Perhaps in the short term regarding albedo, though IR still largely shines through. Once the smoke dissipates soon though, it’ll be back to “normal”, except now with a large boost in CO2 levels, leading to more heating. Except it won’t be normal because the blackened forests then decrease the albedo even further than it was before. Burnt forests also get less snowpack, which again further reduces albedo. Anyone who’s dealt with heavy wildfire smoke knows the smoke tends to trap heat under it like a big blanket, too.
Wildfires (especially as big as we see them today) are definitely a net bad thing for the environment, health, communities, etc.
Wildfires are actually an important part of a forests life cycle, and they have always been around. They kill off massive swaths of old forest allowing new forest to grow, and diversifying the environment. They have been around since the forests have been, and there is a reason why they are not cited as one of the many things that is so bad for the environment. It is because they are necessary. The native Americans used to do controlled burns which would allow us to coexist with the forest fires without damaging either life form. We Americans, however, killed the vast majority of them so we could take this land. This is why it has gotten so out of hand today.
Yes, this is all correct. It was my intention to differentiate the extreme hell-blazes we often see today that completely destroy forests (soil and all) from the much smaller healthier, and more regular fires that merely thin them. Fires are important, but because of gross forest mismanagement, now for forests to undergo their natural burn cycle is to completely burn to a crisp.
Perhaps in the short term regarding albedo, though IR still largely shines through. Once the smoke dissipates soon though, it’ll be back to “normal”, except now with a large boost in CO2 levels, leading to more heating. Except it won’t be normal because the blackened forests then decrease the albedo even further than it was before. Burnt forests also get less snowpack, which again further reduces albedo. Anyone who’s dealt with heavy wildfire smoke knows the smoke tends to trap heat under it like a big blanket, too.
Wildfires (especially as big as we see them today) are definitely a net bad thing for the environment, health, communities, etc.
Wildfires are actually an important part of a forests life cycle, and they have always been around. They kill off massive swaths of old forest allowing new forest to grow, and diversifying the environment. They have been around since the forests have been, and there is a reason why they are not cited as one of the many things that is so bad for the environment. It is because they are necessary. The native Americans used to do controlled burns which would allow us to coexist with the forest fires without damaging either life form. We Americans, however, killed the vast majority of them so we could take this land. This is why it has gotten so out of hand today.
Yes, this is all correct. It was my intention to differentiate the extreme hell-blazes we often see today that completely destroy forests (soil and all) from the much smaller healthier, and more regular fires that merely thin them. Fires are important, but because of gross forest mismanagement, now for forests to undergo their natural burn cycle is to completely burn to a crisp.