4 ms·

The sky was red a few days ago. I'm guessing its that. I don't know. I'm not 100% sure, but that was the one thing out of the normal

HenryBemis 6y ago
Is the smoke 'clean', meaning is it just plantation that is being consumed by fire or there is also a large percentage of toxic smoke into the air? Has there been significant number of homes/cars/factories (I am thinking things that upon being burnt would release a chemical/toxic cloud)(thinking the difference of burning 100kg of wood Vs burning 100kg of laptops and how different the smoke would be in damaging health)
- pjc50 6y ago
  Wood smoke itself is surprisingly toxic; all sorts of nasty combustion products.
  - bdamm 6y ago
    True, but our definition of toxic has changed. Humans have been living with wood smoke for millennia, it may not be great for you but it isn't very new in terms of evolutionary presence. Smoke from burning industrial chemicals is a newer thing, and certainly some of these industrial toxins can kill or injure you far more quickly than wood smoke. So a warehouse full of laptops burning (and probably painted with lead) is something I'd want to take extra precautions to avoid vs wildfire smoke.
    - anonAndOn 6y ago
      Wood smoke is something to be avoided if at all possible. It's actually a leading cause of death in developing countries.[0] [0]https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/safe-efficient-cookstoves-guatemala/ https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/safe-efficient-cooksto...
    - HenryBemis 6y ago
      Thank you for that comment. My post above got downvoted (and I don't care) but it's all about the point I was trying to make and it was clearly misunderstood. Btw my father is a retired fireman and the nomenclature ("chemical", "toxic") is his. Every time there is a fire in the news we talk about it and he gives me his input on the impact. And he has dealt with many types of fires (forests, offices, chemical factories, living blocks, etc.) The destruction in nature is unfortunate and nobody wants it. But the impact from the smoke (and wait until all that crap in the air goes over you city, and then wait for it to rain all that toxic crap will end up on your parks and streets and schools).. and then you will start driving your car and part of the "dust" that will get back into your breathable air will be.. you guessed it.. what has been burning for so many days. Thus the difference between burnt trees Vs burnt homes/factories/chemicals (100kg wood vs 100kg laptops as an extreme example). Wood - you cough, laptops you get lung cancer. The crap that is in the smoke, sooner or later, here or there, will make come back down, and THAT matters.
      - oarsinsync 6y ago
        > Wood - you cough > Emissions from wood smoke, discussed below, can cause coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, heart attacks, lung cancer, and premature death, among other health effects. https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/residential-wood-burning https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants...
- klyrs 6y ago
  The carbon monoxide levels in Portland have been ridiculously high. "Clean" isn't the issue here; it's quite likely a matter of suffocation.

HenryBemis 6y ago

Is the smoke 'clean', meaning is it just plantation that is being consumed by fire or there is also a large percentage of toxic smoke into the air? Has there been significant number of homes/cars/factories (I am thinking things that upon being burnt would release a chemical/toxic cloud)(thinking the difference of burning 100kg of wood Vs burning 100kg of laptops and how different the smoke would be in damaging health)

pjc50 6y ago
Wood smoke itself is surprisingly toxic; all sorts of nasty combustion products.
- bdamm 6y ago
  True, but our definition of toxic has changed. Humans have been living with wood smoke for millennia, it may not be great for you but it isn't very new in terms of evolutionary presence. Smoke from burning industrial chemicals is a newer thing, and certainly some of these industrial toxins can kill or injure you far more quickly than wood smoke. So a warehouse full of laptops burning (and probably painted with lead) is something I'd want to take extra precautions to avoid vs wildfire smoke.
  - anonAndOn 6y ago
    Wood smoke is something to be avoided if at all possible. It's actually a leading cause of death in developing countries.[0] [0]https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/safe-efficient-cookstoves-guatemala/ https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/safe-efficient-cooksto...
  - HenryBemis 6y ago
    Thank you for that comment. My post above got downvoted (and I don't care) but it's all about the point I was trying to make and it was clearly misunderstood. Btw my father is a retired fireman and the nomenclature ("chemical", "toxic") is his. Every time there is a fire in the news we talk about it and he gives me his input on the impact. And he has dealt with many types of fires (forests, offices, chemical factories, living blocks, etc.) The destruction in nature is unfortunate and nobody wants it. But the impact from the smoke (and wait until all that crap in the air goes over you city, and then wait for it to rain all that toxic crap will end up on your parks and streets and schools).. and then you will start driving your car and part of the "dust" that will get back into your breathable air will be.. you guessed it.. what has been burning for so many days. Thus the difference between burnt trees Vs burnt homes/factories/chemicals (100kg wood vs 100kg laptops as an extreme example). Wood - you cough, laptops you get lung cancer. The crap that is in the smoke, sooner or later, here or there, will make come back down, and THAT matters.
    - oarsinsync 6y ago
      > Wood - you cough > Emissions from wood smoke, discussed below, can cause coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, heart attacks, lung cancer, and premature death, among other health effects. https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants/residential-wood-burning https://www.lung.org/clean-air/at-home/indoor-air-pollutants...
klyrs 6y ago
The carbon monoxide levels in Portland have been ridiculously high. "Clean" isn't the issue here; it's quite likely a matter of suffocation.