I'm sure everyone has heard of the growing wildfire issues across the Western United States and it's starting to concern. Recently I saw the aftermath only a few hours after a wildfire was started in San Bernadino due to a gender reveal. Yes, it's the same wildfire that is all around the internet and in memes everywhere. Obviously climate change is major factor in the dryness of the Western United States, but I wanted to talk about a different reason.
Believe it or not there has a been a growing Cartel presence in the entire Western United States. Even with the legalization of marijuana, illegal growing still exists. Now you may ask, how does this affect wildfires? Well, the soil in the Western United States is perfect to grow marijuana; therefore the Cartel employs individuals to divert water with make shift dams and piping to irrigate their illegal grow. This not only affects that small ecosystem but nearby ecosystems as well. The diversion in water makes the landscape drier and forces local animals to move to water. This can make the plants in that region die or become even drier which is what a wildfire needs to spread rapidly. Lastly they use strong pesticides in order to protect their marijuana plants from other creatures in that ecosystem. This pesticide makes it's way to the water which can kill animals plants and even kill humans if ingested. The dead plants in the area create additional tinder for the wildfires.
I understand this may not effect us directly but it's having a major impact in the Western United States. If you go hiking in higher elevations, be aware of these illegal grows and report it to authorities. Stay safe everyone and have a great week.
The wildfires are terrible. I was surprised about illegal growing. All these chain reactions need to stop or California will become inhabitable.
ReplyDeleteVery informative piece about wildfires in California. These fires are dangerous and deadly; my heart goes out to all the families affected and businesses needing to be closed as a result. Science data has proven that climate change is real and I wish the topic would be less politicized. Nonetheless, we certainly saw the affect with the hazardous air quality in Las Vegas last week.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know about the Cartel presence due to the legalization marijuana how the illegal growing of the now legal plant is contributing to the wildfires! Thank you Matthew for the education :-)
ReplyDeleteFirst, I did not realize people took these gender reveal parties so seriously! I always thought they were a little silly, but we are living in times of excess. I do remember reading or maybe watching something about the cartel diverting water for growing their marijuana, but did not realize it contributed to the wildfires. It is a heartbreaking situation to see, and I also worry how it will impact my son living in California :(
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that was even happening with cartels. It so sad that all this is happening because of a gender reveal party. Human beings can be so selfish and not think of the consequences of their actions.
ReplyDeleteI saw it on the news, and I feel very bad for the people who were impacted, especially for the wild animals. I hope they get it under control soon.
ReplyDeleteI have a completely different view on the cultivation of marijuana but I do understand your point of view. Yes illegal cartel marijuana grows please report.
ReplyDeleteI never took into consideration the illegal growing of marijuana being a factor of wildfires. This example shows the butterfly effect.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think about the things we do as a species and I'm in awe we even got this far. This whole gender reveal thing reminds me of this expedition I learned about. This group of men in the 1800's decided to go explore around South America and not only ate an island's giant tortoise population to extinction but randomly started fires on nearby islands for fun, completely devastating whole ecosystems.
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