Part One of a Five Part Series

November 11th, 2007

By Yeves Perez, Editor In Chief

San Diego, CA – As the world witnessed the most devastating wildfires in California’s history, the citizen’s who have endured this tragedy have “absolutely” decided to rebuild their homes, some within hours of watching them burn to the ground. The air quality is thick from the fire’s rage, viewable from space, unhealthy to breathe. However, from the ashes of this disaster, the residents of Southern California are faced with an incredible opportunity to join the fight against Global Warming by rebuilding “Green”.

Just as Scientist’s predicted stronger hurricanes in the past, I find it absolutely fascinating that on Oct. 23rd, with the world’s attention on “Fire Storm 2007”, Brian Williams, Anne Thompson, and NBC Nightly News broadcasted their startling story, “Is Global Warming bringing more fires?” while, “a United Nations panel predicted that because of global warming, there will be more severe wildfires in our future.” Make no mistake that the effects of Global Warming in San Diego are real, and Global Warming will continue to be blamed for the severity of the weather related disasters that occur here. I know because I live here, and I’m fully aware that our region has been facing a water shortage crisis while experiencing record setting temperatures and long consecutive periods without rain. On the one hand, I agree that the Santa Ana winds have been around forever and that the 70 – 80 MPH winds do cause fires to accelerate beyond control. However, there are some who do not believe that we are facing a “Climate Crisis”, and suggest that the winds are the sole culprit. Yet, does this theory explain why the local terrain is the driest it’s been in 90 years? I think it’s evident that our region is experiencing a very serious “Climate Crisis”, which has played a significant role in the amount of devastation we’ve seen this year.

Learn more about the devastation by watching these videos:

News 8’s Larry Himmel in front of his destroyed home:

While the truth of Climate Change and other climate related irregularities in Southern California have been frequently published, residents may have ‘listened’ but have failed to take action. Perhaps the warnings have been overlooked as residents continue to enjoy the “Country’s best and beautiful” weather year round with an average daily temperature of 70.5º (21.4 degrees Celsius). The proof of changing weather patterns playing a major role in these wildfires is in the warnings.

On March 4th, 2007, Robert Krier, a San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE Staff Writer, posed the question, “Is global warming making our local weather weirder?” and reported the following: “When unusual weather hits, it's become de rigueur to wonder: Is the atmosphere sending us another signal? The past few years have given us plenty of weather to wonder about. In 2001-02, San Diego got just 3.02 inches of rain. That was the driest year in the city's rainfall history, which dates to 1850. In 2003, the city set a record for most consecutive days – 181 – without measurable rainfall. The Cedar and Paradise fires began at the tail end of that dry spell. The next year, 2004, the city went 182 days without rain. When that record dry spell ended Oct. 17, 2004, the atmosphere did a 180. San Diego got its wettest October ever, with 4.98 inches.

The year's total was 22.49 inches, making it the wettest since 1940-41. On July 22, San Diego's official high hit 99 degrees, a record for the date. Escondido (112 degrees), El Cajon (113) and the Wild Animal Park (114) had their hottest days ever recorded. In January, San Diego's official temperature dipped to 35 for the first time in 44 years, and inland readings fell to as low as 12 degrees in Campo. By Feb. 5, the atmosphere had reversed course, and San Diego set a record daily high of 83.Amy Leurs, a climate-impacts scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, cited a study published in the journal Nature that found it was very likely that human influence at least doubled the risk of the European heat wave of 2003, which killed an estimated 35,000 people.

Regardless of global warming's role in current weather oddities, climatologists stress the need to realize the extent of our vulnerability. ‘These extreme events remind us of how important climate is to our way of life,’ Leurs said. ‘We need to be aware that these extremes are likely to increase,’ and a recent study by Scripps and Anthony Westerling, a fire climatologist at the University of California Merced, concluded that wildfires in the West have increased in severity and frequency because of global warming.”
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(http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070304-9999-1m4warm.html

‘Fires may be hotter, move faster, and be more difficult to contain under future climate conditions,’ Robert Wilkinson of the University of California, Santa Barbara, School of Environmental Science and Management, said in a federal report on the impact of climate change on California. ‘Extreme temperatures compound the fire risk when other conditions, such as dry fuel and wind, are present.’ Where fires once burned without doing much damage to property, Californians have now built homes and entire subdivisions — a problem starkly illustrated by the Southern California blazes. There are plenty of lessons to be learned, said California Resources Secretary Mary Nichols, (then continued) ‘Certainly in the future we cannot allow construction quite so close to the (fire) zone, and we should create larger buffers’ such as the irrigated greenbelt that helped keep fire from Los Angeles County's Stevenson Ranch while other communities were in flames, Nichols said.” (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2003-11-12-warming-wildfires_x.htm

Three years later in 2006, USA Today published the same warning about Global Warming:

“Scientists fear global warming could bring longer, more expensive wildfire seasons from SAN DIEGO (AP) — Global warming could stoke ferocious wildfires that will be more difficult and costly to fight and might drastically alter the environment in parts of the world, some scientists warn.

Approximately 1,000 scientists and forestry officials who gathered in San Diego for an international wildfire meeting that began Monday urged policymakers to consider the effects of global warming when managing wildfires.

Wildfire season typically peaks in late summer and early fall. Climate change is already being blamed for a longer fire season and some even predict the possibility of a year-round fire season.” (http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-11-14-warmingwildfires_x.htm)

So what does Southern California do now about “Global Warming”?
Rebuild Your Homes and Businesses... GREEN!!

Similar to the reasons of driving a hybrid or electric car, the main motivation to rebuild “Green” is to reduce the carbon footprint and preserve natural resources. Rebuilding Green reduces CO2 emissions, conserves and protects natural resources, and contributes to an overall healthier indoor environment. By building Green, people can be “a part of the solution”, not the problem.

My Top Recommendation: Building Green TV on PBS

If you're going to build it, build it green - that's the motto of this pioneering and entertaining eco-lifestyle television series on PBS. Each week host Kevin Contreras explores a range of topics, from the Green Extreme to blue jean insulation as he takes viewers on a journey of discovery where they see that consciousness can be as much about style as it is about our sense of responsibility.

Termites? Earthquakes? Mold? And Wildfires – OH MY!

No Problem with a Steel Frame

As Building Green TV host Kevin Contreras often says, if you're going to build it, build it green. When he weighed the options, a steel post and beam frame for his straw bale dream home made the most sense. It's half the weight of wood after all, and yet it has twice the strength. It is guaranteed to be straight, comes pre-cut and is made from 66% recycled materials - leaving our precious forests untouched. Termites and earthquakes beware! Watch this episode of Building Green for more on the latest in steel framing and other green building solutions for a greener, healthier, more energy efficient home. Top it all off with a green roof, and you are well on your way to helping save the planet.