, Illinois?\u201d<\/a> (July 17): I salute the Tribune Editorial Board for encouraging the state of Illinois to rethink its current income tax system, but as the editorial itself suggests, I won\u2019t hold my breath.<\/p>\n

First, unlike surrounding states, Illinois is totally dominated by one large Democratic city that is addicted to tax-and-spend policies that assume that more money will always be available from the rich, as if money grows n trees and those who produce wealth are indifferent to how much of it others take from them in the form of taxation.<\/p>\n

Second, Illinois has more overlapping governmental units \u2014 legislative districts, townships, counties, municipalities, mosquito abatement districts, ad infinitum \u2014 than any state in the union. They come with buildings and grounds, offices and staffs. Apart from actual operating costs, there\u2019s the ever-present future burden of pensions for those who make it that far.<\/p>\n

Third, the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the 1970 Illinois Constitution prohibits any kind of meaningful pension reform. That means that employees of those governmental units are on the state payroll, with compounded annual increases and income tax-free retirement income, all paid for by working taxpayers for as long as the retirees are around to collect their pensions.<\/p>\n

Illinois would indeed do well to look at what surrounding states are doing to encourage both economic and population growth, which tend to go hand in hand.<\/p>\n

But whoever says that Chicago isn\u2019t ready for reform could well have been talking about the entire state.<\/p>\n

\u2014 David Applegate, Huntley<\/p>\n

Send less to federal government<\/p>\n

It would delight everyone to reduce taxes; that is a no-brainer. The editorial calling for us to look at other states and their lower taxes ignores the fact that we are a federal \u201cdonor\u201d state and subsidize other states. While Illinois has huge debt, the money we send to the federal government goes to poorer states.<\/p>\n

Let us keep the fruits of our own labor, and then we may be able to cut taxes and pay our own bills.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jim Fulton, Tinley Park<\/p>\n

Note to readers<\/p>\n

We\u2019d like to hear from you about Chicago\u2019s parking meter problem. Do you have advice for the city? Submit a letter of no more than 400 words to letters@chicagotribune.com by Wednesday, July 22. Be sure to include your full name and city\/town.<\/p>\n

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here<\/a> or email letters@chicagotribune.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As recent summers have made clear, wildland megafires are no longer a regional anomaly but have become a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43206,17,43374,43634,2754,20403,162,46110,43953,44362,46109],"class_list":["post-139288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-air-quality-index","tag-canada","tag-canadian-wildfire-smoke","tag-chicago-air-quality","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-crisis","tag-donald-trump","tag-donor-state","tag-environmental-protection-agency","tag-epa","tag-illinois-income-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}