Canada wildfire smoke ignites urgency for climate action

Chicagoans are once again breathing dangerous air from Canadian wildfires, a reminder that the climate crisis is no longer distant. That reality hit me even harder on a recent hike at Denali National Park and Preserve, where I learned that more than 1 million acres of Alaskan tundra and forest burned last year — roughly double California’s losses and nearly triple those in Oregon and Utah combined. Illinois rarely sees wildfires, but our exposure to unhealthy air is becoming routine. Thick…