I made - at least a good faith effort - to find a current article on a connection between the Big Sur fires and carbon dioxide emissions being released therefrom.
E.g., I had expected something to the effect that the fires have released X tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I did not find it.
But, the articles I found point out that fires like the ones in the Big Sur area are a large source of carbon dioxide emissions while oceans are a large sink (absorption) for the emissions.
Big Sur is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.
From my research - see post category "Green -" fires are a large contributor to green house gases (GHG). An October 31, 2007 article - U.S. Fires Release Large Amounts of Carbon Dioxide, New Study Shows - indicates that large scale fires ". . . can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a few weeks as [a western or southeastern state's] entire motor vehicle traffic does in a year . . ."
My point here - don't blame the automobile. [See earlier post]. Yes, the burning of fossil fuel is a big contributor - but it is only a part of large complex and complicated issue.
Another issue I believe is just as important as the source is the sink (oceans) and its ability, or inability, to absorb carbon dioxide, and when it does, the potential negative effects.
An article I found interesting, especially since it provides an extensive glossary, is "The Ocean's Carbon Balance." It points out how the earlier concept that ". . . the more carbon dioxide that people pumped into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, the more the oceans would absorb" is a fallacy.
This is a NASA article that is a great starting place for GHG concepts and information.
A recent San Francisco Chronicle article depicts the negative effects of the oceans as a carbon dioxide sink. "The world's oceans now absorb millions of tons of the global warming gas each year, and thus help to slow the pace of climate change, but the benefit is far outweighed by extreme and damaging changes in the water's chemistry, according to seagoing oceanographers."
This negative effect is termed "ocean acidification" and is seen as increasing and damaging to the important living organisms in the sea food. The warning is ". . . that if greenhouse gas emissions continue uncontrolled, the world's oceans in this century will become 150 percent more acidic than they are today."
It is important though - no matter how self important we think we are - you know the earth is not the center of the universe and we do revolve around the sun - others on this planet have to make major contribution to the reduction of GHG.
Oregon's part is infinitesimal compared to the US or globally.
© 2008 Larry Norton