This course provides instruction about the primary factors affecting the start and spread of wildfires and recognition of potentially hazardous situations. Specifically, upon completion of S-190, employees will have the ability to spot out certain areas of caution along with the correct procedures on how to handle specific blazes. DEFINITIONS Surface Fire: Burns along the floor of the forest Ground Fire: Burns on or just above the forest floor Crown Fire: Winds move fire from tree top to tree top Flash Point: Temperature at which an object will burst into flames Fuel Load: The amount of flammable material that surrounds a fire Slope: The most important factor in topography as it relates to wildfire and can either aid or hinder wildfire progression TYPES OF
In the last century, many naturally occurring fires were put out immediately as rangers feared it would ruin the national park. However, this resulted in an incredible buildup of dead wood and undergrows that fueled catastrophic infernos. Today, the National Park firefighters manage and allow naturally occurring fires to burn or set controlled fires in order to maintain a balance. The Giant Sequoia trees are heavily dependent upon the fires as it needs fire to reproduce. When a fire burns, the heat opens up their seed cones which allows for their seeds to be released.
Mann Gulch Fire On August 5th, 1949 what was thought to be a routine day in the lives of 16 smokejumpers, will be remembered within the U.S. Forest service as well as firefighting history. The Mann Gulch fire occurred in Montana’s Helena National Forest, and prior to this incident, no smokejumper had ever died fighting a wildland fire. The fire, which was caused by lightning strike, was originally spotted at 12:25 pm. Due to the remote location and lack of roads; smokejumpers were dispatched to the incident. Forman Wagner (Wag) Dodge and his crew made their jump a few hours after the call.
Owing to the development of industry and the use of fossil fuels, the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has produced and the average global temperature seems to have risen. What’s more, deforestation can affect climate changes. The growing of trees and plants can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere because of photosynthesis, however, deforestation lead to carbon dioxide emissions. Both of these can lead to global warming of the atmosphere. The report (UNEPWMO, 2004, P10) also pointed out, the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are altering the composition of the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
Unfortunately, the activity of burning or combusting fossil fuels releases various kinds of hazardous substances and pollutants which eventually leads to changes in the environment; such as climate change, global warming, and changes in environmental health. Let us start with the change in climate or climate change. For over the past 150 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping to space, somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. It would change our climate, but it would not bring us close to the level of uninhabitable Venus.
“The increase in the mean temperature of the earth due to excessive emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen.” ( Green) These extra gases are making it hard for heat to escape the Earth’s atmosphere resulting in warmer temperatures. Here is a model of the Greenhouse Effect retrieved from http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html. Ethical Issues on Global Warming There are many causes of Global Warming to include Carbon Dioxide from power plants, cars, airplanes, and from buildings. “In 2002 about 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.”(Ayres) 93% of electricity generations is produced by coal. 33% of the carbon dioxide comes from vehicles.
Heat Detectors: Heat detectors, are designed to trigger when heat causes a rapid change in temperature. Heat detectors are best situated in confined spaces and are located on the ceiling. Smoke Detection: Smoke detectors like smoke alarms detect fire far more rapidly than heat detectors. Smoke detectors are better suited to large open spaces as smoke doesn’t disperse as quickly as heat. Flame Detections: Flame detectors respond to radiant energy, from sources such as glowing embers, coals and also flames.
oil spills Crude oil is a major energy provider for the world today; but when accidents happen, crude oil becomes a major pollutant for our world. An oil spill is an accident that occurs when a transport vehicles, oil rigs, pipe lines, or tankers have malfunctions and release oil into the surrounding environment affects the surrounding area. There are two types of oil spills: those occurring on land, and those in water. Land spills can usually be contained and cleaned up easily, while oil spreads and becomes more dangerous in ocean spills. Oil spills have a number of effects on the environment and economy.
sd10/29/11 4th Period Chemistry EC Acid rain is any kind of precipitation with higher levels than usual of nitric and sulfuric acid contained in them. The causes for acid rain can be both natural and man-made, but the effect of acid rain is harmful in many different aspects. Acid rain is caused by chemical reactions, chemicals are released into the air, and they mix with precipitation and come down as rain. This can goHow acid rain starts How acid rain starts on for days, and spread far. Some natural causes for these chemical reactions include erupting volcanoes and rotting vegetation.
The first disaster causes a lot of fires in the forests. Also, it throws a lot of volcanic gases which causes air pollution, such as, ash fall, CO2, and methane. "Mud volcanoes are one of the significant natural sources of atmospheric methane"(Dimitrov, 2002). The volcanoes affect the lands and cause landslides. On the other hand, the second disaster affects the cities more than the forests.