Approaching the Fire-Filled Future Like a Scientist

Experts move the needle on addressing record-breaking wildfires

This week, Future Human published Kate Wheeling’s encouraging feature about a growing group of Californians learning the skills to live with fire instead of fight it. As flames continue to scorch the Western states, the group’s forward-looking mindset — and willingness to adapt and unlearn old assumptions about what’s best for the land — feels like one especially worth adopting. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out here.

The Residents Setting California on Fire in Order to Save It

In an editorial published in the journal Science today, two ecology experts emeriti continue the conversation about moving toward a fire-filled future. It’s surprisingly motivating: While there’s no doubt anthropogenic climate change is causing the increase in wildfires, they argue, solutions are not impossible. Now, more than ever, we must systematically tease apart and tackle the individual factors underlying the problem. In other words, it’s time to think like scientists.

“Some issues will have technical solutions — fires sparked by power lines can be prevented. Some involve knotty ecological processes: Lands that have had fires removed can suffer an ecological fire deficit for which…