Los Angeles is burning, and the East Coast and Midwest are being battered by cold and snow. [emphasis, links added]
Of course, global warming alarmists talk a lot about humanity's dependence on fossil fuels. This is a crude and irresponsible assumption.
Idiots are quick to snap, and Vermont socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders did not disappoint on Wednesday, tweeting:
“80,000 people have been told to evacuate. Flame content is 0%. It has been eight months since it rained in the area. The scale of damage and loss is unimaginable. Climate change is real, not a 'hoax'.” Donald Trump must treat this like an existential crisis.
Bernie Sanders criticized for blaming California wildfires on climate change: 'Global warming ate my homework' https://t.co/BvjFzZ1CVR
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 10, 2025
Unfortunately he represents many ignorant and naive peopleand those Want to use the man-made global warming narrative as a means to fundamentally change the country – and the West – Entering a political society dominated by the left To borrow an applicable phrase, they have difficulty resisting their authoritarian impulses.
Overshadowed by Los Angeles' tragic fires are arctic blasts that are causing temperatures to drop and snow to fall across much of the country. It's also people's fault. But when it doesn't snow, humans are also to blame.
As we have done for three decades on global warming, allow us to offer some less loud but still true facts:
- Meteorologist and climate researcher Anthony Watts said that while “more and more people are linking every fire, flood or storm to climate change,” “A closer look at history, meteorology and land management reveals that these claims are often oversimplified by poorly informed journalists and fail to address more immediate, actionable causes.” Watts goes on to cover the history of California wildfires, explain why weather rather than climate is a factor, and discuss the impact of policy mistakes, so read the entire article.
- Tony Heller helpfully points out “Pacific Palisade was mostly destroyed by fires in 1938 and 1961.” However, we should believe that our oil and gas needs are setting California on fire this time.
- Of course, today's Los Angeles wildfire is “an avoidable tragedy.” “The most common causes of recent wildfires in the Golden State are human activity (including arson) and poorly maintained power lines,” said Jonathan Lesser. We would add that the latter is the result of a misuse of resources – instead of using funds to strengthen fire protection equipment, they diverted funds to green energy projects.
- Claims about an increase in wildfires are false. Although there are year-to-year differences across the country, the numbers are virtually the same as they were 40 years ago. It could be argued that the area burned has increased, but again, the totals change from year to year, and there are many weather and firefighting variables that determine the area burned, none of which are caused by fossil fuel consumption.
- The number of wildfires in California has dropped dramatically since the late 1980s, from nearly 14,000 to about 7,000 per year. That is, over the past 100 years, the number of fires and the area burned have declined, while at the same time, we are told, temperatures have steadily increased. So there is no causal relationship. If you think wildfires are a result of global warming, you're wrong.
- What about the latest explanation, climate change-driven “weather whiplash”? As a recent article in The Grist explains, “An unusually wet winter created a boom in grasses and shrubs, while a record-hot summer dried them into the fuel that now powers California’s wildfires.” But this “model” is not new. This has been going on for thousands of years. The real cause of California's devastating fires is not “weather whiplash” or any other new theory. This is human error, a mistake made over and over again by California’s ignorant progressive political class.
If we have any real climate problem, it's political climate.
Watching Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fall silent after returning from an ill-timed “official” visit to Ghana after being warned of impending wind damage, and then hearing California Governor Gavin Newsom pretend he had nothing to do with the disaster and its The consequences have nothing to do with the aftermath, which is very enlightening.
Gavin Newsom denies any responsibility.
1) Anderson Cooper is afraid to ask this question.
2) Newsom blames local Los Angeles Democrats.pic.twitter.com/8KtMzUNHZc
— Civil Liberties Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 9, 2025
Far-left progressives in California are making it difficult (nearly impossible) to do even the most responsible, common-sense things, like building reservoirs (so firefighters and families don’t run out of water, as they did this week) (as Los Angeles has done), manage flammable forest overgrowth (by controlling burning and reducing flammable, dry overgrowth), and end regulatory battles against California insurance companies (Newsom’s crazy rules for the insurance industry are causing fire insurance premiums to skyrocket, if homeowners can get coverage at all).
Popular photo on Unsplash by Jessica Christian
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