There’s been a lot of talk about what’s causing the fires out west. Among the (not mutually exclusive) possible causes I’ve heard most often are (1) global warming, (2) poor forest management come home to roost, and (3) ideological motivations (e.g., Antifa trying to cause chaos on Trump’s watch).
Let alone the fact that wildfires have been part of the natural cycle out there since well before humans arrived.
But one thing has been confirmed. Arsonists are at least partly responsible. According to this article, some of the arsonists had weird, personal reasons unrelated to Trump or partisan politics.
These days, everything has to be partisan — including fires. In order to push the idea that the fires are from global warming, some on the left are dismissing claims about poor forest management and arson.
It’s very sad that we can’t believe the authorities on such basic matters of governance.
Another thing I’ve heard suggested is that the unaffordability of California cities has caused the lower income people who work in the urban areas to have to live farther and farther out, thereby putting more and more people’s homes in the line of fine. Obviously this doesn’t affect the size or number of the fires themselves, but it affects how many people are directly affected by them, which in turn affects media and public perception of how big and/or growing of an issue the fires are.
Good point.
But do you recall air quality being such an issue in past fires? I was listening to a Bret Weinstein podcast the other day, and he and his wife were complaining about the health effects of the smoke.
No, and it was truly bizarre to see the sky here affected, and I saw someone say on Facebook that effects were noticed even on PEI, though I never looked into whether that was true.
Many of the fires were started by arsonists of various persuasions, but the main problem is terrible forest management. California doesn’t do controlled burns, clear brush, or clear fire breaks like they used to. There are even cases where residents wanted to do the work themselves, but were not allowed to. Then fires came and burned down their houses. The cost of putting out these fires after they start is a thousand times more than what the cost of good forest management would have been. Plus, the smoke and CO2 is way beyond anything saved by the restrictions on IC engines and fossil fuels. So much more for the religion of environmentalism.
Yeah, there’s a lot of hypocrisy going on.
We’re at a point where you can’t even believe what the government says about arson, because they have “a narrative” they have to stick to. “No, it’s not arson, it’s climate change.” etc.