rightmind leftcoast: states of emergency

whoa, and the fires are still raging.

according to the nytimes, in the past two weeks, there have been 40 lightning-sparked wildfires that have charred 49,000 acres (76+ square miles). this is crazy. yesterday, 1,450 fires were reported contained, but there were 320+ still raging. the sierra nevada foothills are burning, the central valley is a smoky mess, big sur is in danger... is this typical?

the mid-atlantic gets so humid this time of year, it's hard to imagine anything like this in dc or the tristate area. norcal is so dry though - it's actually one of the things i dont like about the state. sure, parts of it are gorgeous, and im a sucker for the drive down 92 into half moon bay and rte 1, but a lot of the bay is just a lot of brown (okay, amber on a good day). there's just so much brush, and with 2008 boasting the driest March and April in California on record (ever), it's incredibly concerning. just a few weeks ago, the governator declared an emergency draught, and there've been questions over whether or not we have adequate equipment and personnel to fight all the fires (scoops told me yesterday she's thinking of becoming a forest firefighter next summer, which sounds incredible. and incredibly necessary)...

so what can we do? im all for water conservation / energy conservation / recycling... but i fear it's all too little, too late. california is burning while the midwest is flooded. the mississippi was at 29 ft, spilling over into Iowa, Missouri and Illinois (am i forgetting anyone). global warming, anyone? god, i hope g bushie saw wall-e.

compare and contrast.