So here it is.. yet ANOTHER post about the smoke. With images, too..
Enough already, no?
But see, when you have a website and do this kind of stuff, these global events prompt your passion of documenting. Further, this event, this series of historic and awful fires in Canada causing a smoke-filled Northeast to have unprecedented pollution high strangeness, is one for the record books. It just begs to have documenting..
Most experts in climate and talking heads on TEE VEE already told us that the smoky air may be the worst in our collective lifetimes.
There have been fires raging in Western Canada since May. Americans have not paid much attention because it did not effect their lives in the way it suddenly impacted us. Most have not realized that smoky sunsets in May were becoming a norm during that month because of the burning up north. But once June hit, a large mass amount of fires began to burn in Eastern Canada. And with it, and a stubborn weather pattern, that smoke began to pouring into the Northeast and East Coast of the United States.
Pouring!
To the point where it appeared to be an apocalypse.
You can see it on satellite as that brownish cloud that sure ain’t a cloud:
As the Drudge Report heralded today on its site: Gotham Gagging.
As though you needed some more pictures from this week’s latest global disturbance.. but here they are for the record:
NEW YORK CITY
Catawissa PA
JIM THORPE, PA
One reader sent a before and after of the same location, very striking:
Tantoine
OK.. that last one is a joke, STAR WARDS fans.. But the planet Luke Skywalker was born on sure looks like our new smoke filled reality.
BLAME CANADA
We have said before that living through history sounds fun but normally is not. No different this time. It’s tragic, after all. So much in Canada has been ravaged by the wildfires.. And now the pollution in the United States is causing breathing problems for those with health issues–and those without.
Many local news affiliates showcased golfers ‘braving’ the elements to go play a round in smoky conditions. Nothing to be worried about, right? Despite those particulates in the air that attach to your lungs and cause long term issues when you breathe them in enough. Think of everything burning. That is what is in the stagnant air. Every bit of that debris.
As bad as the NYC air quality was Wednesday morning, all three of NYC’s airports were operating normally. But as the skies darkened, that quickly changed. By early afternoon, the FAA ordered ground stops at LaGuardia Airport in Queens and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, with NYC-bound flights being held on the ground at their airport of origin.
Hazy and dangerous fumes from ongoing wildfires in Canada have engulfed the skies over much of the Northeast, prompting serious air quality alerts in at least 16 states. New York City was considered to have the WORST air quality on the entire planet–and there are some rough cities out there.
And it is possible–if not likely–that this could repeat itself this summer if conditions return to this reality: Fires and a pattern that keeps the smoke pouring in..
WE DIDN’T START THE FIRE
So how did we get here, exactly.
There are prognosticators who believe this is an affirmation of climate change, while others are alleging a criminal conspiracy of people starting fires on purpose! Your social media feed video may already predetermine what kind of person you are.
Canada’s annual wildfire season runs from May through October, but this many fires and destruction this early in the season has caused shock. One month in, Canada is on track to have its most destructive wildfire season in history. So much so now that other parts of the world are experiencing its effects in an historic nature.
In the Canadian prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — where fires now rage — drought has hit particularly hard. According to the Canada Drought Monitor, all 10 provinces are experiencing abnormal dryness, moderate or severe drought.
Quebec had some fires begin with lightning. Officials have not released much else about specific further causes, but attribute them to smokers flicking their cigs or sparks from trains.
Between March 1 and June 5, 2023, 2,214 fires had burned 9,390,000 acres out of the country’s total 2.4 billion acres, making 2023 the worst wildfire season in Canada’s modern history.
There are others who believe a more nefarious event started the fire, with popular videos on TikTok and other social media showcasing what appears to be fires simultaneously starting in Eastern Canada.
You can choose your theory.
THE FEAR FACTOR
So this takes the story more personal.. when smoke really started to become apparent in my own neck of the woods, it was a little creepy. It felt like an entity.. you opened the windows and that scent snuck in.. outside was heavy–headaches and stomach aches seemingly became more common. A certain ‘balance’ seemed to be off, with brain activity not just working the way it would under ‘normal conditions.’
It was like a mini COVID all over again–this time you can see the virus at your door step. It was a deep dark orange cloud blocking the sun. It was driving itself into your lungs.. and it was striking everyone regardless of your mitigation efforts.
It felt, to a degree, like a horror movie–the MIST by Stephen King came to mind. Even memes used that movie to describe the smoggy smoky blanket.
But on our Facebook page, we asked how people felt. Not news.. not the conspiracies.. not the facts. Just feelings–the touchy feely kind. What are they thinking.. it seemed people were off, at least to us.. heck it even seemed that animals were a bit off, too, not really acting as though they should under normal circumstances. We had some interesting responses..
This too, shall pass. It all passes.
Each event transpires.. each event ends. We move on.
But wow.. the whirlwind of history has been rapid fire.. We are on a roller coaster with constant collisions. While the sun may shine again, who knows what in life will happen net.
Take solace, though. This time, we can wholeheartedly BLAME CANADA.
