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Wildfire Mitigation
Thesis: Politicians are proposing sweeping changes in bills, which have caused great controversy, in efforts to correct the problems that the Forest Service has
faced in restoration projects. Are these bills necessary or is there a better solution that politicians are overlooking?
Introduction:
Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1). Foresters have been trying to restore the forests back to their original conditions by thinning and prescribed fires but have encountered countless delays. Politicians are proposing sweeping changes in bills, which have caused great controversy, in efforts to correct the problems that the Forest Service has faced in restoration projects. Are these bills necessary or is there a better solution that politicians are overlooking?
Changing Forest:
The Western forests are drastically different from what they were like before the European settlement. In pre-European time, the forests were open and park-like with only 25-35 trees per acre surrounded by areas of open grasslands. One could easily ride a horse through the spacious forest. This, however, is not possible in today's forests. Today, for example the Ponderosa pine forests, have over 500 trees per acre, creating thick dense areas of trees, brush, and bushes (President Bush, 4). The pre-European forests were subject to frequent low inte...
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...ewed 1 Nov. 2002 .<http://thomas.loc.gov/>
Jungwirth, Lynn. "Opinion: Conservation is everyone's business." American Forest. Autumn 2002: 4.
"Land of Fire." Scientific American Nov.2002: 10.
Little, Jane. "Hogans of Hope." American Forest. Autumn 2002: 39-42.
President Bush, George. "Healthy Forest: An Initiative for Wildfire Prevention and Stronger Communities." 22 Aug. 2002. Viewed 2 Nov. 2002.<http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/healthyforests/Healthy_Forests_v2.pdf>.
"Step 1. Characterizations of the Watershed." Forest Service: 17 pars. Viewed 7 Nov. 2002. <http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/spl/south_platte_web/step_1.htm>.
"Wildland Fires of 2002 Summary." National Fire News. 11 Oct. 2002: 1 pg. Viewed 2 Nov. 2002 .<http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html>.
"Wildfire Season Heats Up Debate in Washington." Forest Source. Oct 2002: 1&5.
The law making process is a lengthy process. First, a representative must have an idea for a new law and they become the sponsor of this bill. The representative must present to the bill to the Clerk of the House if it is in the house (H.R. Bills), or in the Senate (S Bills). The Government Printing Office, GPO, then prints the bill and distributes it to each representative. The Speaker of the House, for further study, then assigns this bill to a standing committee within the house. The standing committee studies the bill and its contents and has two options, either to release the bill with a recommendation to pass it or lay it aside so it cannot be voted on. If the bill is released, it may be voted on or sent into debate within the house and needs a majority vote for the bill to move onto the Senate. Within the Senate, the bill must go through one of the Senate’s sixteen standing committees, and as with the House of Representatives, the bill is either released or pigeonholed. If it is released, a simple majority passes the bill. The bill takes another step into a conference committee, which is made up of members of the Hou...
The plots, blackberry rambles, pine barrens, and spacious groves of great eastern forest was an ecological kaleidoscope of garden chestnut, hickory, and oak…Early European explorers marveled at the trees that were spaced so that the forest “could be penetrated even by a large army”… English squatters encountered forested
The United States Department of agriculture Forest Service investigation report on the thirty mile fire.
particular group of people whose symptoms are indicative of personality disorders, and are between neuroses and psychoses (Manning, 2011, p. 12). Personality disorders are extremely pervasive because they effect a person’s “mood, actions, and relationships” (Manning,
A personality disorder is an unhealthy group of mental illness (Personality Disorders , 2013). These thoughts and behaviors cause a series of problems in a person’s life. The disorder has often been linked to destruction in social, occupational, and an overall functioning of life (Soeteman, Verheul, & Busschbach, 2008).The person has often had problems associating with other people and managing stress (Personality Disorders , 2013). Personality disorders are consistently noted in a person that has obsessive-compulsive disorder (Butcher, 2010).
It seems the Founders wanted to make the passage of legislation difficult. The Constitution settles how bills become law in the United States. The procedure is operose and can take significant time to complete. The course materials of week three offer more than enough information on how the procedure works. This essay will, mainly, use the course materials to describe the process of how a bill becomes a law. The process of transforming a bill into a law requires the participation of both the Legislative branch and Executive branch of government.
Personality disorders and mental illnesses are viewed by the general public as similar attributes that are equally harmful. However, when one delves into the diagnostics and patterns of the individual disorders and illnesses, it can be seen that there are major differences between each one. There are many levels of severity of the effects each disorder or illness has on society as a whole. They range from affecting only the individual on a solely personal basis to affecting a large amount of people on a highly violent level. Generally, it is found that mental illnesses have an influence on an individual level while personality disorders have an influence on a widespread level. As in every medical topic, there are outliers, or cases that are far outside the expected outcome, but for the most part, illnesses have less far reaching effects than disorders. On the spectrum of the societal effects of personality disorders and mental illnesses, the obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is actually a mental illness, is on the lowest level in terms of widespread consequences; just above this illness is schizophrenia which has the ability to affect more than the individual unless treated; the narcissistic disorder has farther reaching effects in society, such as in bureaucratic situations, than the two previously mentioned illnesses, placing it higher on the spectrum, and last, but not least, the schizoid personality disorder has proven to have the most wide spread consequences in the form of both emotional trauma and violence allocating it the highest level.
Kluft and Foote. Borderline Personality Disorder. American Journal of Psycotherapy, Vol. 53, No. 3, Summer 1999.
Burton, Neel, MD. "The 10 Personality Disorders." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC, 29 May 2012. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. .
"National Survey Tracks Prevalence of Personality Disorders in U.S. Population." NIMH RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.
The legislative Branch is a powerful part of our governmental system. One of the strengths of it is that it has powers that no other branch has. The legislative branch, including both the House of Representatives and the Senate, is given extensive powers by the Constitution. The legislative branch is the only branch that can create laws or change existing laws. In addition to creating and changing laws, the legislative branch has an array of powers such as: the power to declare war, confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, impeach a federal official, to include the president or a justice of the Supreme Court, create annual federal budgets and direct how federal monies are spent, and extensive investigative powers. Essentially, one of the legislatives branches’ greater powers to creating and changing laws do not yield there; additionally, if the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing a bill again in each chamber as long as the chambers can get at least a two-third voting in favor of the bill. An example would if the President wants to create a program and/or a system, he will have to go through Congress for approval of the
In our countries government, Congress plays a major role in decision making. They’re primary role is to pass laws. These laws start off as bills. Bills can only be introduced by members of Congress. Although these bills only come from Congressman, there are many people who influence these bills. Such as the president, regular citizens, offices in the executive branch, and many others. The bills right off the bat do not have a very good chance of passage. Only one out of every ten bills even gets any attention at all. This is because they must go through many tests and hearings before they even have a chance of landing on the president’s desk. These steps in a bill becoming a law are very important, and make sure that all bills passed into law are the best of the best.
Fire at any level can be devastating, yet the effects that wildfires have on every worldwide country really has left its mark on the land. As written by world renowned wild fire spokesperson Smokey the Bear, “Every year, wildfires sweeps through parts of the United States setting wilderness and homes ablaze. On average these raging infernos destroy about four to five million acres of land a year. But in 2012, wildfire burned more than 9.3 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined” (U.S. Wildfires). Destroying homes, crops, towns and of course forests. Yet the effects of these fires can be seen from a negative perspective as well as some positive. Plus there are natural causes as well as manmade that makes these destructive fires erupt and become almost unstoppable in seconds.
The Forest fire is occurring very frequently nowadays, reasons for it are a heavy increase in global warming and an increase in temperature.