This new normal of near-constant wildfire smoke annoys me as much as the next person. But it serves as a reminder that we share one fragile atmosphere that we’re collectively screwing up. Fruitless to waste all this energy pointing fingers like children when we should be joining hands to fix this. It’s like nature’s warning signal.
Whether it be wildfire smoke, a global pandemic, or heat waves, nature know no geopolitical borders. So maybe instead of squabbling over whose smoke is whose, we could acknowledge that we’re all in this smoldering mess together. We only have one planet to live on, and we only have one atmosphere to breathe from.
(just food for thought)
I’ve seen no mention of forest management in this thread. I’m no expert, and I realise this issue is a few concurrent problems, but it is, at least, partially Canada’s fault for allowing clearcut forestry methods on such a broad scale. Old growth forests are somehwat resistant to fires. The undergrowth burns, but many trees do not. The “forests” planted by the forestry industry are essentially monocultures and they burn hot and burn fast.