I don’t have the numbers for US wildfires this year. But the emission caused by the wildfires in Canada this year was about 2x the annual emissions generated by transportation.
That don't compare since wildfires are releasing carbon that is part of the natural cycle while transportation is adding to the natural cycle. What is released from wildfires are soon absorbed by new forest growing where the old was
Evidently that hasn't been the case in Canada. Forests have been a carbon source, rather than a sink, in Canada for many years now. And with the recent wildfires, the numbers are now larger than ever.
Absolutely. And I'm all for reducing our environmental impact.
My point is that even if we could flick a magic wand, and reduce the transportation emissions to zero overnight, we wouldn't be able to meet the long term emission goals given the trend in wildfires. Forests in Canada have been carbon positive in the past many years.
It's much easier for the governments to pass regulations, and put the burden on the consumers to reduce the emissions, than do anything about wildfires. It's important to have a sense of the diminishing effects, and focus our efforts on the most important factor.
