Story proposal round two

My topic is fairly broad but could be expanded further or sharpened to fit space constraints, as such I believe I could write anywhere from 600-2000 words.

Having yet to do any interviews it is difficult to begin writing my section of our combined piece on climate change. Even so I have an idea of the direction I would like to go and some of the sources I hope to find.

After speaking with Addy Hatch and mulling over my options I have come up with a solid story idea, and a focus for that story. My nut graph might look something like this:
As they pulled from their driveway, their car packed with possessions John and Jane Doe said they knew it might be the last time they ever saw their dream home. They spent the night in a temporary shelter with other Spokane Valley residents who had been forced to evacuate by a 1000 acre wildfire that threatened their properties. Some of those residents would be able to return home a few days later.
The Doe's and 12 other families whose houses were destroyed by the (name of fire) fire would not be so lucky. Wildfires are on the rise in Eastern Washington, and in the last (supporting fact, number of wildfires in past years, number of acres burned etc.).

Some examples of fires last summer that caused damage in the Inland Northwest.

"♦ The Badger complex fire north of Wenatchee, two fires burning 13,000 acres in primarily grass, wheat and sagebrush. Paul Norman, information officer for the Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, Ore., said the fire - the Browns Canyon fire and the Badger Mountain fire - was threatening 60 homes on Saturday. Norman said an evacuation order had been issued for the residents of the homes. Norman said the two fires had burned a total of 13,000 acres. The 4,200-acre Browns Canyon fire was 70 percent contained and the 8,800-acre Badger Mountain fire was 50 percent contained on Saturday, Norman said.
♦ The Cayuse fire 14 miles east of Okanogan that had burned 1,500 acres in timber, grass and sagebrush. There were 287 firefighters, aided by four helicopters, battling the blaze on Saturday, Norman said.
♦ Three fires - the French Valley, the Abaham Canyon and the Doyle Complex blazes - that had burned 900 acres along the Kettle River on Saturday. They were 15 percent contained and it was being fought by 292 firefighters, Norman said."
The information provided above came from an article on KomoNews.com http://www.komonews.com/news/local/24717604.html

After addressing a brief history of wildfire in the region I would attempt to pick out some trends. I would speak with experts on forestry, wildfires, and climate change. Some of these contacts could likely come in the form of professors, researchers and faculty at Eastern Washington University, the University of Idaho, and the University of Washington.
I would also like to talk to firefighters who have first hand experience fighting these fires. I think it would be good to get perspectives from the front lines of these fires. Although they might not have a great deal of technical expertise they would be able to help interpret some of the information and provide another human side in looking at this issue.

As I mentioned in my last blog entry: "In doing this I would like to address some questions: Are wildfires increasing in Washington? If so why are they increasing? What are the economic impacts of wildfires? Is there a family with a story about how their house was burned? What are the environmental impacts of wildfires? What will happen with this issue in the future? How is rainfall tied in and how will this change as we experience further climatic change?"

A couple sources of information in the form of academic journals I have found so far include:
Understory vegetation response to thinning and burning restoration treatments in dry conifer forests of the eastern Cascades, USA from Forest ecology and management. 255, no. 8-9 (2008 May): p. 3130-3140.

Atmospheric, climatic, and ecological controls on extreme wildfire years in the northwestern United States. Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. 15, (2005 Feb.): p. 154-174.Some other articles I have found that relate to this subject.

Below are some additional articles I found, nutgraphs for these articles are included to prove their relevance to the subject. Not all of these articles deal with wildfires in the Inland Northwest but all deal with the correlation between wildfire and climate change.

The Washington Post
September 27, 2007 Thursday Regional Edition
The Climate Change Peril That Insurers See
BYLINE: John Morrison and Alex Sink
SECTION: EDITORIAL COPY; Pg. A25
LENGTH: 872 words
Montana is burning again. This summer, some of the nation's worst wildfires incinerated homes, barns and fences, killing livestock and forcing families to evacuate. Wildfires have increased fourfold since the 1980s, and they are bigger and harder to contain because of earlier-arriving springs and hotter, bone-dry summers. Last year's fires broke records; this year could be worse. As courageous firefighters beat back the flames, insurance companies continue to pay out billions for wildfire losses across the West.

The Washington Times
March 23, 2008 Sunday
Wildfire warming effects
BYLINE: By Thomas M. Bonnicksen, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
SECTION: COMMENTARY; B04
LENGTH: 707 words
California has gained an international reputation for its efforts to fight global warming - but the progress the state makes is often undone right here at home.The catastrophic and unnatural forest fires that ravage California each year don't resemble the historic fires that took place in these forests for millennia. Frequent lightning and Indian-set fires that burned along the ground, igniting only scattered small groups of trees, kept forests open and healthy, and resistant to catastrophic fires.Some people argue we have to live with fire. On the contrary, an industrialized world can't live with fire. We would have to move out of our forests to be safe and get out of our cars to eliminate tailpipe emissions to make up for the greenhouse gases that wildfires emit into the atmosphere.That isn't realistic, so the only solution is to fight global warming and protect our communities and forests by reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires.

Northwest Construction
February 1, 2007
State Study Shows Global Warming Changing NW Economy; A recent State of Washington study shows how global warming is bringing economic challenges and opportunities.
BYLINE: Staff
SECTION: Green Building News; Pg. 7 Vol. 10 No. 2
LENGTH: 186 wordsClimate change is already affecting Washington's economy, according to a study requested by the departments of Ecology and Community Trade and Economic Development. A team of scientists and economists evaluated climate change in producing the state report. The study warns that economic effects are likely to grow in the Pacific Northwest as temperatures increase. A warming Pacific Northwest, extreme weather, reduced snow pack and sea level rise are four major ways climate change is disrupting Washington's economy, environment and communities. Key evidence of climate change effects in Washington include: retreating glaciers, decreasing snow pack, lower summer stream flows, more wildfires, and rising sea levels.

Christian Science Monitor
November 1, 2007, Thursday
Nation must adapt to greater wildfire risk
BYLINE: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
SECTION: FEATURES, CURRENTS; Pg. 13
LENGTH: 1376 words
Droughts, floods, severe storms, and sea-level rise often get the lion's share of attention in the litany of projected effects from global warming. But October's disastrous wildfires in California - part of one of the most intense fire seasons in the United States in nearly 50 years - are likely to raise the profile of such events, even if a firm link between the state's fires and climate change has yet to be made.

Story Proposals

After meeting with Addy Hatch today in class I've refined my two story proposals. But before I go further into that I will post my primary original story proposal.

1) The effects of climate change on Wildfires.
I thought it would be interesting to explore the recent history of wildfires in Washington specifically focusing on the area around Spokane. I think this would be interesting and relevant to readers in Eastern Washington after a summer when numerous houses were destroyed by fires in the area.
In doing this I would like to address some questions: Are wildfires increasing in Washington? If so why are they increasing? What are the economic impacts of wildfires? Is there a family with a story about how their house was burned? What are the environmental impacts of wildfires? What will happen with this issue in the future? How is rainfall tied in and how will this change as we experience further climatic change?
In the 2003 Seattle P-I series on climate change a section on forests briefly addressed some of the issues involved with forest fires. This would be a good place to look for some starting ideas and initial sources.
Some sources could include Jerry Franklin a UW forestry scientist and his colleagues as well as employees in the forestry programs at other NW schools, specifically the University of Idaho.
On this topic I found a couple of journal articles, they are as follows:

1. Understory vegetation response to thinning and burning restoration treatments in dry conifer forests of the eastern Cascades, USA from Forest ecology and management. 255, no. 8-9 (2008 May): p. 3130-3140.
2. Atmospheric, climatic, and ecological controls on extreme wildfire years in the northwestern United States. Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America. 15, (2005 Feb.): p. 154-174.

After talking with Hatch I also decided to consider another story that would involve me talking to different people who do not believe in climate change in the sense of global warming. I would then synthesize their ideas and talk about the social and political aspects of climate change. This would be a good exercise in portraying a view that is different from mine in a balanced manner without letting my own personal biases intrude on the story. I also think this would be very interesting for me to write and for readers to read.

'Old Farmer's Almanac' predicts global cooling

If the writers of the Old Farmer's Almanac are correct we'll have to rethink our ideas about climate change.

When the most recent edition of the book that has been published continuously since 1972 Tuesday it's writers predicted decades of global cooling. The writers of the almanac use time tested methods of predicting weather including the study of sunspots and ocean temperature measurements to provide fairly accurate weather forecasts.

A Sept. 10 Associated Press article quoted meteorologist and climatologist at the Old Farmer's Almanac Joseph D'Aleo0 as writing, "We at the Almanac are among those who believe that sunspot cycles and their effects on oceans correlate with climate changes...studying these and other factor suggests that cold, not warm, climate may be our future."

The almanac though does not take into account human effects on the climate. They stand behind their prediction that the climate would cool if it were not for the climate changing effects of humans. The Jud Hale, editor-in-chief of the yearly publication said it is possible that human effects on global temperature may override or cancel out the predicted natural cooling trend.

"We say that if human beings were not contributing to global warming, it would become real cold in the next 50 years," Hale said.

read the full article here.

Palin on the Environment: Far Right

Some would say Senator McCain, in recent years, has shifted some of his stances on political policy further to the right, to align with Bush Republicans. Yet, on further inspection one might find his views on environmental issues relatively progressive.

It is quite perplexing then why McCain would select a vice president who is such a staunch supporter of drilling in ANWR. A recent TIME article highlights Sarah Palin's stance on environmental issues, especially her record as Alaska's Governor. Palin's perspectives on oil exploration, protection of native species, and climate change are interesting in that they stand in stark contrast to McCain's. It will be interesting to see how the two reconcile their differences of opinion on these subjects as the election draws nearer and televised debates begin in earnest.

Monday, Sep. 01, 2008
Palin on the Environment: Far Right
By Bryan Walsh

Senator John McCain's reputation as a maverick has taken a beating this campaign season, but on environmental issues he's still zigging when much of the Republican Party zags. While some GOP leaders remain unconvinced that man-made global warming is real, and more doubt that federal cap and trade legislation is necessary to combat it, McCain talks about climate change at every campaign stop and says he supports carbon caps. Though McCain has flip-flopped on offshore drilling for petroleum — he's now a vigorous supporter — he's still against opening up the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for energy exploration, even though many in the GOP, including President George W. Bush, are for it. Those in favor of drilling in ANWR can now add another prominent supporter to their list: Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

Read the rest of the story here: Palin on the Environment: Far Right