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The bedside radio burst into life this morning, as per usual, just in time to deliver the BBC News headlines. The British national broadcaster seems to carry ever less clout than it once did but, still, it’s a useful reference point.
One of the stories was that, in 2022, wildfires in the UK surged by more than 70 per cent, and we were warned that “The UK is ‘woefully underprepared’ to tackle wildfires as climate change makes them more likely, a new report by the Fire Brigades Union warns.”
In 2022, the news reported, there were 44,000 wildfires in the UK. That’s an average of 120 each and every day - not, I’m sure, that wildfires follow such an orderly pattern. But it just struck me as ironical. Last year’s news comes just as this year’s supposed warm season has ended, and the only thing that stands out is that this year seems to have been remarkably … er … normal … ‘terribly British’ one might say. That is, in my neck of the woods, anyway, zero super-hot periods and quite a lot of rain.
Next, I looked up the BBC website and, lo and behold, there was the story, in the ‘Science & Environment’ section and tagged ‘Climate change’: “UK unready as wildfires surge, warns firefighters’ union.”
At the top of the article, there’s a photo of a fire, with the legend “There were more than 44,000 grassland, woodland and crop fires last year.” The only problem is, it seems to me, the photo is not of a wildfire. Rather, it’s a photo of stubble-burning. And stubble-burning, although tightly controlled by law, is perfectly legal.
None of this is to say that we don’t have to be deeply concerned about wildfires but, given that there were apparently 44,000 of the damn things in 2022 alone, surely it would have been possible to find one or two photos of the real McCoy?
Oh well, given the 2023 weather, I’m guessing the number of wildfires will have reverted back closer to the historical norm. If so, will that appear as a 2024 Good News story? What do you think?
The great writing arriving at Platform Substack
It recently struck me that one of the major good contributions that digital tech has gifted all of us is the online platform. I didn’t feel that way when it all started. For far too long, it seemed, the so-called social platforms seemed to be distinctly antisocial, causing vastly more division and nastiness than hitherto. But, now, with the blossoming of Substack and a handful of other platforms, things are balancing out.
So I thought I’d offer up occasional suggestions about Substack contributors that I really enjoy. Here’ my first recommendation:
Do take a look.
The plan is that ‘Happy Friday’ happens … every Friday. Hope it meets with your approval. Have a good weekend.