10. What must be done to prevent wildfires?

Humanity must make great efforts to stop mega wildfires, fighting the main causes of these fires, namely: The increase in global warming; deforestation of forests; the excessive use of fertilizers.

Increase in global warming

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released in the burning of fossil fuels, especially those emitted by cars, airplanes, industry, and power plants. By increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases the greenhouse effect and global warming, the main cause of forest fires.

It is imperative to stop the emission of greenhouse gases, in which carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most determining component in the increase in PPM (parts per million of CO2 equivalents in the atmosphere). The higher the PPM, the greater the warming on Earth. Anthropogenic global warming is linked to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, specifically to 1750, the year when measurements of the variation of global temperature began.

At that time CO2 was at 280 PPM (parts per million CO2 equivalents in the atmosphere), in 1972 it was at 330 PPM, in 1992 at 360 PPM. The 400 PPM psychological mark was broken in 2016 and has since risen to 415 PPM, a figure provided by Mauna Loa Observatory (Hawaii), (05-19-2019). The 400 PPM level had not been reached for three million years. So much so there is no doubt that humans are the cause of the constant increase in the temperature of our planet.

Deforestation of forests.

Trees are important carbon sinks on the planet. During photosynthesis, a process carried out by trees and a large part of plants, they absorb and store CO2, which is fixed in their roots, trunks, and leaves in form of carbon. Plants, although they take oxygen from the air and re-enter CO2, the largest component of greenhouse gases, the bottom line is positive in favor of the extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere. The absorption capacity is proportional to the size, density and quantity of plants and trees present in a forest.

Every tree that is removed in a fire or by deforestation is one less carbon sink. There are hundreds of thousands of trees that are destroyed every year. As a consequence, as long as this practice is not regulated, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere will continue to increase, global warming, drought and forest fires will become more frequent, intense, and difficult to control.

The use of fertilizers

The exponential growth of the human population demands more and more food production. To meet the increasing needs, most companies in the food industry use fertilizers to increase production levels. These fertilizers are made from nitrogen oxide, a greenhouse gas more powerful than carbon dioxide, although it is found in the atmosphere in a much lower proportion than CO2.

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