SAFE NATURAL CURES & LIVING

TIMELINE 1960-2007.

The number of acres burned by wildfires has more than doubled.  But, the number of fires in the last 27 years was half that during the 1970s-1980s.  Wildfires are burning hotter and taking longer to extinguish.  This is most likely due to the environmental issue of not allowing forests to be thinned, brush to be cleared from near homes and other buildings, and brush to be thinned through controlled burns.

Fires were more controllable and fewer (if any) homes and other buildings were lost in areas where forest thinning had been allowed and implemented.  One such area, Lake Arrowhead, California, was saved by thinning.  According to Randall Clauson, the Forest Service’s division chief for the San Bernardino National Forest, “…  only a few stumps were burning and no trees were lost.  Hundreds of surrounding homes were untouched.”  This also freed firefighters and equipment for use in other areas.

In addition to some areas being saved by thinning, more trees and underbrush are lost to raging wildfires than to thinning.

California’s latest fires were started by downed power lines, arson, and welding sparks.  Hot Santa Ana winds fanned the flames and drought conditions did not help.  But, even though all of these causes and conditions have also been in play over the last 47 years, increased acreage lost to wildfires coincides with the implementation of the environmental bans.

Environmentalists and others are also concerned about carbon dioxide causing and worsening global warming.  But, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during wildfires far exceeds anything man could have done in the same timeframe.  One major fire can emit in days up to 40 percent of what man causes in a full year.

Forests that have not been thinned in years are also full of older trees (which absorb carbon slower than new trees do) and dead trees.  Thinned forests can absorb more carbon, at a faster rate.  The older trees also contain more carbon after soaking it in over the years.  When these older trees are logged, burning of higher concentrations of carbon is prevented.

The last few years have seen catastrophic wildfires globally, including in the United States, Russia, Canada, Australia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Europe, Ethiopian, and the Mediterranean.  It is no wonder that carbon emissions have increased.  Man had little to do with it, just as man had little to do with the increases (and ensuing decreases) over the millennia, nor with the global warming / global cooling cycle.

How spouses argue is learned from what they saw and heard from their parents.  Most people simply repeat the pattern, even when it is obviously unsuccessful.  But, you can change that. 

The first thing to know about arguing properly is to speak out.  In some marriages, there is no arguing at all because one person either simply clams up or storms out of the room.  These two methods may let the other person know you’re angry, but they fail miserably at changing things for the better.

Another part of proper arguing is the right attitude.  Arguments usually are partnered with anger, but your anger can quickly fuel anger in your spouse also.  Accusations fly, and sometimes objects fly.  But, the point of arguing is to change or solve things, not to get each other angry.

Volume is also important when arguing.  When one person starts yelling, the other gets louder.  It doesn’t take long before words are not heard at all, only the volume.

So when you want to get your point across, speak out, speak out without anger, and speak out without yelling.

The best way to get your point across is to keep the conversation about you.  Specifically, keep the conversation about your feelings. 

“You’re never home!  You’re always gone!  You’re at work all day long, and then you’re out with the guys on the weekend!”  Those comments are not about you, they are about your husband, and they will be heard as accusations.  Accusations put the other person on the defensive and can cause anger.  A possible reaction would be, “I need to do something fun on the weekends after listening to my boss all week!  And, you should be grateful that I’m working so much so you can have this furniture and your nice clothes!”  Instead, tell him what you are feeling.  “You work hard, and you are a good provider.  I really appreciate that.  But, sometimes when I’m home alone I feel like I’m not important.”  A likely reaction to this would be, “You are important!  You’re the most important person in my life.  I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.  What would you like to do this weekend?  This weekend is just for you.  We could go on a drive and then to a nice restaurant, whatever you want.!”  Telling him what you are feeling is not threatening to him, and it gives him a chance to come to your rescue.

Respect, a nice attitude, and a pleasant voice go a long way to prevent arguments.  You haven’t gotten anywhere with yelling, “You’re such a pig!  You never rinse off your plate, then you leave dirty dishes all over the house!”  Instead, try saying, “When I rinse food off a plate right away, it’s so easy to clean.  But, if I wait until the food is stuck on, it’s really hard.   It would really help me out if you could rinse off your plate and put it in the sink after you eat.  I even enjoy washing dishes when they’ve already soaked in the sink.”

“This is what you always do!”  “You broke my mother’s plate!  That’s the third plate of hers that you’ve broken!  You’ve always hated my mother!”  “I wouldn’t need to worry about where you go if you hadn’t had that affair two years ago!”  The last thing to remember about arguing is to forget.  A quick way to cause resentment or put a person on the defensive is to bring past problems into a new arguement.  Forget past sins.