Argumentative Essay On Wildfires

Despite nearly 11.6 billion pounds containing non-wooden fuel being eaten in California in the year 2017, fires continue to blaze in California as well as other states who attempt to use cattle grazing to prevent wildfires (Rao). This idea about preventing fires by having cattle graze the land seems to have grown almost as fast as the fires in California themselves. The biggest misunderstanding about this myth is livestock does not prevent fires; instead, they help reduce the severity of wildfires in some cases. However, livestock will sometimes make wildfires more detrimental depending on the ecosystem they are placed in. The fallacy behind cows preventing wildfires, if left unchecked, could lead to an eradicated ecosystem and continued fires.

Although finding when this myth began is nearly impossible, its origins seem to come from Americans as well as many others misinterpreting scientific studies and other sources. The reasoning behind this trust in livestock comes from the logical idea of sending more livestock to graze in national forests and wilderness can help prevent wildfires. Many believe this would help prevent wildfires because the livestock eat plants and grass which can also be used as fuels in a fire. Therefore, if there are less plants and fuels for the fire, the fire will never start. However, this creates a dystopia where the environment would be completely destroyed because all of the plants would be eaten. This myth exists simply because livestock have the potential to reduce severity of fires, but they can not prevent them. In a study done in California, Devii Rao writes how the study certain livestock can reduce the severity of wildfires in certain biomes, “Without grazing we would have hundreds to thousands of additional of pounds/acre of fine fuels on the landscape, potentially leading to larger and more severe fires” (Rao). While this study is truthful, many

Although cattle can be beneficial in keeping fires controlled in certain biomes, they also have the potential to overthrow the ecosystem if too many of them are used. This idea is exactly why this myth can not continue to go on any longer. Many Americans confuse this myth to think that if more livestock is used in wildlife, fires can be prevented. However, if too many cows or other livestock are placed into a biome, it can destroy instead of protect the