In Hitzefrei, the climate newsletter of Die Presse, Christine Mayrhofer asks to what extent the wildfires in Los Angeles point to a new era. Have we arrived in the "age of fire"? This so-called Pyrocene, a term coined by fire historian Stephen Pyne, would seem apt, given that the Anthropocene, the geological epoch significantly shaped by humans, was rather abruptly called off by geologists last year. A brief conceptual history of the Pyrocene can be found here. a term coined by fire historian Stephen Pyne would seem apt, given that the Anthropocene, the geological epoch significantly shaped by humans, was rather abruptly called off by geologists last year. A brief conceptual history of the Pyrocene can be found here.
In Austria, the scale of wildfires is fundamentally different from that in California, but the risk of wildfires here at home shouldn't be underestimated either: you can read about this in the science section of "Die Presse" this Saturday. The effects of climate change are also making themselves felt in Austrian forests in other ways: twice in the past five years, Austria's forests have emitted more CO2 than they've absorbed, as the current Austrian forest inventory shows.
Read all about it at diepresse.com
