Tuesday, October 30, 2007

"Why California is Burning"

In his article "The Fire This Time," Bryan Walsh says, "The question is, why? Fires have always been with us and are one way nature cleans house, burning off dry vegetation and opening up old ground for new growth. So why have these natural events become natural disasters? Why do there seem to be more of them, and when they do strike, why are they ever more catastrophic?" The article, importantly from Time Magazine's "Why California is Burning," addresses some of the questions we talked about in class today.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1675380-2,00.html


-Melissa

1 comment:

L.A. Stories said...

This article was really interesting even thought it didn't say anything too shocking. The idea that building more and more houses in a fire-prone landscape will up risks seems obvious. But it also reminds me a lot of what when we talk about LA literature creating or recreating the LA identity. There is a sense here that the more people that come to this place of unnatural media and natural disaster will lead to more of both. People moving to LA to "live the dream" are actually creating fuel for the one thing more powerful than Hollywood-nature.

-Bryn