Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Climate Change and fires

[R Philip Dowds (rphilipdowds]

I’m wondering if “wilderness sprawl” is a land use challenge like “suburban 
sprawl”?  It seems like many (or most?) American households prefer to live out 
in the woods, up on the hills, large lots, with significant privacy respective 
to sight and sound of neighbors.  A heavily landscaped suburbia is, for some, a 
reasonable approximation of being out in the woods.

But as things dry out, the woodsy retreat becomes a tinderbox, and now we have 
to figure out how to insure and protect low-density residential development in 
the woods.  On steep terrain where access is limited.  Do we cut down all the 
trees near us, the ones we valued so much when we selected our site.  Not to 
mention: Where will we get the water for our lawns and ornamental specimens?

The climate crisis is a game-changer.  We don’t like the choices left to us.

Barking at each other makes finding tolerable solutions more difficult.

———————————
Thanks,
Philip Dowds
Cornerstone Cohousing
Cambridge, MA

> On Jan 26, 2025, at 3:37 PM, Ty Albright via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Katie;
> 
> 
> 
> I guess we disagree about some things.  Thank you for correcting me - not
> only has California done a poor job with lands management - so has the
> Federal Government.  Yes true.
> 
> We now know that Smokie the Bear of the late 50s+ was wrong - you should not
> put out all forest fires - some is needed as nature is designed.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't understand how any of this is political in some people's mind.  I
> saw the post about fire damage and because I have actual practical
> experience on this topic as it relates to land management -  I offered some
> insight.
> 
> 
> 
> It sounds like lots of people are already hip to the importance of this and
> have taken precautions - that's awesome!.
> 
> 
> 
> Actual experience:  recently I came to visit "wine country" with family and
> friends - we stayed in a nice BnB in an upscale neighborhood on the hills.
> Beautiful place - but it quickly made me nervous.  The entire neighborhood
> had a high canopy of trees - all waiting to explode if a fire every got
> loose.
> 
> 
> 
> People need to manage their landscaping for safety.  The government seems
> not to do a good job about this so individuals need to do it themselves -
> organize and volunteer to work as a community to fix stuff -  That's all I'm
> saying.
> 
> 
> 
> Be safe everyone.  The people from Texas are routing for you and want the
> best for you.
> 
> 
> 
> Ty
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: Kathryn McCamant <kmccamant [at] cohousing-solutions.com 
> <mailto:kmccamant [at] cohousing-solutions.com>> 
> Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2025 12:49 PM
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org <mailto:cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Cc: tmalbright [at] verizon.net <mailto:tmalbright [at] verizon.net>
> Subject: Climate Change and fires
> 
> 
> 
> As a Californian, I disagree that our state government has failed us (see Ty
> Albrights previous post). We have made huge strides in both addressing the
> impacts of climate change and how we work with fire, which has always been a
> natural phenomenon in the west but which is having much higher impact as
> climate change creates more extreme weather events. 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, Santa Ana winds have existed here for centuries, if not millennium. But
> the January 2025 Santa Ana Winds were record breaking and on top of a nine
> month drought. 
> 
> 
> 
> Almost all of the forestland in California is owned and managed by the
> federal government, NOT the state of California. 
> 
> 
> 
> I have no doubt that California will continue to learn much from these
> tragic fires and incorporate that learning into how we deal with climate
> change in the future. I am very very concerned that the Trump administration
> is quickly destroying our country's already behind-the-eight-ball efforts to
> work with climate change. If you don't believe in it, you certainly are not
> going to help your society plan for the inevitable. I am very concerned
> about what the Trump Administration will do with regard to "managing" the
> federal lands across the West. 
> 
> 
> 
> In my community, in my rural country, citizens have made huge efforts over
> the last 5 years to reduce fuels around homes, thin forest for better long
> term health, introduce proscribed burning, and continually research what
> works and how best to address our changing weather. We are not waiting for
> the government, but the scale that this work is needed can only happen with
> government support. I am so very glad I live in a state that recognizes
> climate change and is doing what it can to plan for that reality. 
> 
> 
> 
> Katie 
> 
> Kathryn McCamant , President
> 
> CoHousing Solutions
> 
> <http://www.cohousing-solutions.com <http://www.cohousing-solutions.com/>> 
> www.cohousing-solutions.com <http://www.cohousing-solutions.com/>
> 
> 916.798.4755
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> http://L.cohousing.org/info <http://l.cohousing.org/info>