<
https://theconversation.com/growing-up-alongside-deadly-fires-inspired-me-to-study-them-and-fight-flames-with-swarms-of-drones-273270>
"Growing up in Greece, wildfires were a constant presence each summer. In 2007,
I remember watching TV footage of fires ravaging the Peloponnese peninsula and
island of Evia, destroying forests and homes, taking lives. The sight of
helicopters and firefighting aircraft crossing the smoky skies was both
terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Then when I was 17, flames crept dangerously close to my home in Kavala,
northern Greece. I recall standing outside with water-hose in hand, scanning
the horizon and hoping our nearby treeless street would stop the fire’s
advance. Thankfully, firefighting aircraft reached the area just in time – but
the feeling of vulnerability at seeing how easily entire landscapes could be
consumed stayed with me.
Those experiences shaped my curiosity about how people could better respond to
such disasters. Wildfires are becoming more intense, frequent and harder to
manage worldwide as fire seasons become longer, affecting communities from
California to Australia.
According to the UN environment programme, longer droughts, heatwaves, and
erratic winds are pushing ecosystems past their natural limits, endangering
both human lives and biodiversity. Nasa reports that extreme wildfire activity
has more than doubled worldwide over the past two decades.
In 2018, Greece suffered the deadliest wildfires in its modern history when
fires in the southern seaside town of Mati and in the general Attica region
claimed over 100 lives. The devastation renewed my determination to find better
ways to combat fires."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
