Up in Flames

It's hot outside. And it's quite dry. Yep, it's awfully dry outside.

How dry? Take a look at this map. The drought continues to worsen. And as the drought worsens, so does risk of more epic wildfires burning across Nevada.



Mount Charleston, as well as the Las Vegas Valley below, were seriously threatened by the Carpenter 1 Fire nearly a year ago. Chris Giunchigliani understands this quite well, as she spends plenty of time with her neighbors & constituents in Las Vegas and at her mountain house on Mount Charleston. Chris Giunchigliani has experienced firsthand the effects of climate change, and she urged others in Southern Nevada to take this threat seriously.



From Wall Street titans to mayors across the nation and The Pentagon, Americans want strong action to take on climate change. And Nevada, the rest of the nation, and the rest of the world stand to benefit from strong climate change.



But of course, Cliven Bundy and his merry gang of "outlaw cowboys" refuse to accept this. The Bundy Gang are too busy "going Hollywood" to worry about such things as climate change.

Yet while they're cashing in on breaking the law and pandering to dangerous extremists, BLM Southern Nevada Fire Management Officer Mike Haydon has to focus on protecting our public lands from not only dangerous extremists with "Range War" fantasies, but also climate change.



Representatives from Rep. Steven Horsford's (D-North Las Vegas, and his district includes Mount Charleston) office, Rep. Dina Titus' (D-Paradise) office, and Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown's (D-Las Vegas) office also dropped by yesterday's event at Mount Charleston because they're concerned about what lies ahead for Southern Nevada... Especially if we don't take enough action to take on climate change.



This s--t is serious. It's not something to mock. It's not something to blithely dismiss. And it's certainly not something to deny just to "score political points".

Don't believe us? Remember what happened at Mount Charleston almost a year ago. It can happen again. And we likely will see more of those large wildfires at some point soon. Either we can take action to save ourselves, or we can let our future burn up in flames.

Giant Wakeup Call

Nearly a year ago, it was in flames. And its smoke darkened the Las Vegas Valley below. The Carpenter 1 Fire was a frighteningly giant wakeup call for Southern Nevada.

Our state, along with the rest of the America. West, has been stuck in drought for several years. And with the land hotter and drier than ever before, it's become ideal ground for epic wildfires. Even today, Mount Charleston was placed at high risk for another wildfire.



As the drought worsens and the heat reaches record levels, we're left wondering how many more startling signs we must notice before we take further action on climate change. How many more wildfires must burn? How much more drought must we endure?



President Obama's climate action program will aid in curbing this and other effects of climate change. However, we can't stop here. We need further action just to avoid the worst case scenario.



Nevada's economy depends on our terrain. Las Vegas & Reno depend on tourism. The rural areas depend on farming & ranching. The entire state depends on the little amount of water we receive in precipitation every year.



While some question the cost of robust climate action and others question the very existence of climate change, all the "TEA" fueled deniers are missing the giant wakeup call outside. Go ahead and step outside. Feel the heat, and feel the dry.



It's real. It's happening. And we can no longer deny it. It's our giant wakeup call. Are we now ready to jump out of bed and take action?

Future on Fire

Is it just me, or does it feel like Nevada is on fire? Up north, the Bison Fire is breaking loose in Douglas County just as the Kyburz Fire near Lake Tahoe is nearing 100% containment.



Meanwhile down south, the Carpenter 1 Fire near Mount Charleston in Clark County actually dropped from 15% to only 10% containment as the massive 20,000 acre wildfire hopped across Kyle Canyon.




And it's not just here. Across the American West, we're seeing massive wildfires scorch the landscape. And as all this record heat and record dryness fuel these massive wildfires, it's becoming even more difficult to deny the brutal reality of climate change. We've already been noticing the parched land as a result of climate change. I guess it was just a matter of time (and incredibly hot weather) before this parched land was set ablaze.

Over time, we've seen growing evidence of human induced climate change leading to bigger and more destructive wildfires. Now, we have horrific evidence right outside our windows. How much longer can we deny reality?

As we keep emitting greenhouse gases, Arctic & Antarctic ice continues to melt. And as that ice continues to melt away at our earth's poles, meteorological mayhem ensues.

So keep this in mind as we see the fires outside. The future is in our hands. Do we really want to let it burn away?