Drifting smoke from megafires hurts economies far beyond their flames
CBSN
Even if you don't live near any of the recent megafires burning in the U.S. West and around the globe, chances are you've experienced some of the environmental fallout as a result of the wildfires — even from hundreds of miles away.
Smoke from fires in Western U.S. and Canada muted skies as far east as Boston and the Maritime provinces this summer. In Europe, smoke from fires in Turkey and Greece can be seen — and smelled — far from the location of those infernos. For the first time in recorded history, smoke drifted from fires in Siberia to the North Pole. Though air quality had been improving over the past several decades, a 2021 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that wildfire smoke is reversing that trend by adding microscopic particles to the air across the U.S., with even higher concentrations on the West Coast.
The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:

We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.











