Seeing Earth Through the Flames: How Climate Change is Contributing to Catastrophic Fires

Join us for a panel discussion on the complex relationship between wildfire and climate change.

Documented warming and drying of climate over the last several decades have significantly increased fire-season fuel aridity, and fostered an environment favorable for devasting fires. In addition, the long fire season enables insect infestations to be more effective at killing and drying out large expanses of trees, which become the available fuel for ignition by lightning strikes. As fire season is now two-and-a-half months longer than it was a half a century ago, the threat to biodiversity, the global hydrological cycle, and global climate is ominous.

Our CSU panelists will discuss how climate change is manipulating the shape of our planet through fire and the implications this has on environment and society.

Where: Avogadro’s Number (605 S Mason Street Fort Collins, Colorado 80524) from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019. Free of charge and open to the public

Panelists:

• Francesca Cortufo: Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
• Camille Stevens-Rumann: Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship
• Russ Schumacker: Department of Atmospheric Sciences
• Terrence Iverson: Department of Economics

Moderator: Gene Kelly, SoGES Faculty Research Liaison, Deputy Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and Associate Dean of Extension.

The panel discussion, part of a Managing the Planet series, is free of charge and open to the public. Visit sustainability.colostate.edu for more information about SoGES.