The Perfect Storm of Climate Change Fuels LA Fires
Greetings to you! I didn’t think 2025 would start out with such sad and devastating news about the Los Angeles fires. Clearly, climate change did not ignite the fires, however big swings in weather patterns have “accelerated over the past two decades and serve as rocket fuel which intensifies the flames and spreads the devastation.”
And adding to this sobering news is that the Copernicus Climate Change Service just declared, “The year 2024 was the world’s warmest on record globally, and the first calendar year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above its preindustrial levels.”
Debbie Levin, CEO of the Environmental Media Association said, “This is not going to go away tomorrow. We’re still going to have climate change. We’ve had an industrial world since the early 1900s, so this has been going on for 100-plus years into our atmosphere, and we’re dealing with it now. For some reason, there’s still a blindness when it comes to the questions of how local communities need to deal with it.”
Wildfires are a natural and necessary part of California’s desert ecosystem. And, “…the pain and suffering for humans is magnified by more than a century of expanded residential development in areas that are prone to fire, mudslides, drought as well as unpredictable amounts of rain and snow. All of this is made worse by the effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere driving climate change around the globe.”
Stephanie Pincetl, Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability explains, “Here’s the paradox: Climate change is humanly induced and is making the fire season far worse. Although we always have had a fire season — these places have burned in the past — the extreme weather has become accelerated. Hotter hots, dryer dries, wetter wets, colder colds.”
Pincetl continued and said, “The situation that erupted in Los Angeles’ hot spots was sadly predictable. The combination of very, very dry vegetation and extremely strong winds meant that any ignition that occurred in that ecosystem would spread very rapidly.
Monalisa Chatterjee, Professor of Environmental Science at USC shared Pincetl’s sentiments. “Fierce Santa Ana winds are normal for Southern California, in part because the region has an unusual combination of mountain ridges that run both north and south and east and west. But even for Santa Ana conditions, the 80- and 90-mile-an-hour winds registered in the hot spots are unprecedented. The early January timing of these Santa Ana conditions is also unexpected. Santa Ana wind events happen in this place quite often, but of this magnitude — this is an unprecedented event that we are experiencing.”
Pincetl concluded and said, “I think that we will discover through this process that there are opportunities to try to come to grips with a changing climate that were not there before. Maybe we will not be rebuilding some of the most egregiously risky houses.”
Here’s an Excellent Way to Talk to Kids with “Soft Facts” about Climate Change
One awesome tool for talking to kids about climate change is to read my fourth installment in the award-winning Kobee Manatee® Children’s Educational Picture Book series. It’s titled, Kobee Manatee® Climate Change and The Great Blue Hole Hazard. It contains “soft facts” about climate change and plastic pollution in our oceans.
When you read this award-winning educational picture book to children, it’s a fun and fictional adventure loaded with weaved in “soft facts” on climate change and plastic pollution. This quickly helps children learn about this serious subject in a fun and entertaining way. Here’s a brief synopsis …
Kobee Manatee, the protagonist and his seafaring pals, Tess the seahorse and Pablo the hermit crab swim from the Cayman Islands to Belize. Kobee wants to help his cousin Quinn clean up plastic litter at her new, all-veggie underwater bistro called Quinn’s Seagrass Café.
On their Caribbean journey they encounter harmful effects of climate change and plastic pollution. As if that wasn’t enough, several other unforeseen problems occur with a distressed loggerhead turtle, a giant Portuguese man-of-war, and a venomous scorpionfish. They’re all amazed when they discover the extraordinary Great Blue Hole. Then their adventure takes another crazy turn when Pablo plunges into its huge abyss!
Each page includes in-depth, scientific details on climate change and plastic pollution in our oceans with Dr. Tracy Fanara, NOAA Research Scientist (aka Inspector Planet). Tracy can be seen on The Weather Channel as a visiting expert and she’s also seen on their “Weird Earth” segments.
We have Fantastic Reviews on this New Release!
“I read the book to my 6-year-old this morning while he was having his breakfast before school and he loved it! We talked about the characters, what it meant for the pollution to be in the oceans for all the sea creatures, and how fun the story was. Thank you so much for writing such a great story for kids that is not only entertaining, but has a message!” – Jessica Vilchis, Co-Host KNBC California Live
“A well-crafted, thoughtful, and well-illustrated addition to a noteworthy educational book series.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Robert Scott Thayer presents an important environmental message in an engaging story with wonderful characters. Anyone who loves the ocean and wants to help save it should read Kobee Manatee: Climate Change and The Great Blue Hole Hazard. I’m looking forward to the next Kobee Manatee adventure.” —Readers’ Favorite
For young readers who enjoy imaginative tales surrounding affable and heroic sea creatures, as well as parents and/or teachers looking for a way to introduce youngsters to the importance of marine conservation, Kobee Manatee® Climate Change and The Great Blue Hole Hazard offers a perfect blend. Highly recommended! – Chanticleer Book Reviews
Keep watching for more of my updates on climate change!
If you see any sick or injured manatees, please call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at: 1-888-404-3922 (FWCC). They are the folks who are responsible for rescuing us in Florida.
Here’s the Save the Manatee Club link to learn more about us manatees …
Here’s a cool link for you to learn more about how we’re rescued and brought into rehabilitation …
~ Robert Scott Thayer
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