Agribusiness Fuels Forest Fires

Bill Briscoe

The amount of nitrate "runoff" in the atmosphere is at historically high levels, thanks to our nitrate-saturated agricultural fields. This condition leads to forests and underbrush growing more quickly, which in turn absorbs more CO2 – a greenhouse gas – out of the atmosphere. But these denser, unnaturally crowded forests also contribute to a greatly increased risk of fire.

Consider, for example, this year's blazing forest fires in Southern California and Utah. Those towering walls of flame would have been uncommon in the thinner forests of just one hundred and fifty years ago. Today's fires burn hot, tall, and fast, blowing tremendous amounts of sulfates and nitrates into the air, mixing with smoke in black clouds.

This issue provides a stark example of the complexities of the growing ecological impact that humankind has on the world. On one hand, nitrate runoff seems to help decrease the level of greenhouse gasses. But the exacerbation of forest fires may actually increase greenhouse gasses in the long run, which in turn creates more nitrate runoff.

Nitrate runoff is produced not only from agricultural nitrates; a small amount also comes from the burning of fossil fuels.