Extreme Fires And Floods

"Explore the devastation left behind by fires and floods though these dramatic stories. Clear text emphasizes scientific efforts to better understand how to prepare for and prevent fires and floods, while appropriately high-impact visuals keep readers engaged"--Provided by publsher.

In just a few seconds, a spark can turn a forest into a rapidly spreading inferno of intense heat and suffocating smoke. Firefighters try to control the wildfire—a battle that might last for months. Water can be used to fight wildfires, but too much water can cause deadly floods. Floods reduce land to swamp and sweep away houses and bridges. In their wake, they leave food shortages, contaminated drinking water, and diseases like cholera and typhus. Follow the scorched trail of the worst wildfires ever, learn what causes flash floods, and discover the technology that helps predict these devastating disasters.

The latest science and compelling stories describing the impacts of droughts, floods, and fires in the context of climate change.

"Every year, droughts, floods, and fires impact hundreds of millions of people and cause massive economic losses. Climate change is making these catastrophes more dangerous. Now. Not in the future: NOW. This book describes how and why climate change is already fomenting dire consequences, and will certainly make climate disasters worse in the near future. Chris Funk combines the latest science with compelling stories, providing a timely, accessible, and beautifully-written synopsis of this critical topic. The book describes our unique and fragile Earth system, and the negative impacts humans are having on our support systems. It then examines recent disasters, including heat waves, extreme precipitation, hurricanes, fires, El Niños and La Niñas, and their human consequences. By clearly describing the dangerous impacts that are already occurring, Funk provides a clarion call for social change, yet also conveys the beauty and wonder of our planet, and hope for our collective future"--

Explains why fires and floods are a part of the natural environment, and describes how scientists try to forecast and prevent such potential disasters.

Extreme weather dominates news bulletins around the world. From tsunamis to superstorms, floods to wild fires, natural disasters affect people globally on a daily basis. Wild fires, and their deadly consequences, have hit the headlines over the past decade as huge fires have devastated areas in countries around the world. But why are these occurrences becoming more frequent, and more severe? And what happens to the affected communities after disaster has struck? Planet in Peril: Wild Fires answers these questions and many more, including when and why wild fires occur, and how technology is helping people to prepare for, and protect themselves against, them. The book looks at three of these natural disasters from recent years in detail: the Black Saturday bushfires in Australia in 2009, the Colorado wildfire of 2012 and the forest fires in Bolivia in 2010. Comprehensive case studies cover when and where the fires started, the immediate impact of the disaster, the fire damage, the long-term effects, the global aid efforts and the rebuilding and regeneration of affected communities. Eyewitness panels give firsthand accounts of the disaster from flood victims, emergency service personnel, including the rural fire service involved, aid workers and scientists working to combat the effects of natural disasters. Infographic elements display statistics about each wild fire in a clear, concise and visual way. Learn about the preparations made for wild fires: what protective mechanisms and warning systems are in place, the emergency drills people must learn, and how communities are evacuated in the event of a disaster. Find out about the disaster recovery effort immediately after each event, how aid reaches affected areas, and where it comes from. See how communities fare in the immediate aftermath, how they cope with damage to infrastructure and homes, lack of basic necessities and, in some cases, the loss of friends or relatives. Then find out how they cope long-term, deal with the economic impact, and regenerate. Discover whether climate change and global warming are increasing the impact and severity of wild fires, and how research is being done, and technology developed, to combat it. See how warning systems and evacuation drills can dramatically improve people's chances of survival, and learn about some solutions, such as firebreaks, that reduce the impact of wild fires. Planet in Peril: Wild Fires is ideal for children age 9+, for geography and science projects, or simply for anyone interested in finding out the background behind the 'extreme weather' news reports. Wild fires are not the only natural disaster our planet faces, find out about tsunamis, superstorms and floods in other titles in the series.

From a writer and expert who has been at the center of the fight for more than thirty years, a brilliant, big-picture reckoning with our shocking failure to address climate change. Fire and Flood focuses on the malign power of key business interests, arguing that those same interests could flip the story very quickly—if they can get ahead of a looming economic catastrophe. Eugene Linden wrote his first story on climate change, for Time magazine, in 1988; it was just the beginning of his investigative work, exploring all ramifications of this impending disaster. Fire and Flood represents his definitive case for the prosecution as to how and why we have arrived at our current dire pass, closing with his argument that the same forces that have confused the public’s mind and slowed the policy response are poised to pivot with astonishing speed, as long-term risks have become present-day realities and the cliff’s edge is now within view. Starting with the 1980s, Linden tells the story, decade by decade, by looking at four clocks that move at different speeds: the reality of climate change itself; the scientific consensus about it, which always lags reality; public opinion and political will, which lag further still; and, perhaps most important, business and finance. Reality marches on at its own pace, but the public will and even the science are downstream from the money, and Fire and Flood shows how devilishly effective moneyed climate-change deniers have been at slowing and even reversing the progress of our collective awakening. When a threat means certain but future disaster, but addressing it means losing present-tense profit, capitalism’s response has been sadly predictable. Now, however, the seasons of fire and flood have crossed the threshold into plain view. Linden focuses on the insurance industry as one loud canary in the coal mine: fire and flood zones in Florida and California, among other regions, are now seeing what many call “climate redlining.” The whole system is teetering on the brink, and the odds of another housing collapse, for starters, are much higher than most people understand. There is a path back from the cliff, but we must pick up the pace. Fire and Flood shows us why, and how.