Jonathan Overpeck

President Trump and other republican legislators are blaming Canada’s wildfires on the country’s mismanagement of forests. …Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the school for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan and a climate researcher, said while forest management is useful in wildfire management, the real issue is climate change. “What we really need to do is work together as two countries, not just to manage forests better, fight fires better, but to fight climate change together,” he said. “That’s the big reason this is happening in Canada and the US and unless we do this together, climate change will get worse and the fires will get worse.” …Overpeck said there are many signs of climate change in Michigan. One is an increase in storm activity. As the storms move Northeast, that leaves the Southwest with worsening drought conditions. And as the climate warms, the aridification …also moves closer to the Midwest.