My second U.S. election

“An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.”

—George Eliot

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THE U.S. Presidential Election pitting reelectionist President Donald Trump of the Republican Party versus Joseph Biden of the Democratic Party on November 3 will be the second consecutive presidential elections that I will cover as a Filipino journalist.

In the 2016 U.S. Election when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in a shocking upset, we got an accreditation to officially cover the event from the U.S. Department of State Foreign Press Center through Director Kathy Eagen. 

The accreditation allowed us to participate in the New York Foreign Press Center (NYFPC) Tour to New York City Polling Locations during the U.S. Presidential Election on November 8, 2016.

On my part, I was given the choice by Director Eagen between Harlem’s Samuels Community Center in Bronx and Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Community Center for my assignment.

I chose the latter.

After being approved to join the two NYFPC Tour with topic: “New York Presidential Election Polling Center Observation: Harlem and Brooklyn,” accredited journalists were given the opportunity to observe the voting process.

We conducted interviews with polling officials and voters on a strictly voluntary basis.

We presented our authorization letters from the Board of Elections before entering the polling centers in New York.

 

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A day before the election in 2016, we held an “on-the-record briefing” on  “What to expect on election day in New York–A Primer on Exit Polling and Calling the Race” with speaker Dr. Christina Greer of Fordham University in the morning at the Hyatt New York Hotel.

In the afternoon, Jefrey Pollock, founding partner and president of Global Strategy Group, spoke on the State of the Race–The Liberal Perspective.

On November 8, the forum entitled “On-the-record panel with Columbia and NYU professors: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Next Administration” was tackled in the same venue.

The speakers were:

– David L. Phillips, senior adviser to the United Nation Secretariat, who also writes frequently on ISIS, Iraq, Syria and Turkey for cnbc.com. He is director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights;

– Kimberly Marten, a former Director of Columbia University’s Harriman Institute with expertise in Russian foreign policy; patronage; corruption; U.S-Russia relations; international security;

– Christopher Sabatini, who has worked on and in Cuba since 1997 and has been working with White House advisors on policy change toward Cuba since the start of the Obama administration.  He is the senior director of policy at the Americas Society and Council of the Americas (AS/COA);

– David Denoon, professor of Politics and Economics at New York University and Director of the NYU Center on U.S.-China Relations.  He has served in the Federal Government in three positions:  Program Economist for USAID in Jakarta, Vice President of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

We also discussed the topic entitled: “On-the-record Briefing: The State of the Race-The Conservative Perspective” by speaker John McLaughlin, CEO and Partner of McLaughlin and Associates.

On November 9, we joined the forum entitled: “On-the-record Panel: Post-Election Day Perspectives at Baruch College” held at 5 Lexington Ave., Entrance on E. 25th St. between Lexington & 3rd Aves, NY with the following speakers:

–David Birdsell, dean of the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs (all election topics);

–Mitchel B. Wallerstein, president of Baruch College, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counterproliferation Policy and Senior Defense Representative for Trade Security Policy from 1993-1997;

–Thomas Main, professor whose current research is on the alt-right and is an expert on urban issues/cities; and

–Carla Robbins, clinical professor, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, specialist in national security and diplomacy.

 

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At this early, there is already a pre-election controversy that is expected to disrupt the outcome of the presidential election after President Trump argued that, despite using it himself in the past, “mail-in voting is more open to fraud.”

Most election experts have questioned whether it is possible for postal voting to lead to widespread fraud, as President Trump claims, but have pointed out that an anticipated rise in postal voting could cause problems. 

The election date is not written into the U.S. Constitution, so a delay is reportedly “technically possible”, but the Constitution does outline a date for the newly-elected president's inauguration in January 2021.  

The power to change the election date, however, lies with the U.S. Congress, and the Democrats hold the majority in one chamber, the House of Representatives, making it extremely unlikely a delay would be approved.

A record number of people are expected to vote before November 3 by opting for postal votes. Election experts suggest this could mean the result may not be declared on election night, but may take several days—or even weeks—to emerge. 

With the coronavirus pandemic expected to impact public life well into the autumn, the 2020 election is likely to go down in history as one of the most unconventional U.S. presidential races ever held.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

Gov’t wrong to pick a war vs media

 “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind” 

―Jim Morrison

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WE have been saying from the very start that the Duterte administration “was wrong” to pick on a woman media personality, or any male media personality for that matter, for an “enemy” especially if the media personalities and the entity they represent were only doing their job.

Media criticism in a democratic country isn’t a crime.

The job of being “fiscalizers” or watchdogs of government by media people is guaranteed and enshrined in the Constitution.

In fact, framers of the fundamental law of the land had cautioned those in power to legislate laws that “no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press…” 

It is the nature of the press in a free country to expose anomalies and correct the mistakes of elected public officials.  

Any democratic state can’t function effectively without the check and balance; it’s part of the function of the Fourth Estate to scrutinize all government transactions in the name of transparency.

Thus when an agitated government suppresses the media or become “too hard” against the reporters, the heat of the conflict will reverberate and spread all over the world.

 

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Thus we weren’t surprised when the European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling on the Philippine government to drop charges against acclaimed journalist Maria Ressa during a session on September 17.

In June this year, the Manila trial court found guilty Ressa, the founder and CEO of the online news service Rappler, and Reynaldo Santos Jr., a former Rappler staffer, of "cyber libel".

Parliament members overwhelmingly approved a broad measure that addresses the rise in human rights violations since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016. 

CBS News reported that the resolution calls out the extrajudicial killings of thousands of Filipinos as part of Duterte's anti-drug campaign, as well as violence against women and retaliation against journalists, including Ressa.

The European Union's law-making body reportedly urged the Philippines to drop all charges against Ressa and Santos, who have appealed their convictions and posted bail.

 

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In 2012, Ressa founded the online news site Rappler, a company founded not to be liable in the case, and has received international acclaim for her reporting in the face of personal and legal threats. 

Ressa and human rights groups insist the Duterte government has targeted Rappler and and the award-winning female jounralist “in response for its critical reporting, including its coverage of Duterte's deadly ‘war on drugs.’" 

European Parliament member Hannah Neumann of Germany reportedly brought up Ressa's plight during the session, and said she wants to revoke privileges the Philippines has under the EU's Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) trade arrangement, which allows developing countries to pay less or no duties on their exports to the EU.  

Neumann directed her ire at Duterte, who despite being accused of human rights violations, "still enjoys trade privileges of the EU under the GSP+ scheme that are supposedly linked to improvements in human rights, but the situation is just getting worse."

She said: "We don't have that many tools as the European Union to protect human rights and democracy, and maybe our trade policy is the strongest one.” 

CBS News reported that “the resolution reminds the Philippines about its human rights obligations under international law, and said that ‘in the absence of any substantive improvements’ the removal of GSP+ trade preferences ‘should be considered.’" 

The Philippines ranks 136th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index put together by Reporters Without Borders, whose analysts say journalists there face threats of violence, legal charges, and online harassment.

The country's biggest broadcaster, ABS-CBN, was forced off the air in May this year snd its franchise was never renewed. Thousands of workers lost their job amid the pandemic.

The European Parliament's resolution on Thursday also reportedly calls on the Philippines to renew the network's broadcasting license.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

God bless PECO

“Good luck needs no explanation.”

—Shirley Temple

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT was a tight decision.

In boxing, the defeat of Panay Electric Company (PECO) to More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE) in the Supreme Court was a split decision, not a technical knockout (TKO).

Since “it wasn’t a convincing win”, PECO is still hoping for a last-ditch miracle to turn the tide through an appeal.

Even if the chances for SC to reverse its own ruling are nil, PECO legal counsel, Atty. Estrella Elamparo, said PECO hasn’t thrown in the towel yet.

“We will continue to pursue the available legal remedies to defend PECO’s constitutional rights.  Despite this temporary setback, we remain optimistic that we will ultimately be vindicated not just for PECO but for the people of Iloilo,” Elamparo said in a statement. “The tight vote lends support to our position that the takeover of PECO’s properties is not the exercise of eminent domain contemplated by our laws, but a violation of constitutional rights.”

Good luck on your appeal, PECO.

The 8-6 verdict upheld MORE’s control over the power distribution business in Iloilo City, paving the way for Enrique Razon Jr.’s company to wrest the legal right to serve the Ilonggo electric consumers. 

 

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The SC decision thus has set aside the order issued by the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court (RTC) and declaring Sections 10 and 17 of Republic Act No. 11212 (MORE’s franchise) as constitutional, according to SC public information chief and spokesperson, Atty. Brian Keith Hosaka, who explained: “In granting the petitions, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City Branch 209  in Civil Case No. R-MND-19-00571, and declared Section 10 and 17 of RA No. 11212 constitutional.”

We expect Mr. Razon to be magnanimous in victory and will now focus on how to upgrade MORE’s facilities and buttress the firm’s other physical assets.

Whatever will happen next, PECO had fought a good fight. 

It’s time to move on.

Everything is now history.

For all the years that PECO had been part of the Ilonggos’ household, it isn’t easy to just dismiss its memory during its halcyon years.

Good luck and God bless, PECO.

 

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MY MEMORY OF PECO. Back in May 1993 when the Panay Electric Company (PECO) was applying for a 25-year extension of franchise in the Iloilo City Council, among the demands of the committee on public services, environmental protection and committee on ecology, transportation, energy and public utilities from the power utility’s top echelons during the public hearings was to put up a meter reading system.

Among the central issues raised against PECO was the “astronomical” distribution and generations fees, and, of course, the “lack of proper meter reading system” that irked so many consumers, including the late prominent businessman William Bayani, who filed a case against PECO.

For several weeks, PECO underwent intense grilling from Councilors German Gonzalez, Achilles Plagata, Rolando Dabao, Eduardo Laczi, and Perla Zulueta.

It was agreed that the meter reading system was necessary in order to provide the correct and accurate reading of the power consumed by the consumers and avoid overcharging.

The City Council approved PECO’s application for extension of franchise. 

Under the law, it must get Congress’ imprimatur after sailing through the local legislature.

Before PECO got endorsement from the City Council, it was bombarded with multitudes of complaints from various consumers groups in a series of public hearings.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even the ghosts will ‘get mad‘ if we go to cemetery

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.”

—Harold Wilson

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THERE was no need actually for some local chief executives to tell the people not to visit the public cemeteries during the All Souls' Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, on November 2, now that we are still being pummeled by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

It’s common sense.

All Souls’ Day is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of those who have died, which is observed by some Christian denominations mostly in a public cemetery, a potential COVID-19 spreader.

Even if those bound for the cemetery will wear a face mask, there is no guarantee they won’t be zapped by the pandemic, which has killed 938,104 people all over the world as of September 15, because they are still bound to violate the social distancing.

Without any warning from the authorities, however, some family members would still be sneaking inside the cemetery to lit candles or offer flowers to their departed loved ones.

Even the ghosts wouldn’t appreciate these acts, especially if it’s obvious the number of coronavirus cases in the Philippines continued to rise and health and civil authorities were in mad scramble how to contain them and reduce if not halt the statistics on infection and death. 

 

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THESE past five days, some of us have experienced a cold weather here in the East Coast even if fall has not yet officially arrived. 

Some of us who fear the so-called coronavirus “second wave” here in New York are becoming jittery even if we only have sore throats and were sneezing (probably due to allergy brought by the changing weather).

New York City officials know COVID-19 cases will climb this fall. The question they are watching as the city moves to reopen is, just how much?

Autumn, also known as fall, is known for its shorter days, colorful leafy landscapes and cool, crisp nights, but Americans looking forward to these fall staples had to wait a little longer this year as summer lingers across much of the United States.

The autumnal equinox will mark the official changing of the seasons with fall kicking off on Sept. 22.

This may seem like a long ways away for some, but a team of long-range forecasters have been busy for weeks analyzing global weather patterns and different forecasting tools to paint a picture of what weather will unfold across the United States in the coming months. 

 

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SCARY ‘SECOND WAVE.’ The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has been reportedly working with academic groups at Columbia University and New York University for months. 

The academic teams have been asked to model case numbers, help predict needed hospital resources and to advise the city on how to open up workplaces, schools, restaurants and more.

Drew Armstrong of the Bloomberg reported that the disclosure September 15 of a COVID-19 case at the New York offices of JPMorgan Chase & Co. “is likely just the latest example of what will happen as businesses push to get workers back to the office, and people begin going back to school and returning to restaurants and gyms.”

Experts from two academic groups working with New York reportedly described in interviews what’s likely to be a significant increase in cases this fall, but with the opportunity to stop the worst with careful public-health measures like masks and social distancing.

“If you do these types of phased reopenings, there are going to be certain increases in transmission activity,” Columbia University’s Jeff Shaman, who is part of a team working with the city to predict the path of the outbreak. “Every model will tell you you’re going to see increases in cases.”

According to Jay Varma, senior advisor for public health in the New York City Mayor’s Office, the city is likewise planning for a resurgence, while trying to restore as much normal business as possible.

Varma said: “Even independent of having any mathematical backing for this, we have been planning around the assumption that there will be resurgences of this infection.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

   

 

Racial issue in election and Atticus’ faith in justice system

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WITH less than seven weeks until the US presidential election, the United States continues to reckon with its complicated racial history, and issues that impact communities of color are being highlighted in the platforms of each major political party.

Effective pitches during the recent conventions of the Democrats and Republicans would be crucial as nonwhite voters, according to Pew Research, make up about one-third of the 2020 electorate.

Democrats have introduced law enforcement overhaul legislation that goes far beyond what they have pushed before. 

As the Republicans confront an increasingly forbidding political climate this year, the party is responding to fast-moving polling, which indicates that an overwhelming number of independents and even about half of Republican voters believe George Floyd’s killing represents a broad problem with policing.

More of these issues will be tackled during the much-awaited debate between President Donald Trump and Joseph Biden on September 29.

 

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THE concept of justice, meanwhile, is presented in a novel written by Harper Lee as an antidote to racial prejudice. 

We found many parallels in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, that reflect some realities in today events.

There's the story of Atticus, described as a strongly principled, liberal lawyer who defends a wrongly accused black man, representing a role model for moral and legal justice. 

In his explanation to Scout, Atticus stressed that while he believed the American justice system to be without prejudice, the individuals who sit on the jury often harbor bias, which can taint the workings of the system. 

Atticus retained his faith in the system throughout the majority of the novel, but he ultimately lost in his legal defense of Tom. 

Atticus expressed a certain disillusionment as a result of this experience when he agreed to conceal Boo's culpability in the killing of Ewell, recognizing that Boo would be stereotyped by his peers, at the end of the book.

Atticus decided to act based on his own principles of justice in the end, rather than rely on a legal system that may be fallible. 

The novel, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has remained enormously popular since its publication in 1960. 

It also can be read as a coming-of-age story featuring a young girl growing up in the South of America and experiencing moral awakenings. 

 

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The novel demonstrated the now-adult narrator's hindsight perspective on the growth of her identity and outlook on life, as narrated from Scout's point-of-view.

The tomboyish Scout challenged the forces attempting to socialize her into a prescribed gender role as a Southern lady, in developing a more mature sensibility.

Aunt Alexandra tried to subtly and not-so subtly push Scout into a traditional gender role that often ran counter to her father's values and her own natural inclinations. 

As events around the trial became ugly, however, Scout realized the value of some of the traditions Alexandra was trying to show her and decided she, too, could be a “lady.” 

The novel also explored themes of heroism and the idea of role models as well. 

Lee has stated that the novel was essentially a long love letter to her father, whom she idolized as a man with deeply held moral convictions. 

Atticus was clearly the hero of the novel, and functioned as a role model for his children. The children regarded their father as weak and ineffective because he did not conform to several conventional standards of Southern masculinity. 

They eventually realized that Atticus possessed not only skill with a rifle, but also moral courage, intelligence, and humor, and they came to regard him as a hero in his own right.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

Social distancing may have resulted in church’s ‘financial distancing’

“I have spoken about deficits, and I think deficits are important because they address broad economic and financial stability. We need to talk about that.”

—Ben Bernanke

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THERE is more than meets the eye in the recent letter released by a high-ranking Vatican cardinal to the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences (PBC) which was immediately approved by Pop Francis.

The pandemic’s social distancing has certainly resulted in the church’s “financial distancing” and it may have virtually dented the Roman Catholic church’s vast financial empire.

When the in-person Mass was prohibited as part of the protocols to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in crowded places, churches, chapels, and all other houses of worships maintained by other religious denominations and which relied on contributions from the faithful for their maintenance and other expenses, also absorbed the deficit and economic blow in the chin.

In a recent article in the Vatican News, Cardinal Robert Sarah was quoted as writing the PBC that “there is an urgent need to return to a normal experience of Christian life through the physical presence of the faithful at Mass, where circumstances permit.”

Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, insists that “virtual” services cannot compare to, and cannot replace, personal participation in the liturgy. Bearing the title, "Let us return to the Eucharist with joy!" the Letter was published with the approval of Pope Francis, which he reportedly granted on September 3.

 

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Communitarian dimension of the Christian life. Cardinal Sarah wrote: “The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has produced upheavals,” not only in social and familial relationships, “but also in the life of the Christian community, including the liturgical dimension.”

He noted, “This community dimension has a theological meaning: God is a relationship of Persons in the Most Holy Trinity”; and God “puts Himself in relationship with man and woman and calls them in turn to relationship with Him.”

 So, while pagans built temples to the various deities, to which the people had no access, “Christians, as soon as they enjoyed freedom of worship, immediately built places that were the domus Dei et domus ecclesiae, where the faithful could recognize themselves as the community of God…” For this reason, the Letter continues, “the house of the Lord presupposes the presence of the family of the children of God.”

Cooperation with civil authorities. Cardinal Sarah explained: “The Christian community has never sought isolation and has never made the Church a city with closed doors,” the Letter reads. “Formed in the value of community life and in the search of the common good, Christians have always sought insertion into society.”

Even in the midst of the pandemic, wrote Cardinal Sarah, “a great sense of responsibility has emerged. In listening to and collaborating with civil authorities and experts,” he notes that the Bishops of the Church “were prompt to make difficult and painful decisions, even to the point of suspending the participation of the faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist for a long period.”

 

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The urgency of a return to the normal state of Christian life. Keeping that in mind, Cardinal Sarah wrote that nonetheless, “as soon as circumstances permit… it is necessary and urgent to return to the normality of Christian life, which has the church building as its home and the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, as ‘the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; and at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10).”

The Letter continued, “Aware that God never abandons the humanity He has created, and that even the hardest trials can bear fruits of grace, we have accepted our distance from the Lord's altar as a time of Eucharistic fasting, useful for us to rediscover its vital importance, beauty and immeasurable preciousness.”

So, “as soon as is possible,” wrote Cardinal Sarah, “we must return to the Eucharist … with an increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with Him, to receive Him and to bring Him to our brothers and sisters with the witness of a life full of faith, love and hope.”

The necessity of personal participation at Mass. The Cardinal emphasized that “as much as the means of communication perform a valued service to the sick and those who are unable to go to church, and have performed a great service in the broadcast of Holy Mass at a time when there was no possibility of community celebrations, no broadcast is comparable to personal participation or can replace it.”

 

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On the contrary, he said, liturgies in which the faithful participate only virtually “risk distancing us from a personal and intimate encounter with the incarnate God” whose presence among His people was not virtual but Real, as He said: ”He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him” (John 6:56).

Cardinal Sarah insisted, “This physical contact with the Lord is vital, indispensable, irreplaceable.” Therefore, he continues, “once the concrete measures that can be taken to reduce the spread of the virus to a minimum have been identified and adopted, it is necessary that all resume their place in the assembly of brothers and sisters” and to “invite and encourage again those brothers and sisters who have been discouraged, frightened, absent or uninvolved for too long.”

Suggestions for a return to the celebration of the Eucharist

The Letter suggested several “courses of action to promote a rapid and safe return to the celebration of the Eucharist.”

However, “due attention to hygiene and safety regulations cannot lead to the sterilization of gestures and rites, to the instilling, even unconsciously, of fear and insecurity in the faithful.”

Instead, “it is up to the prudent but firm action of the Bishops to ensure that the participation of the faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist is not reduced by public authorities to a ‘gathering’, and is not considered comparable or even subordinate to forms of recreational activities.”

Once again citing Sacrosanctum Concilium, Cardinal Sarah made clear that civil authorities cannot legislate on liturgical norms. On the contrary, “only the competent ecclesiastical authorities” can legislate in this area.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)

 

 

 

 

 

‘No retreat, no surrender’

“No matter the natural disaster I've covered, whether it's a wildfire or flood, I always come back with a much greater perspective.”

—Ginger Zee

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

DESPITE his age at 63, a health worker from Santa Barbara, Iloilo in the Philippines has vowed to pursue his so-called “American dreams”, and is unfazed by the two tragic events that currently threaten to devastate and stymie his plans.

Nemesio, a live-in caregiver in Mariposa County, California, had been strictly observing the COVID-19 pandemic protocols for the past several months together with his co-workers in an eight-room seniors nursing home facility when they were forced to evacuate on September 8 after the wildfires had ripped through the counties of Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa.  

Nemesio’s workplace is located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton.

“Safety first,” averred Nemesio, who arrived in the United States on a tourist visa in 2009, several months after the inauguration of President Barrack Obama.

He has not returned to the Philippines.

“We have been evacuated to a safer place and this is the most important for the time being,” he told this writer in a phone conversation. “We will figure out what will happen to our employment next.”

 

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When the pandemic hit California, now No. 1 in the US with 758,732 cases      and 14,329 deaths, Nemesio and his co-workers, who also aspire to become green card holders or permanent residents, were careful not to be infected as they don’t have health care insurance and other benefits; they needed to save money to pay the immigration lawyers, he intoned in Hiligaynon. 

“First the pandemic, now the wildfires,” sobbed Nemesio, eldest of  seven children of a retired municipal agriculturist and a fruits vendor. “No retreat, no surrender.”

Nemesio feared that if the blazes, which are also charring huge tracts of land like the 330,000 acres (133,500 hectares) burned in Washington on September 8 alone, are not contained soon they will lose their employment.

Nemesio said his papers for the green card were “on process” before the pandemic came.

“I will never give up,” he vowed, despite the pandemic and the wildfires, which are part of the August Fire Complex that have burned more than 3.1 million acres (1.25 million hectares) in California since the beginning of the year, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE) in an update September 11.

 

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"This year’s acres burned is 26 times higher than the acres burned in 2019 for the same time period, and the combined amount of acres burned is larger than the state of Connecticut," CALFIRE officials wrote.

The raging fires are reportedly driven by high temperatures and dry conditions throughout the West. 

Experts said the region is getting hotter and drier thanks to human-caused climate change, so it's no surprise that wildfires there have been getting more extreme and more destructive recently.

Reports said the smoke wafting from the wildfires raging across the Western United States has been a “wrenching sight”, even from nearly a million miles away.

NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) captured a dramatic shot of the smoke on September 9, showing a huge gray-brown smudge hovering over the Pacific Ocean just off the West Coast.

The wildfires across the American West have burned millions of acres and killed a total of at least 18 people by September 12, as firefighters continued working to contain some of the fastest-growing blazes ever seen.

Fueled by high winds and dry conditions, fires in Oregon, California and Washington state have reportedly destroyed homes and forced last-minute evacuations, displacing thousands of residents amid the coronavirus pandemic.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)