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Comment by jimnotgym | Hacker News Reader

I wonder, could this work on the leaf/needle litter in California? I know for it to work in the USA it would need to be collected by machine. I suppose some electric generation could offset the costs of fire control measures.

It could be more effective even than Donald Trump's 'raking'!

I wonder long term if this negatively affects the soil fertility?

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As the article notes, the pine needles on the floor make forest fires burn hot in the Himalayas. In the USA it is global warming that does that. Collecting kindling in California won't help as you're addressing the wrong problem.

The article does not say anything about the situation in the USA that is why I asked. It is a bit much for you to take the 'if you read the article' line when the article only mentions one half of the two items which you say do not compare. You have presented no more information than the article, just a snide response.

> Collecting kindling in California won't help as you're addressing the wrong problem.

1) Are you saying that flamable items on the forest floor do not contribute to Californian forest fires

2) The solution to climate change is rather harder to achieve than picking up pine needles. Therefore whilst it is not the root cause, it does not make it not worth looking at.

I was sarcastic.

It might be worth it. There are already programs to collect biomass, but not much is done with it.

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