Tending Fire: Coping With America's Wildland Fires
By Stephen Pyne
3/5
()
About this ebook
The wildfires that spread across Southern California in the fall of 2003 were devastating in their scale-twenty-two deaths, thousands of homes destroyed and many more threatened, hundreds of thousands of acres burned. What had gone wrong? And why, after years of discussion of fire policy, are some of America's most spectacular conflagrations arising now, and often not in a remote wilderness but close to large settlements?
That is the opening to a brilliant discussion of the politics of fire by one of the country's most knowledgeable writers on the subject, Stephen J. Pyne. Once a fire fighter himself (for fifteen seasons, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon) and now a professor at Arizona State University, Pyne gives us for the first time a book-length discussion of fire policy, of how we have come to this pass, and where we might go from here.
Tending Fire provides a remarkably broad, sometimes startling context for understanding fire. Pyne traces the "ancient alliance" between fire and humanity, delves into the role of European expansion and the creation of fire-prone public lands, and then explores the effects wrought by changing policies of "letting burn" and suppression. How, the author asks, can we better protect ourselves against the fires we don't want, and better promote those we do?
Pyne calls for important reforms in wildfire management and makes a convincing plea for a more imaginative conception of fire, though always grounded in a vivid sense of fire's reality. "Amid the shouting and roar, a central fact remains," he writes. "Fire isn't listening. It doesn't feel our pain. It doesn't care-really, really doesn't care. It understands a language of wind, drought, woods, grass, brush, and terrain, and it will ignore anything stated otherwise."
We need to think about fire in more deeply biological ways and recognize ourselves as the fire creatures we are, Pyne argues. Even if, in recent times, "we have gone from being keepers of the flame to custodians of the combustion chamber," tending fire wisely remains our responsibility as a species. "The Earth's fire scene," he writes of us, "is largely the outcome of what this creature has done, and not done, and the species operates not according to strict evolutionary selection but in the realm of culture, which is to say, of choice and confusion."
Rich in insight, wide-ranging in its subject, and clear-eyed in its proposals, Tending Fire is for anyone fascinated by fire, fire policy, or human culture.
Stephen Pyne
Stephen Pyne is an emeritus professor at Arizona State University. Among his many books are Burning Bush: a fire history of Australia, and Fire: a brief history.
Related to Tending Fire
Related ebooks
Fire Management in the American West: Forest Politics and the Rise of Megafires Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFire Ecology in Rocky Mountain Landscapes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Still-Burning Bush: updated edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntroduction to Fire in California: Second Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pyrocene: How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInferno by Committee: A History of the Cerro Grande (Los Alamos) Fire, America’s Worst Prescribed Fire Disaster Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFire, Native Peoples, and the Natural Landscape Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirestorm: How Wildfire Will Shape Our Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrimes against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Voices of the People Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAgroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCoasts in Crisis: A Global Challenge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhite Man's Game: Saving Animals, Rebuilding Eden, and Other Myths of Conservation in Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changing Tides: An Ecologist's Journey to Make Peace with the Anthropocene Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPeople of the Lakes: Stories of Our Van Tat Gwich’in Elders/Googwandak Nakhwach’ànjòo Van Tat Gwich’in Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSalvage Logging and Its Ecological Consequences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDesert Life: A Guide to the Southwest's Iconic Animals & Plants and How They Survive Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRainforest: Dispatches from Earth's Most Vital Frontlines Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hudson Primer: The Ecology of an Iconic River Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Critique of Silviculture: Managing for Complexity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKivalina: A Climate Change Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Amazon is Burning - The Flames of 21st Century Resistance Inspired by Indigenous Women Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhosts of the Fireground: Echoes of the Great Peshtigo Fire and the Calling of a Wildland Firefighter Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5French & Indian Wars in Maine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wolfer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnimal Stories: Encounters with Alaska's Wildlife Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Wolverine Way Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Five-Star Trails: Louisville & Southern Indiana: 40 Spectacular Hikes in the Derby City Region Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Nature For You
Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SAS Survival Handbook, Third Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foraging for Survival: Edible Wild Plants of North America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Kitchen Garden: An Inspired Collection of Garden Designs & 100 Seasonal Recipes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practical Botany for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Botanical Terms Explained and Explored Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness, and Save the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scout's Guide to Wild Edibles: Learn How To Forage, Prepare & Eat 40 Wild Foods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forager's Handbook: A Seasonal Guide to Harvesting Wild, Edible & Medicinal Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Tending Fire
1 rating0 reviews