What to Do about Wildfires?

As the latest round of wildfires continue to burn in California, leaving residents and authorities are wrestling with the same problem being faced in places like Australia, India and British Columbia. "They're living in ecosystems that burn up all the time, because that's what they do," says Char Miller, visiting professor at Pomona College. Miller says the dilemma is just another byproduct of population growth and the sprawling presence of human beings.

FEMA and the California Wildfire

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials know the agency's performance in the California wildfires will be watched closely for comparisons to its failures in Hurricane Katrina. FEMA Director David Paulison promised on Tuesday "a different type of response" and declared "this is a new FEMA." Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including the following (click on names for contact info):

Vincent Gawronski - Assistant Professor of Political Science, Birmingham-Southern College - Gawronski studies the political impact of natural disasters. As a consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development, he has been involved in the evaluation of training programs for civil defense personnel and in the assessment of post-impact disaster response and nongovernmental organization capabilities.

Richard Ellis - Associate Professor of Politics, Willamette University - A widely published author on politics, Ellis's books include Presidential Lightning Rods: The Politics of Blame Avoidance and Dilemmas of Presidential Leadership: From Washington Through Lincoln.

Char Miller - Professor of History, Trinity University - Miller's research interests in environmental history include forests, fires, water, and wildlife in the American West, and the U.S. Forest Service. She is currently editing an environmental atlas of Canada and the U.S.