[ VOA - As it is ] Climate Change , Land Use , Human Actions to Blame for Mega - Fires From VOA Learning English , welcome to As It Is . I ’ m Steve Ember . Today we ’ ll hear about the current threat of huge , very destructive wildfires . Then to Cambodia , where a university is providing the first formal training for badly needed social workers . And finally , we celebrate the anniversary of the opening , in 1947 , of the classic Tennessee Williams play , “ A Streetcar Named Desire . ” But first , we hear from experts about that threatening increase in huge wildfires . Climate Change , Land Use , Human Actions to Blame for Mega - FiresAustralia , Indonesia , Russia , Greece and the United States … Those are just a few places where huge wildfires have been a problem in recent years . In the American West , for example , three wildfires caused major damage earlier this year . Fire experts say most of these fires are a result of climate change , land use and human actions . [ TV News coverage of 2013 Colorado wildfires ] June 2013 : The Black Forest Fire destroys more than 500 homes in Colorado . Weeks later in Arizona , the Yarnell Hill fire kills 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots -- a group known for its firefighting expertise . Then , in California , the Rim Fire becomes the third largest fire in state history . Bill Kaage directs wildland fire operations for the United States Park Service at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise , Idaho . He says huge , costly wildfires were once rare . “ In the western United States , we have larger fires that occur over a larger period of time … ” Mr . Kaage says this change is forcing fire officials to change their methods . United Nations officials and fire experts say long periods of dry weather are one reason for the fires . They suspect the lack of rainfall results from climate change . [ Helicopter sound and earth moving equipment ] Another suspected cause is land use , including years of protecting new communities in areas where fires were likely . The idea is to aggressively put out all wildfires . That policy is called suppression . But Stephen Pyne of Arizona State University does not believe the suppression method is successful . He says it has failed in every country likely to have wildfires . “ ( When ) the smoke is on the horizon , and the TV cameras are out , it seems like an easy solution to call in the troops , bring in the airplanes and the helicopters , bomb it away , and then the problem is gone . All we ’ ve done is put it off . ” Firefighter : “ Turn on your emergency lights … ” Stephen Pyne says suppression is a temporary measure that creates more dangerous fires later . It enables smaller trees and plants to build up . This vegetation acts as fuel that can carry fire to taller treetops . Firefighter : “ We have a burn - out going on the south side … ” Oregon forester Marc Barnes says that when fires burned at low intensity in the past , it would clean the forest . Now , he says , fires are burning at high intensity and destroying all the trees and the forest . He says money for fire - fighting should be spent on preventive measures like fuel reduction . “ Otherwise , we ’ re just going to keep having bigger and bigger fires . We ’ re going to spend more and more and a lot less is going to get done by those agencies . ” He adds that “ so much of their budgets are getting eclipsed by the budgets for fire suppression . ” Bill Kaage says the federal deficit has forced agencies like his to cut their budgets for fuel reduction . “ There ’ s a choice we ’ ve had to make to make sure we have the engines and the crews available to us for a response . ” The United States Congress has demanded a national plan of action to fight wildfires . Stephen Pyne says the move is , in his words “ bold but underfunded . ” It is meant to help government , landowners and others fight dangerous problems that seem to get worse year by year . As It Is is coming to you from VOA Learning English . I ’ m Steve Ember . Cambodian University Provides Training for Social Workers Next , we visit Cambodia to hear about professional training for people learning to make life better for victims of troubling social problems . Avi Arditti tells us more … ​ Cambodia has about 3 , 000 recognized non - profit groups . Some work on issues such as violence against women and human trafficking . But few Cambodians are trained for such work . That is now changing with the country ’ s first university - level degree program for social workers . Yoeung Kimheng grew up near the city of Phnom Penh . He saw troubling social problems , but few people were in a position to help . Now , thanks to the university program , he himself may soon be equipped to help . He has finished a four - year program in the Department of Social Work at the Royal University of Phnom Penh . His class is set to graduate later this year . It will be the second graduating class for the department . Social workers often work with people who have suffered emotional damage . Yet , until the university started the department in 2008 , there was no degree - level program in Cambodia for training social workers . Outreach groups have traditionally depended on foreign experts , or largely untrained local staff who learned on the job . Ung Kimkanika is a faculty member in the department . “ So I think to have the situation is Cambodian and only Cambodian or Khmer people would understand well about the situation . ” The Department of Social Work at the Royal University of Phnom Penh has a partnership with the School of Social Work at the University of Washington in Seattle . Through that partnership , Ung Kimkanika and other Cambodian students went to the United States to study and earn master ’ s degrees . Now , they have come back and are teaching other students . The social work program at the Royal University of Phnom Penh will likely become even more important in the coming months . A war crimes court is nearing the end of one part of a case against former Khmer Rouge leaders . Faculty member Ung Kimkanika says the decision of the court could bring back bad memories among survivors of the communist rulers . I ' m Avi Arditti . Portrait of Marlon Brando from the play " A streetcar named desire " xPortrait of Marlon Brando from the play " A streetcar named desire " “ Hey , Stella ! ” – Remembering “ A Streetcar Named Desire ” [ Music by Alex North from “ A Streetcar Named Desire ” ] I ’ m Steve Ember with As It Is , coming to you from VOA Learning English . And now , we remember the opening of Tennessee Williams ’ play , “ A Streetcar Named Desire ” on Broadway in New York on December 3 rd , 1947 . The story tells of a violent clash between Stanley Kowalski , played by Marlon Brando , and Blanche DuBois , played by Jessica Tandy . Kim Hunter played the role of Stella , Stanley ’ s wife . The play ’ s sexual violence shocked the audience . When the drama was finished , people sat in silence for a minute . Then they applauded for half an hour . Marlon Brando ( from the film version of “ Streetcar ” ) : “ Hey , Stella ! ” The young Brando immediately became a star . He went on to play Stanley Kowalski in the movie version . Jessica Tandy won a Tony Award for her performance . Tennessee Williams won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama . And that ’ s our show for today . As It Is is a production of VOA Learning English . I ’ m Steve Ember . See you next time . Marlon Brando with Kim Hunter ( from the film version ) : “ Don ’ t ever leave me , baby . ” [ Stella sobs ]