reporter: you're not going to have any areas designated for them, they can move area they want around the perimeter? >> that's what the freedom speech -- yeah. reporter: that's the plan? >> absolutely. thank you, guys. [caponing performed by the national captioning institute, which isesnsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] >> today, house lawmakers are considering several bills, cluding two resolutions urging russia to immediately release u.s. cizens, paul whalen. later today the house may revote debate rules involving gas stove regulations and the federal rulemaking process. the initial votfailed last tuesday with 11 republicans from thereedom caucus voting no. the last time vote on the rules failed in the house was more than 20 years ago, back in 2002. watch live covera othe u.s. house when lawmakers return at 6: p.m. eastern here on c-span. we are back with "washington journal."

climate change scientist and university of california berkeley professor patrick gonzales joins us to discuss how climate change is impacting wildfires. good morning, professor gonzales. caller: good morning. host: i have an article pulled up by the guardian. i am going to read the first couple of paragraphs. it says canada's ongoing wildfire season is a harbinger of our climate future, experts and officials say. the fires are a "clear sign of climate change that mohammed raisa, a researcher at mcgill university in montréal, who was also a postdoctoral associate at the massachusetts institute of technology." research shows climate change has already exacerbated wildfires dramatically. my question is, do you agree with that hypothesis? guest: absolutely.

scientific research shows human caused climate change is exacerbating wildfire. wildfires caused by a complex mix of factors. let me briefly set the stage and describe the context. a certain amount of wildfire is natural in many forests. , it kills pests stems out small trees and insurers forests health. in california where i am and in the southwestern u.s., buyer naturally occurs every 10 to 20 years. in canada, buyer naturally occurs every 100 to 300 years. an amazon rain forests, a wildfire never occurs at all. in the western u.s., old outdated policies of suppressing all fires, even natural ones, have caused unnatural human

relations of fuel. in canada, roads and towns have caused unnatural increases in ignitions. at the same time, climate change is intensifying the heat that drives wildfires. specific, scientific analyses called detention attribution have looked at different factors that go into wildfires. these analyses have concluded that human caused climate change has lengthened buyer season around the world -- fire season around the world up to two months. in the united states human caused climate change has doubled the area of wildfire above natural level since 1984. in british columbia, canada in the extreme fire year of 2017 human caused climate change increased burned area seven to

11 times over natural level. a combination of local factors and human caused climate change have increased the area burned by wildfire. host: i am bringing up some data from the national interagency fire center. it shows that the number of fires in acres burned can vary greatly from year to year. what other factors are causing that fluctuation? you talked about the human impact, but why do we see so much fluctuation from year to year recently? guest: it is because both temperature, rainfall and snowfall very year to year. human caused climate change is causing a long-term increase in the temperature. in some years, rainfall is very

high so the landscape is moist. so, we have fewer buyers. -- fires. in other years, the rainfall and snowfall drops and it is drier. that is superimposed on this long-term increase in heat. it is in those years like this year in canada that wildfire explodes. host: we want you to call in with either questions or, professor gonzales, for any thoughts about wildfires and climate change. those numbers are, if you are in the eastern or central time zones, we want you to call us at (202) 748-8000. if you are in the mountain or pacific time zones, call us at (202) 748-8001.

again, eastern and central, (202) 748-8000. mountain and pacific, (202) 748-8001. before we get to the calls, i want to ask you, professor gonzales, you are in california which you have said has experienced wildfires increasing over the past years. recently, when the wildfires in canada impacted the northeast corridor, new york, washington, d.c., it seemed public interest increased greatly. did you notice that and has that caused frustration with those in california who said, we have been talking about this for years and you did not pay attention until it affected you more directly? guest: it is good when the public takes note, wherever the public is. the hazards of climate change, how it is exacerbating wildfire

and other impacts around the world. so, this -- these recent episodes in the eastern u.s. just expanded the awareness of the impact of climate change. host: we are talking with university of california berkeley professor patrick gonzales, ready for your questions or comments. first up is ann in spyro, oklahoma. i think we lost ann that quickly. we will wait and get back to the phone lines. you mentioned the floodwaters and snow. this is from the california department of water resources, it says that there is, the manual survey recorded 126.5 inches of snow depth and a water equivalent of 221% of average

for this location, that was in early april. the quote says "this year's severe storm and flooding is the latest example california's climate is becoming more extreme," said department of water resources director. after the driest three years on record and the devastating drought impacts to communities across the state, the department of water resources has rapidly shifted to flood response and forecasting for the upcoming snow melt. we have been talking about climate change. some people are going to say wildfires were in issue, now we are talking about wildfires and drought. now, we are talking about flooding. how can both be an impact of climate change? guest: published scientific research shows that human caused climate change is increasing the amount of energy in the atmosphere.

this energy is redistributed in unusual ways, such that temperature extremes and rainfall extremes have been occurring. so, the drought california experienced, the severe drought from 2012 to 2016 is actually part of a larger, more widespread drought across the southwestern u.s. that is in the most severe desk that has been the most severe since the 1500s. climate change and this redistribution of atmospheric energy sometimes brings extreme, storms extreme rainfalls. that is what occurs this year with the atmospheric river's. the snow is good news in terms of wildfires. the landscape is going to be moist this year. climate change is causing these extremes.

sometimes, rainfall goes up. sometimes, it goes down. it is imposed on this long-term heating. host: let's go to phone lines now. robert is in susanville, california. go ahead with your question or comment. caller: thank you for taking my call. in california, i have worked for the forest service. part of the problem is how their policy is on fighting fires now. when i used to work for them 40 years ago, they tried to put fires out. i understand that the underbrush growth and that kind of thing does need to be taken care of, but their problem is now with these huge fires that burn for months at a time. they do not try to put them out.

they try to control the burn. eventually, we get a windy day, it blows over there buyer lines and we lose towns like paradise. the town of greenville three years ago for the dixie fire. that was a controlled burn that got out of control because they decided to leave. ok? i understand climate has a lot to do with it. sodas population. -- so does population. fires used to burn before in remote areas, now they are not so remote. i have watched them. i used to work with them. i use to watch -- run supplies to them. i watched fire fighters waiting and watching as a fire burned. i even ask one of them, do you have a shovel?

i will throw dirt on the spire -- on this buyer -- fire. guest: the depth and damage from wildfires are very sad and regrettable. published scientific research shows that the most effective means to prevent those deaths and damage in the future is to restore the natural fire regime that have been unnaturally suppressed over a century of outdated policies. the federal agencies have a national wildfire plan and have operational plans for each fire. if fires are naturally ignited and remote, then the fire crews monitor the fire and let it burn, let the natural fire clear

out the understory to reduce the fire hazard for the future. when fires are close to towns or suburbs or have a risk of jumping over, the fire crews are very vigilant and their orders are to defend life and property. we can do both. it is important to have this long-term view under climate change to reduce the fire risk by the natural, reintroduction of natural fire. host: our next caller is jasmine in washington, d.c. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you professor gonzales for your work and research. i am curious what is on your radar when it comes to other types of research or innovations that are working towards preventing climate disasters, if there is any work to use other

disasters to support disasters. i was in the midwest -- midsouth and there was torrential rain and thunderstorms. i was wondering if this was water you could use to help put fires out, curious if there is anything in that space. thank you. guest: well, climate change, the fundamental way to prevent future, disastrous, catastrophic wildfires is to cut the carbon pollution from cars, power plants and human sources that causes climate change. the floods that you mentioned, the wildfires we are talking about, and also the actual extinction of animal species and

tree mortality, sea level rise, all of those impacts of climate change. the most effective means to halt the most drastic consequences of climate change is to cut because, and that is -- cut the cause, which is emissions from cars and other human sources. a lot of innovation is now going into energy efficiency and renewable energy to attack the cause. host: let's go to grand junction, colorado. we will hear from everett. caller: good morning. patrick, i am not sure exactly how old you are. i am guessing around in your 40's somewhere. in my 70's -- i am in my 70's. when the beetle kill was getting

started, and saw different deals that happened with mismanagement of the forest, besides that if you go back far enough, you look at the dustbowl era in the 1930's. the ground was plowed then, mismanaged. that is another thing. nasa had a catalytic converter that basically purified the exhaust fumes and different elements, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide out of existing cars over 12 years ago. it was cheaper, use less precious metals. , basically purified the air. now, we are going to electric vehicles and changing the entire country because of that. the sun is warming, it is getting hotter. host: your response, professor

gonzales? guest: on this last point, on the intergovernmental panel on climate change have examined the potential causal factors before the measured heating at weather stations. the analyses, the detention and attribution of analyses show that carbon pollution from human sources, cars, power plants and deforestation has caused 99% of the measured heating and that natural causes are less than 1%. all credible scientists agree that human caused -- that climate change is caused by carbon pollution from human activity. host: ok. let's take another caller. andy is in upstate new york. what is your question or

comment? caller: good morning. i live in the beautiful, high peaks of the adirondacks, not far from the fires -- we started getting smoke up here from the western province of manitoba. they were pretty big out there. not totally amazing, but it made it out here, which is pretty far. the fire started on the eastern part of nova scotia, québec and that smoke started heading south to where we are, which is only a few hours away. down in new york city, they got it much worse than we did. we just happen to be in a good place. what i understand is that the fires in québec and up there were started by people, you can

call them dumbasses that were camping, lighting fires and did not put them out properly. so, there is usually warnings. do not light fires. do not burn. maybe these peopldo not hear those warnings. it does not take much. that is basically all i got to say. we also have a thing up here. we are known for the beauty and ecological type of situation, if you take it in, take it out. you should not ever leave a camp fire going. you should not even start one. host: let's let professor gonzales, you hear a lot of people saying that wildfires are caused by human error. how big of that is a factor?

guest: human ignitions, accidental ignitions, are a major cause of fires. the caller is exactly right that when people are camping outdoors in nature, it is very important, it is very crucial not to leave the fire unattended and to completely put the fire out when they leave. in fact, the national park service enforced service in the united states, when conditions are dry, they ask people not to set fires, make campfires. ignitions can be natural. lightning, in addition. it is the combination of natural ignitions and these accidental ignitions that are driving wildfire. host: can you talk, i think some

people are saying if it is unnatural ignitions, human error, how can those wildfires be attributed to climate change? guest: again, it is that long-term increase in the temperature that dries out the forests and, in québec of this year, scientific analyses show that temperatures in the month of may in some parts of canada were 10 degrees celsius, for 18 degrees fahrenheit above average. that is on top of the long-term increase already of one degree celsius, for two degrees fahrenheit since the preindustrial era. so, that is the context in which accidental people because

ignitions, have been causing wildfires. that long-term increase in temperature that dries out the landscape, that increases fire risk. host: let's go back to the phone lines. ruth in california with your question or comment. caller: good morning. i am calling about forestry in general, and forests, with respect to climate change. we have heard a little bit this morning about proper management of forests to keep them healthy, which means -- or doing controlled burns when possible. the other thing is the destruction of vast amounts of forest, specifically the rain

forests in south america. one of the things i am impressed with is how fast a rain forest can recover if it is allowed to. if we restore our forests, not only could we reduce the fuel for wildfires however they start, but also, nature comes back very quickly and that climate to restore rain forests and restore the carbon capture it provides. host: your thoughts? guest: globally, an area that is half the size of australia burns globally. most of this is in the tropical rain forests, about 80% of it as the caller noted the rain forest

is burning, the congo rain forest in africa and the rain forest in southeast asia. deforestation is one of the most effective ways to reduce carbon pollution from ecosystems, halting tropical deforestation would cut mobile carbon emissions by 10%. this is an important component of stopping climate change, that is only 10%. 90% is from fossil fuels, oil

and methane. host: our next call is in florida. john is on the line. caller: thank you for taking my call. what i wanted to say was about the wildfires such as what is going on in canada right now. the out-of-control aspect of it is because we as stewards are not taking care of the -- of deforestation. we are not clearing the underbrush, the brush that is the accelerant for these things. we used to. i know out in california, we had a lot of wildfires there, but

the same thing. part of the reason why we had these wildfires is to get out of control is because of the poor stewardship that we have of not taking care of the forests. and protecting the live trees by removing the dead brush. host: go ahead, professor gonzales. guest: we have returned again to this issue of outdated policies, of suppressing all wildfire, even natural fires. the caller and other callers have talked about forest management. an important component of forest management is restoring the natural, severity of fires that burn along the ground that naturally clear out the

understory and allow the larger trees, the more resilient trees, to grow up. restoration of natural fire is one of the most important forest management practices to prevent catastrophic wildfire in the future. in canada, the situation is a little different because the buyer is different -- fire. the forests in canada naturally only expense fire every 100 to 300 years. is there, the problem is human ignitions from timber harvesting, roads and towns. there, the most effective forest management actions are halting these unnatural ignitions from

human activities and restricting the disturbance of the forest by timber harvesting by roads and towns. host: ok. we've got our caller from canada. john is in alberta. [captioning performed by thenat, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] >> we're going to leave the program here. you can continue watching if you go to our website, c-span.org. we take you live now to the floor of the u.s. house here on c-span.

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