The 2016 fire that encircled the oil-producing town of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, forced more than 80,000 people to evacuate and left billions of dollars in damage in its wake. It was a disaster of record-breaking proportions, but also an inevitable byproduct of mankind’s obsession with burning fossil fuels. In this episode, John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: A True Story from A Hotter World, explains how Canada’s fossil fuel industry came into being, why its existence made the Fort McMurray disaster more likely, and what our collective obsession with fire means for the future of our species.

Explore further:
Past episode about the COP28 text and the significance of agreeing to transition off fossil fuels
Past episode with Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling about whether the world has reached peak crude oil demand
Past episode about how wildfire smoke and air pollution affect your health


Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

The 2016 fire that encircled the oil-producing town of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, forced more than 80,000 people to evacuate and left billions of dollars in damage in its wake. It was a disaster of record-breaking proportions, but also an inevitable byproduct of mankind’s obsession with burning fossil fuels. In this episode, John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: A True Story from A Hotter World, explains how Canada’s fossil fuel industry came into being, why its existence made the Fort McMurray disaster more likely, and what our collective obsession with fire means for the future of our species.
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Past episode <a href="https://omnystudio.com/p/zero/clips/e250263f-9ef9-412f-8a89-b0d7015a0599">about the COP28 text and the significance of agreeing to transition off fossil fuels</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Past episode <a href="https://omnystudio.com/p/zero/clips/b761c4f2-d763-4908-8f4c-b09f00d6731f">with Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling about whether the world has reached peak crude oil demand</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Past episode <a href="https://omnystudio.com/p/zero/clips/3d0762f4-f28a-4866-9584-b01b011586d5">about how wildfire smoke and air pollution affect your health</a></li>
</ul>
 Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

Zero is about the tactics and technologies taking us to a world of zero emissions. Each week Bloomberg’s award-winning reporter Akshat Rathi talks to the people tackling climate change – a venture capitalist hunting for the best cleantech investment, scientists starting companies, politicians who have successfully created climate laws, and CEOs who have completely transformed their businesses. The road to zero emissions has many paths and everyone’s got an opinion about the best route. Listen in.

Zero: The Climate Race

Zero

The 21st century will be shaped by fire

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6c511d5f-ccc9-4570-b8bd-b18d00ef759f/transcript

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