Ricky, I'd like to recommend that you get a copy of John Vaillant's book, Fire Weather: A True Story From A Hotter World. It is by far the best book on wildfires available. Written in 2023, it covers the enormous Fort McMurray fire of Alberta, Canada in 2016 that burnt both wildlands and towns, in the process displaying characteristics unlike any fire ever seen before in that country. It is a superlatively good read.
Dear Michael, thank you so much for the reading recommendation. I read Valliant's book last year, and I've been revisiting lately with all the new wildfires in the country, so you've definitely read my mind, too.
Thanks for always being constructive and adding valuable information!!! I'm truly grateful for that!
For me, honestly, not caring that the country is hosting the World Cup is a plus 😂 But SUVs everywhere? Really, even in Canada? Very disappointing. Of course the main point here is the country’s vulnerability to fires, in such a privileged context… and yet. But the SUVs definitely say something, symbolically, about denial and passivity in face of global economic urges (arghh), about paying into a dystopian future. It’s obviously not the US, thankfully, but that’s currently a low bar, I am afraid.
There is a lot of oil money at stake in Canada. That fact alone protects our government and our citizens from the reality. We pay the price through our future.
I refer to living in Manitoba as ‘life in a bubble’ and that is no less true for Canada. Our government continues to subsidize the oil industry trillions every year.
Indeed, Diane. That bubble is thick with oil money—and it’s not just protecting the industry; it’s suffocating any real change. Trillions poured into fossil fuels aren’t just numbers; they’re investments in our own undoing. Canada’s future is mortgaged to a system that feeds on destruction while pretending it’s business as usual.
I'm Argentinian, so the World Cup is everything to us, but I get your point there, Carla. I was just bringing an example of the cultural differences.
That SUV obsession, on the other hand, is a clear signal—no matter how polished or ‘green’ a place tries to look, the engine beneath often tells a different story. Canada’s wildfires are the warning sirens, but the SUVs are the stubborn refusal to listen. It’s not just about vehicles or sport events; it’s about a system addicted to symbols of power and denial, fueling the very flames threatening everything.
Thanks for calling that out. It’s these contradictions that show how deep the rot runs.
“A system addicted to symbols of power”. That’s the perfect synthesis of our current condition. I visited Patagonia for the first time recently, after dreaming about it for decades (that is how I ended up following your posts). It was a huge privilege that I tried to honour by staying for a while and getting to know the environmental and cultural movements there. Mostly spent time in nature and I’m deeply aware of the contradictions that follow us humans even at the end of the world :) But I feel very grateful that those mountains let me in with such grace and kindness, even if the winds are actually terrifying! But rightly so. Now there are more places on earth that I deeply cherish and want to protect, even if that means that I won’t ever be able to set foot on such a sacred landscape again…
Pbs artic sinkholes is a video where you can see scientists popping holes in ponds in the Canadian arctic 🥶 that are having their bottoms turn to gas and can be light up when the ice breaks.. the panacea is disappearing! Nita lake in Whistler can be a good place to escape the fire if you take the Westside road!
Ricky, I'd like to recommend that you get a copy of John Vaillant's book, Fire Weather: A True Story From A Hotter World. It is by far the best book on wildfires available. Written in 2023, it covers the enormous Fort McMurray fire of Alberta, Canada in 2016 that burnt both wildlands and towns, in the process displaying characteristics unlike any fire ever seen before in that country. It is a superlatively good read.
Dear Michael, thank you so much for the reading recommendation. I read Valliant's book last year, and I've been revisiting lately with all the new wildfires in the country, so you've definitely read my mind, too.
Thanks for always being constructive and adding valuable information!!! I'm truly grateful for that!
Southern winds,
Ricky
For me, honestly, not caring that the country is hosting the World Cup is a plus 😂 But SUVs everywhere? Really, even in Canada? Very disappointing. Of course the main point here is the country’s vulnerability to fires, in such a privileged context… and yet. But the SUVs definitely say something, symbolically, about denial and passivity in face of global economic urges (arghh), about paying into a dystopian future. It’s obviously not the US, thankfully, but that’s currently a low bar, I am afraid.
There is a lot of oil money at stake in Canada. That fact alone protects our government and our citizens from the reality. We pay the price through our future.
I refer to living in Manitoba as ‘life in a bubble’ and that is no less true for Canada. Our government continues to subsidize the oil industry trillions every year.
Indeed, Diane. That bubble is thick with oil money—and it’s not just protecting the industry; it’s suffocating any real change. Trillions poured into fossil fuels aren’t just numbers; they’re investments in our own undoing. Canada’s future is mortgaged to a system that feeds on destruction while pretending it’s business as usual.
Thanks for calling out that brutal truth.
Southern winds from Patagonia,
Ricky
I'm Argentinian, so the World Cup is everything to us, but I get your point there, Carla. I was just bringing an example of the cultural differences.
That SUV obsession, on the other hand, is a clear signal—no matter how polished or ‘green’ a place tries to look, the engine beneath often tells a different story. Canada’s wildfires are the warning sirens, but the SUVs are the stubborn refusal to listen. It’s not just about vehicles or sport events; it’s about a system addicted to symbols of power and denial, fueling the very flames threatening everything.
Thanks for calling that out. It’s these contradictions that show how deep the rot runs.
Southern winds from Patagonia,
Ricky
“A system addicted to symbols of power”. That’s the perfect synthesis of our current condition. I visited Patagonia for the first time recently, after dreaming about it for decades (that is how I ended up following your posts). It was a huge privilege that I tried to honour by staying for a while and getting to know the environmental and cultural movements there. Mostly spent time in nature and I’m deeply aware of the contradictions that follow us humans even at the end of the world :) But I feel very grateful that those mountains let me in with such grace and kindness, even if the winds are actually terrifying! But rightly so. Now there are more places on earth that I deeply cherish and want to protect, even if that means that I won’t ever be able to set foot on such a sacred landscape again…
and here we are… hit in the head brain dead, 💀
No sugarcoating it — this hit hard and fast because it’s exactly how it feels.
Keep it real.
Southern winds from Patagonia,
Ricky
I saw this happening... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HvKpnaXYUPU
Pbs artic sinkholes is a video where you can see scientists popping holes in ponds in the Canadian arctic 🥶 that are having their bottoms turn to gas and can be light up when the ice breaks.. the panacea is disappearing! Nita lake in Whistler can be a good place to escape the fire if you take the Westside road!