I've been thinking of commenting on this for some time.
I hesitate because the California wildfires have been so deadly. Yet that may be just one more reason to speak out since common sense seems to have fled the scene.
Some are blaming the fires on global warming. And the solution? Embrace renewable sources of energy (except nuclear) and legislation demanding better gas mileage. Seriously.
Not to miss out on the fun the
PG&E CEO also blames California fires on global warming (not negligent power line maintenance). And just like PG&E is not in any way responsible for the $17 billion in damage neither are the people who were supposed to be taking care of the trees or people who profess to worship mother Gaia. No - the people to blame are the climate deniers.
USDA Forest Service said that there were 129 million dead trees from drought, bark beetles and other causes that posed a "hazard to people and critical infrastructure, mostly centered in the central and southern Sierra Nevada region of the state."
They said this in December 2017. These dead trees were a fire hazard the USDA Forest Service said. They were right. But this science wasn't denied. It was just ignored.
I shouldn't be so pessimistic though. At least they're not trying to blame this on something silly like plastic straws. Which, baby step that it is, is at least a step in the right direction for California.
I'm reminded that while Hollywood was celebrating Al Gore and fighting against global warning the trees have been dying in California for decades.
Over a million trees have died from a deadly mold since 1995 and Californians haven't done much or anything to stop the spread.
Since I was a kid I've been taught that the Earth is a remarkably resilient ecosystem. Blights, droughts, bark beetles, negligent power line maintenance, human carelessness and other causes. Are we to be surprised that perhaps Mother Nature is using wildfires as a way of starting from scratch?
They say that nature finds a way. Maybe, just maybe, wildfires in this case are the way.
