Last year record-setting "wildfires" (it's what they call bushfires, poor dears) raged across North America, and this year firefighters across the continent are bracing for another bad season.
Lately, it seems like wildfires are everywhere. This year, North America had a horrific fire season, and and temperatures increasing it's only going to get worse. Meteorologists are often on the front lines, predicting how and when a wildfire will move or grow, but they are stretched thin as more fires rage, and are entirely dependent on people to report a fire to the authorities.
Wildfires are having an epic year in North America, and it looks like one form of life is taking advantage of the fire bonanza. Plants aren't typically known for their movement (unless it's kudzu — kudzu is a speed demon) or for being particularly fond of fire, but several species are turning that conventional wisdom on its head.
Bats in North America have a real problem. It's a fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans although it's more commonly known by the disease it causes, white-nose syndrome. Millions of bats have died over the last decade leaving the National Wildlife Health Center no option but to consider this disease an ecological threat.
The snow in the America's Heartland isn't as "snow white" as one might hope. That's because pollution trapped in the snow is making it darker. Dark snow often contains black carbon—a particle emitted by burning wood, diesel and coal—it heats up faster, just like when you go outside in the sun wearing black
