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California Fires and Climate Change: A Match Made in Hell

greenoptions.com — A match made in heaven it surely isn ’t, but global warming has definitely played its part in the recent tragic events hitting California.

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lisapham 299 days ago, made popular 299 days ago

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Sharky35, on 10/27/2007, -5/+6Good read... I read that the inability to do controlled burns contributed to this. Also, ppl building homes where they basically had no reason to do so has been noteworthy. No doubt climate change is a key factor.
- davidryal, on 10/27/2007, -2/+3well, when you let nature takes its course, small fires happen naturally, and occur often enough that enough fuel for a major blaze never really builds up. natural little fires also tend not to burn the large trees. but, little, frequent, natural fires don't fit in with our need to put our property in their way, so we make sure they don't happen or try to substitute (poorly) with "controlled burns". combine that with regional changes in precipitation patterns (although Scandinavia get more rain now than it did 30 years ago, much of the US west gets 5-10% less) due to climate change, and you get this.
- sangjmoon, on 10/27/2007, -0/+0You get this because the population in the USA is increasing and housing was booming coupled with man made reservoirs and lakes causing greater plant growth in areas that normally wouldn't have as much.
BigBlueCarbon, on 10/27/2007, -9/+4this is f'n stoopid. stupidity caused by gw.
putting out fires is the cause of mega fires.
davidryal, on 10/27/2007, -1/+7(what follows is a repeat; shouldn't have posted this as a reply, since i want everyone to see it)

well, when you let nature take its course, small fires happen naturally, and occur often enough that enough fuel for a major blaze never really builds up. natural little fires also tend not to burn the large trees. but, little, frequent, natural fires don't fit in with our need to put our property in their way, so we make sure they don't happen or try to substitute (poorly) with "controlled burns". combine that with regional changes in precipitation patterns (although Scandinavia gets more rain now than it did 30 years ago, much of the US west gets 5-10% less) due to climate change, and you get this.
DRINKxREDxBULL, on 10/27/2007, -4/+18Politicizing a forest fire is sick. I am so sick of people making political hay out of tragedies.
Its disgusting for Fox News to blame it on Al Quada: http://tinyurl.com/2n8tdu
Its disgusting for Air America to blame it on Blackwater: http://tinyurl.com/2483j5
Its disgusting to blame it on a junk science theory that is used as a basis for increasing government control over our lives.
Its disgusting that liberals were blaming the 35-W bridge collapse on low taxes while they were still pulling bodies of my fellow Minnesotans out of the river (Air America).
If anyone can find example of conservatives using tragedies, let us know. These are just the ones I could think off of the top of my head.

Its disgusting and it ***** needs to stop.
- DRINKxREDxBULL, on 10/29/2007, -4/+1Glen Back. Forgot about him. http://tinyurl.com/2pa5cj
  
  Can we at least wait until fire are put out? Once the fires are out, THEN put it in the context of "this may have contributed to the [insert tragedy here], this is what I propose we do to prevent it," and maybe try to avoid the finger pointing??
- KMye, on 10/29/2007, -2/+7There needs to be a real political discussion surrounding wildfires in the west, but it has nothing to do with global warming. Linking these fires to today's global warming is just as spurious as linking Katrina and its disastrous aftermath to the same.
  What needs to be addressed is how the same environmental groups will now certainly blame these fires on AGW are in a huge part the same people who are causing them by litigating tirelessly to block any responsible forestry management policies. It's hypocritical and dishonest.
- bingobongony, on 10/27/2007, -1/+4Except Fox NEVER blamed it on Al Qaeda. They ACCURATELY reproted that arson was now suspected. Then they said that there were plots uncovered involving Al Qaeda and arson, and VERY DEFINITIVELY states that as of now, Al Qaeda is NOT suspected for this fire.
- fmaxwell, on 10/27/2007, -2/+2Global warming is not "junk science." It is accepted by all real scientists and only denounced by a handful of right-wing-funded "scientists" -- much like the "scientists" funded by big tobacco that issued reports for years stating that cigarettes didn't cause cancer.
Punjabi4Lyfe, on 10/27/2007, -1/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11iCmzGnOI8
- bingobongony, on 10/27/2007, -0/+1When did you lose ontrol of your rational thought? Do you know the exact date?
xlar54, on 10/27/2007, -8/+12Global warming is a lie. Buried as *****.
- fmaxwell, on 10/27/2007, -4/+4You're a ***** idiot. It's scary how some people alive in the 21st century still have as little understanding of science as you do.
Stevanoski, on 10/27/2007, -3/+6The sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling.
- pilot3033, on 10/27/2007, -1/+1Here's my thinking on it.
  If nothing about our habits changes, the sky will fall one day. So why not just fix the problem now? And hell, even if the sky doesn't fall, isn't it great that we can actually breath better air, and eat better food?
  - DRINKxREDxBULL, on 10/27/2007, -0/+1Apply your logic to fighting terrorism, and you will see the fallacy in your argument.
cmpshotty, on 10/27/2007, -3/+6I blame it on the lack of good stewardship of our land, the refusal to do any sort of reasonable logging and clearing of the land and always putting out low intensity fires.
- wethackrey, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2What the HELL are you talking about? I realize you may not live in California but surely you've seen a news report. The fires are in Southern California. Sorry but there has never been any logging in San Diego. It's a freaking desert. With 50MPH+ Santa Ana winds and 2% humidity, a "low intensity" fire turns into a fire storm in mere minutes. This is not Yosemite National Forest we're talking about here.
DeFex, on 10/27/2007, -5/+2there is no global warming. god has decided to warm up the earth because he discovered that humans that live in warmer countries are more stupid and believe in him more. hes practicing his smiting on Indonesia because nobody cares about them, but hes going to smite a few more in the hotter areas first, then warm up atheist countries like Finland and Canada.so the people become warm and gullible like they are in hotter countries.
gtluke, on 10/27/2007, -1/+5i want to know who's going to buy the carbon credits to offset this fire.
Andrewbot, on 10/27/2007, -1/+7I have lived in Orange County my whole life, climate change has hardly anything to do with the fires.

Every year around this time the Santa Ana winds come. A few of these fires were arson-set, a few by power lines blowing down. The only reason they have gotten so out of control is because the winds lasted longer than normal. They normally only last 1-2 days, this year it was five.

That being said, we only had two inches of rain, but we're in a desert, of course its gonna be dry.

"Also, ppl building homes where they basically had no reason to do so has been noteworthy."

Come here and see how many people are living per square mile, it's incredible.
EuphopiaB, on 10/27/2007, -1/+6No, global warming did not cause the fires. People lighting fires and power lines going down caused them. It wasn't even warm down there! I was wearing a sweater the night before from it being so cold. The reason this happened is people don't like doing controlled burns. Either we cut the trees down and use the wood for things or we burn areas down periodically. They wanted to keep all of their pretty trees and bushes and now it is burning. Thats the way it works over here. It is dry, windy, and hot, and there is nothing dumber than having tons of shrubs around with or without global warming. All they have to do is cut and burn the ***** down, and they will be fine.
- fmaxwell, on 10/27/2007, -1/+1Global warming doesn't mean that it's going to get warm where you live all of the time. Global warming is what caused the drought, not the fires.
Arcotik, on 10/29/2007, -2/+9Pardon my disbelief in Global Warming being any kind of threat or problem, but I'm sorry, these forest fires have happened year after year after year. I'm really sick of this ***** that is Global Warming Caused By Us! But whatever, by having a different OPINION (key word) than the rest of you; I'll surely be dugg down.
- fmaxwell, on 10/27/2007, -2/+1Fires this severe and droughts this bad "happened year after year after year"? On what do you base that statement?
- davidryal, on 10/29/2007, -2/+2the scary thing is that republicans think they're entitled to turn issues that are demonstrably true or false into matters of opinion. is the sky blue? i don't think so, and i'm entitled to that OPINION.
bingobongony, on 10/27/2007, -1/+4This is the reason why some people refuse to accept global warming as real. Because when the wackos like this website claim that EVERYTHING is due to global warming, they lose credibility. And therefore, when they may be correct on some things, no one takes them seriously anymore.
stark23x, on 10/27/2007, -1/+4Oh for *****'s sake. California burned 200 years ago with wildfires. It burned a hundred years ago with wildfires. Sometimes they aren't (or weren't) even arson.

Politicizing EVERYTHING is a disease. Get help.
- nick111, on 10/27/2007, -1/+0The fires happened because of a prolonged drought... similar fires happened in Australia last year, also due to a prolonged drought. While the UK was being flooded to ***** this year, people in Europe were dieing in a heatwave and there were catastrophic fires in Greece.
  
  No individual event can be attributed to climate change - any more than a single cheeze burger can be blamed for a heart-attack. But there are patterns, and the patterns are increasing.
  
  And the climate scientists - they guys who are absolutely at the top of their game... are saying watch out - this is getting worse faster than we predicted.
  
  What is it going to take? For you, personally, to be struck by a thunderbolt?
jorgepblank, on 10/27/2007, -1/+2Do you guys live in California? The weather has been insane here, you guys probably think yours has been too because you're so used to your weather but I'm sure it's nothing compared to ours. We used to brag about our perfect weather, and I guess we had it coming. There's basically no such thing as 'seasons' here anymore, if the weather gives its left nut it'll make it blazing hot a few days then a short time after it'll be stinging cold. Then there's the days when it's neither, it's just all cloudy. For your information, we've been experiencing a drought. When it comes time that it usually should be hot, it's not just hot but it's insanely hot, and the same for the cold. Seasons have been blurred and mother nature just likes to screw around with us now, choosing a random card from the 'weather hat' and laughing at how we cope.

I'm not much of a scientist to know if these fires were caused by global warming, we still don't know if they are arson (All of them at least), but if I knew nothing about global warming, I would definitely say it had something to do with the weather.
- hashref, on 10/28/2007, -0/+1I have lived in SoCal all my life. These fires are not unusual. In fact, they are expected this time of year. Contrary to your statements concerning the lack of seasons, California has never had "seasons". I am guessing that this is why most people flock here to begin with.
  
  Secondly, I have been hearing about drought since the early 70s. This is what happens when you live in what is essentially a desert and pack in what feels like a zillion people all looking for the season-less weather.
  
  Personally, to look at this year's fires and point to global warming as the cause is equivalent to a "the sky is falling" mentality. But I guess we all believe what we want to believe.
XxIronhidexX, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2I live in Cali and fires like these happen every year around this time and they get huge! The only reason this year is getting so much publicity is because there is more than 3 at once and because some idiots think Al Qaida is behind it.
CrankyMcGuy, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2Is Climate Change also responsible for Apple's turn around this century? Al Gore does happen to be a board member. He becomes famous using Keynote to scare people with fudged facts. Apple is the new pink. Coincidence? I think not!
ralph12c41, on 10/27/2007, -0/+2Fires were burning in California long before the pioneers arrived. I am sick and tired of hearing about Global Warming. Wasn't this the year we were supposed to be hammered by hurricanes? Guess that didn't work out, so now lets blame GW for the fires in California.
BannedTwice, on 10/27/2007, -2/+3OH STFU already..... so what, the earth is warming, IT IS NOT MAN MADE YOU ARROGANT *****. Buried 50 ***** ft down.
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California Fires and Climate Change: A Match Made in Hell

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