Environment

Trump Administration Will Pay More Energy Firms to Cancel Wind Farms

Data: U.S. Drought Monitor. Map: Axios Visuals

Axios- Georgia's devastating wildfires could be a preview of a potentially brutal fire season nationwide, Alex Fitzpatrick writes.  The Highway 82 Fire and Pineland Road Fire have destroyed more than 120 homes, fueled by dry conditions, high winds and even leftover debris from 2024's Hurricane Helene.

Much of the U.S. is at least "abnormally dry" after long stretches of low precipitation, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.  Severe, extreme or exceptionally dry conditions prevail across much of the West, South and Southeast.

About 1.8 million acres have burned nationwide this year as of April 24, per the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). That's nearly double the year-to-date 10-year average, and the highest year-to-date figure since 2017.

John Bailey, professor of silviculture and wildland fire at Oregon State University's College of Forestry, tells Axios: "Over the last few years, different states have set new records for acres burned and acres of high severity fire and homes burned."  

Three factors are driving those record-breaking fires, says Bailey, author of "A Walk With Wildland Fire": An "inordinate amount of fuel in the landscape," new homes in fire-prone areas that become fire fuel themselves, and longer and more severe fire seasons.  More from Axios Atlanta.

Democratic Conservation Alliance - This month has been full of bad news for people who care about our planet and our natural heritage:

➡️ Trump's "God Squad" overrode the Endangered Species Act, eradicating lifesaving protections for a rare whale species that is now at dire risk of going extinct.

➡️ Emperor penguins were declared endangered, with scientists warning that the species is at risk entirely because governments like ours have failed to take action to save our planet from carbon emissions.

➡️ And Trump gutted the Forest Service, leaving hundreds of millions of acres of public lands without protection right before wildfire season and defunding critical research for conservation efforts country-wide.

Congressional Insider -   Two wildfires have consumed over 40,000 acres and destroyed 122 homes in south Georgia, threatening 1,000 additional properties. Human activity ignited both blazes: a party balloon contacting a power line and sparks from a welding operation during extreme drought conditions