Good morning,
If you lived in Canada in 2016, you couldn’t miss the terrifying video footage of people fleeing the Fort McMurray wildfire as flames consumed trees along the road and swirling embers rained down on the procession of vehicles. It’s gut-wrenching to watch, even now.
But what went on behind the scenes as firefighters did what they could to beat back the megafire, was not as well known. Until recently.
B.C.-based author John Vaillant in his book Fire Weather: On the Front Lines Of A Burning World tells that back story. It is a gripping narrative about warnings that very nearly came too late and heroic acts of bravery in the face of immeasurable danger, entwined with the history of fossil fuel consumption that got us to this place.
It is critical of human greed, consumerism and politics that drives fossil fuel consumption. But it does not judge the individuals – Fort McMurray residents whose livelihoods depend on fossil fuel extraction. Fossil fuels, of course, are the primary source of the greenhouse gas emissions overheating our planet and causing our extreme weather and resulting megafires. However, Vaillant recognizes it’s our economic system and dependency on fossil fuels that is to blame and he’s sensitive to the pain and lingering trauma felt by everyone in Fort McMurray who lived through the fire.
Fire Weather has met with great acclaim. It is nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, is a finalist for the National Book Award in Nonfiction and was named by the New York Times as one of the top ten books of the year.
I will have the pleasure of introducing Vaillant at a talk he is giving titled, Communicating Fire, at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Environment, Climate and Sustainability on Thursday evening (Sept. 26). It is open to the public at no cost, so I invite you to join us to hear him discuss the book, the future of fire and our planet.
This is the first of three public talks and panel discussions hosted this fall in a series titled Climate Communication After Climate Denialism organized by the institute along with CNO, Harbinger Media, and Another Story Books. They are all free and will feature discussions with preeminent writers and experts in the climate change space. You can reserve a spot for the event with John Vaillant here. Hope to see you there.
— Adrienne Tanner
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