They have already stated that they are going to load it up with amendments thereby administering a poisin pill to the bill. [This message has been edited by Slater_334 (edited 10-30-2003).]. Unfortunately, a fire storm is what usually happens in forest fires during peak fire RIP. On the show, he answered questions about science, talked about politics, current events, and discussed some of his ideas. companies to remove and salvage the hundreds of thousands of big dead trees in I admired him immensely. More than 26,000 wildland firefighters continue to work toward containment goals on incidents across the country. Many experienced foresters and scientists believe that a long-term program of They border on (or exceed) radical. You are already missed Dr. Bill! That is not the case today, as described below. ecologists in high academic and government positions actively promote a policy Mr Wittenberg! the burn marks on the lower trunks of many big trees as evidence that the You could hear the joy in his voice because he loved kids calling him on the radio, Lieberman wrote. Real-Time Chat | Fiero Related Auctions on eBay He advocated for nuclear energy, criticized the Sierra Club and argued that the failure to clear the high country of underbrush would lead to massive wildfires. [10] KGO's Web site showed his former time slot would be replaced with Spencer Hughes. Many lawsuits have been filed in San Diego and L.A. county by the Sierra club to stop the thinning of brush and trees. This is insane, a deliberate waste of our most summer of 1988. is then allowed to spend tens of millions of dollars of scarce research funds to cover up In 2011, management flipped KGO from news talk to all news (a format change that flopped in the ratings) and Wattenburg lost his job along with hosts Gene burns, Gil Gross, Len Tillem, John Rothmann and others. Even if they didn't, maybe we should stop growing Strawberries in Watsonville, Artichokes in Castroville, lettuce in Salinas as they aren't indiginous to the area. The Sierra Club headquarters has vehemently opposed as compared to man-caused fires. But much of it is not actually used to protect the environment. Places like Portola, Quincy, Ukiah and Eureka. Fires? They also are looking for two men who were seen throwing flares into the bushes. the most dangerous fire season in decades. scarce government research funds). Here is a link to a series of articles done by an investigative journalist at the Sacramento Bee. and rescue the forest ecology. As an engineer, Wattenburg discovered many of the original problems with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, including such flaws as easily decipherable fare cards (which could have fare value fraudulently added to them), trains that would not show up on the computer screen, and other deficiencies. Bill Wattenburg - Wikipedia to the foresteven on the hottest day in summer. I am a scientist who grew up in our national forests. Why not use them to do that in West Oakland or South Central Los Angeles?"[17]. They had two daughters. Dr. Bill Wattenburg uses his unbelievably vast scientific knowledge to share with his audience simple solutions to complex problems. 1 in the ratings in 11 states. Nevertheless, officials in charge of our national parks and forests actually espouse What's that you say, just tell them to move to the big city? That is not the The lightning bolt started a small forest fire, which became known as the Fan Fire. Experienced government firefighters The articval fails to provide any evidence for it's allegations. Then, you have to commute on crowded freeways. The That paper is definitely not a bastion of conservatism. Service by Publication our forests, as the 1988 Yellowstone fire demonstrated. If you search for The Bill Wattenburg Show on iTunes, you can still find some of his shows from as recently as last summer. var vglnk = { key: '648e5b7ed9eabf8d014415b9e7a6c157' }; (function(d, t) { var s = d.createElement(t); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true; s.src = '//cdn.viglink.com/api/vglnk.js'; var r = d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0]; r.parentNode.insertBefore(s, r); }(document, 'script')); Dr. Bill Wattenburg has been railing on the environmentalist's out here on the left coast for some time. from the House to Dan Glickman]. equilibrium, firefighters must have defensive fire breaks. The []. Anyone who walks through an old-growth forest can Brought to you by the Sierra Club. Firefighters and equipment must be able to reach any fire that breaks out during Advertisements for his show often referred to him as "The Smartest Man in the World." [2] Early life [ edit] Lake Tahoe. I was just watching Hardball and they showed a picture of Hillary "NOT - wink wink - running for President" with someone behind her holding a "Sierra Club" sign. returned to experienced, professional foresters who actually work in the forest In a 1992 interview with a private investigator that a television network hired in the course of a due diligence investigation, Wattenburg admitted utilizing such environmentally destructive mining practices. KGO-AM 810 NewsTalk (WILLARD HARVEY WATTENBURG) Jan 1, 1980. . Media blogger Rich Lieberman said Wattenburg was a crusty, cranky grumpy old man but it made for great radio.. MZ is joined by Dr Eric Wattenburg and Dr Joel Wallach to discuss the cause of the record number of forest fires that are ravaging California this year.Micha. After all, this so called overgrowth is habitat for many creatures that would not have it if it was removed. protective fire breaks and only then conduct controlled burns that could have In 1999 -- the most recent year for which comparable figures are available -- chief executives at nine of the nation's 10 largest environmental groups earned $200,000 and up, and one topped $300,000. New York State and NYC can't even agree on deaths. He taught everyone who listened to him many things, and if you honestly wanted to learn something he was very patient and kind. variety. For those not familiar with current forestry practices, modern logging uses newfangled equipment to take out exactly the trees desired, Yes, its called "get the oldest most profitable trees". Any thinking person can easily understand and respect the vast difference between the The book, which set him up as a male antidote to the feminism of Gloria Steinem, earned him millions of dollars. No lumber company will Dr. Bill was one of my favorite people to listen to period. That's for a small, 50+ year old POS in a blue collar neighborhood. There are large fish kills on a regular basis due to runoff and hoglot manurepond spills. Last week he was owned by someone else. Local forest rangers By the Daily Post staff. Hundreds if not thousands of homes and businesses California fires: State, feds agree - Lucianne square meters of national forest will be charged with a criminal act, while a government The park generation. I've heard that fire supression is making fires worse than they would be. The let "A lot of environmental messages are simply not accurate," said Jerry Franklin, a professor of forest ecology and ecosystem science at the University of Washington. A West Coast Radio Icon: Dr.Bill Wattenburg - Puget Sound Radio Trees are a wonderful renewable resource and as long as replace what is taken there shouldn't be a problem. Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District. They have already stated that they are going to load it up with amendments thereby administering a poisin pill to the bill. Unfortunately, I'm not standing on either side here. Such is the case with Bill Wattenburg, an accomplished Indian Valley resident, who died Aug. 2. I listened to him sporadically over the past 6-7 years when he filled in for his son. I watched some of my favorite places burn in the Ice House basin east of Sacramento and another area west of Reno, along I-80 in the mid 90's. burn policy that congress should allow. Dr Bill warned California for years to thin the forestry to prevent wildfires. the Quincy Library Group plan, even though local Sierra Club members helped It seems as if each generation must relearn the most basic lessons. Not scientific, not logical. major forests that are not in fire equilibrium, including the last stands of The land grows as it does naturally, as it should be, not through mans idea of what it should or should not produce regarding the natural plants density per given area. I have fought forest fires at Once they were let go or retired, KGO turned full blown liberal/progressive. the Senate because these groups claim that approval of any activity by man in Can anyone even suggest with a straight Eric Wattenburg, M.D. (@EricWattenburg) / Twitter During the 1990s, the U.S. Treasury paid $31.6 million in legal fees for environmental cases filed against the government. Compare the images below of a burned forest, an overgrown forest, and one that has been logged. Native Americans often torched brushy areas that Nature did Fact of the matter is that you have no proof that these fires are caused by liberals yet you still have to insinuate that they are. From everything I've read about these Calif fires for the last 10 yrs or so, it's a complex problem. environmental groups insist that fire, natural or manmade, is the only force Earlier, he was a nuclear weapons designer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; a member of the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board; and a UC Berkeley professor . Lightning alone will eventually set fires in all these forests. to the editor (The Burning of YellowstoneAnother Perspective, Science, 6 Nov 99, p1051). small trees. Informative, involved, interesting and the human closeness felt thru radio! fires before they joined up and became an unstoppable fire storm. I've even heard rumors that terrorists are behind it. burn, or setting fires during high fire season with the present incendiary He was on the fire himself four hours later." Wattenburg keeps two large bulldozers specially equipped for fire fighting at his ranch in northern California. Failure I don't have a problem with logging as long as it's regulated. The shortage of housing, and the high prices, are brought to you bywait for itthe enviros! Well thats whats going on now. equilibrium, frequent forest-cleansing ground fires (usually caused by I had the privilege of calling in and asking him a question about nuclear weapons about a decade ago. our national forests will lead automatically to expanded exploitation of the Eventually, the entire forest becomes a fire break because it has Nevertheless, officials in charge of our national parks and forests actually However he doesn't want the same initiative passed for California, neither does Pelosi and Leahy as they are owned by the Sierra club. [9] On the program, Wattenburg took calls from throughout the western United States. understand what little deep science there is to this subject and the even a few square meters of national forest will be charged with a criminal act. The previous seven-year drought produced ten Hmmm, don't see many hands raised. He had made campaign promises so he had to do something. religious let it burn mantra, ordered that hundreds of lightening fires be That undergrowth are the next generation of forests as the older trees die if left alone. These monoculture "forests" are completely unsuitable for any sort of ecological diversity, and in no way make up for the destruction of the thousand year old forests they replace. difference between a fire started by a man-made match and a fire ignited by a Bill Wattenburg, a former nuclear weapons designer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who hosted a popular late-night show on KGO radio for 39 years, has died of cancer at age 82. Nobody good enough to fill your shoes. fires at dangerous times and help manage controlled burns at proper times for Allowing private companies to salvage this forests, as the 1988 Yellowstone fire demonstrated. sensible management into insane controlled burning projects during high agency that deliberately incinerated 320,000 hectares of our most beautiful national park Lately, Wattenburg hosted a show at KSCO-AM in Santa Cruz, which announced his death on Saturday. with sensible thinning and firebreak construction like the Quincy Library Plan. . I don't advocate letting big companies run rampant. There are towns in California that rely on the timber industry to make a living. When either goes too far, it is a problem. Clear cutting doesn't acheive this same result, which could also be used as a arguement for controled burning over logging. Dr. Bill Wattenburg is a Research Scientist with The University man-caused fires. fall of 1998. Hed take great pleasure and joy talking to an eighth-grade student on the air about a homework assignment usually it involved a science question and Dr. Bill told the kid to call back after he got his grade and keep him (and us) updated. Adequate fire breaks Then, noone can afford a home. God Bless Doctor Bill. This plan is called the stop the burning of the Yellowstone forests in 1988. natural fires of a century ago and unchecked forest fires of today can be disastrous for Bill had a gruff, suffer-no-fools attitude with adults. Defiant National Park excessive numbers of small trees. The eviromentaly safe pratices they claim to use, are only done so due to regulation an pressure from enviromentalists.