Australian fires

[Dan Druff]

The devastating Australian fires have been mostly ignored by the US media, probably because Australia is so far away, and because we are being distracted by Iran matters.

Tony G isn't ignoring it though:

Embedded Tweet

https://twitter.com/twt/status/1214097320893014016

The saddest thing about these fires, raging all over the country, is that many have been set intentionally in copycat fashion. This is a nightmare that few consider, but could just as easily happen in the US:

What if a lot of psychos simultaneously set copycat fires during hot, dry conditions where they will easily spread? Firefighters would be overwhelmed and be unable to stop them.

A much smaller version of this happened in 1993 in Los Angeles, with various arson fires being set by copycats, including one about a mile from where I lived at the time in Riverside.

GL Australia

[Salty_Aus]

This intentionally lit narrative is mostly bullshit. Sure some have been lit by psychos... and children.
The media is playing this up and ignoring the truth.

These fires have been escalating for a few months now. Most of these fires became out of control during our burning off/mitigation period late last year due to extremely strong winds for a couple of weeks.

I personally noticed the fire mitigation that was happening locally. Then we got smashed with extreme wind and before you could say "this is government negligence" there was like 150 fires burning out of control.
Combined with a lot of fuel as they've not been burning off enough in recent years.

It's pretty bad though, worst bushfire season I've ever seen.

[Dan Druff]

Interesting.

Same thing has been going on in California in recent years. Between government negligence regarding failing to clear dangerous brush and poorly maintained electrical lines and equipment, we have seen a huge increase in brush fires during the mid September to mid November months.

It's gotten so commonplace where I live that I shrug off any fire which doesn't seem to be blowing in my direction, even if it's as close as a mile away.

[Salty_Aus]

Interesting.

Same thing has been going on in California in recent years. Between government negligence regarding failing to clear dangerous brush and poorly maintained electrical lines and equipment, we have seen a huge increase in brush fires during the mid September to mid November months.

It's gotten so commonplace where I live that I shrug off any fire which doesn't seem to be blowing in my direction, even if it's as close as a mile away.

The troubling thing is, we have virtually no proper journalists left in this country.

All the news we get is from press releases from the emergency services, government, police etc.

[JimmyG_415]

WTF?, so if you are from Trump, you just have to ignore science? Facts?
You are going w/his 'you need to rake the forests' BS?
I'm sorry, did we used to clear dangerous brush and have our electrical lines and equipment well maintained, and we just stopped for no reason?
All the stuff you blame has been here for 50 years, why all of a sudden do we have fire season and rolling black outs?
I just can't believe anyone from CA doesn't buy that climate change has caused this.


And once again, there is only one network pushing this BS.
I'm sure Fox "news" presents it like it is 50/50, but it is 97/3, and you know most of those 3 % were on the Koch brother's payroll.

Do scientists agree on climate change?
https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/17/do-s...limate-change/

Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.

Between government negligence regarding failing to clear dangerous brush and poorly maintained electrical lines and equipment, we have seen a huge increase in brush fires during the mid September to mid November months.

[Dan Druff]

WTF?, so if you are from Trump, you just have to ignore science? Facts?
You are going w/his 'you need to rake the forests' BS?
I'm sorry, did we used to clear dangerous brush and have our electrical lines and equipment well maintained, and we just stopped for no reason?
All the stuff you blame has been here for 50 years, why all of a sudden do we have fire season and rolling black outs?
I just can't believe anyone from CA doesn't buy that climate change has caused this.


And once again, there is only one network pushing this BS.
I'm sure Fox "news" presents it like it is 50/50, but it is 97/3, and you know most of those 3 % were on the Koch brother's payroll.

Do scientists agree on climate change?
https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/17/do-s...limate-change/

Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.

Between government negligence regarding failing to clear dangerous brush and poorly maintained electrical lines and equipment, we have seen a huge increase in brush fires during the mid September to mid November months.

The electrical thing is easy to explain. The equipment is getting old and is not being maintained well.

Regarding the climate, I have spent many decades in southern CA. I know what the climate is and was like. It hasn't changed. Not enough to cause a massive difference in fires.

You can't even blame drought because the 2019 fires followed a winter/spring which saw above average precipitation.

[Salty_Aus]

WTF?, so if you are from Trump, you just have to ignore science? Facts?
You are going w/his 'you need to rake the forests' BS?
I'm sorry, did we used to clear dangerous brush and have our electrical lines and equipment well maintained, and we just stopped for no reason?
All the stuff you blame has been here for 50 years, why all of a sudden do we have fire season and rolling black outs?
I just can't believe anyone from CA doesn't buy that climate change has caused this.


And once again, there is only one network pushing this BS.
I'm sure Fox "news" presents it like it is 50/50, but it is 97/3, and you know most of those 3 % were on the Koch brother's payroll.

Do scientists agree on climate change?
https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/17/do-s...limate-change/

Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.

Between government negligence regarding failing to clear dangerous brush and poorly maintained electrical lines and equipment, we have seen a huge increase in brush fires during the mid September to mid November months.

In Australia the federal government has been spending less money on fire mitigation and services every year. Also the greenies are very vocal and they're pandered to somewhat in regard to clearing and burning off.

Global warming is real, but to say the bushfires we've been getting is a result of GW is kinda fanciful IMO.
We've been having record droughts the last few years. If we had normal rainfall there would be so much more fuel to burn. I'm sure it's effected the situation to some degree though.

[TheXFactor]

It is summer right now in Australia and very hot.

At the Australian Open in Melbourne, it is usually over 100 degrees this time of year.

In California, some of the fires are started by lightning, some by arson and some because the power company was negligent, used old equipment and allowed the fires to burn, the wind then makes the fire many times worse.

Not sure how all these fires got started.

[Wiganer]

When I was in Zambia last year for mile after mile the locals had cleared strips alongside the road through controlled bush fires, some to make charcoal to sell for fuel, some to make walking safer (drive snakes away etc). I didn’t see any areas where it seemed to have got out of control. this was all being done by folks living literally in mud huts with fuck all equipment. Kind of puts in perspective any failings of wealthy countries to better manage things.

[unchainedghost]

When I was in Zambia last year for mile after mile the locals had cleared strips alongside the road through controlled bush fires, some to make charcoal to sell for fuel, some to make walking safer (drive snakes away etc). I didn’t see any areas where it seemed to have got out of control. this was all being done by folks living literally in mud huts with fuck all equipment. Kind of puts in perspective any failings of wealthy countries to better manage things.

Can we get a little backstory on all your travels please. It seems you have been to a lot of random places

[SPIT this]

Dude, it's blistering hot in Australia right now and it's the middle of winter. How can you deny that's Global Warming?

[Jayjami]

WTF?, so if you are from Trump, you just have to ignore science? Facts?
You are going w/his 'you need to rake the forests' BS?
I'm sorry, did we used to clear dangerous brush and have our electrical lines and equipment well maintained, and we just stopped for no reason?
All the stuff you blame has been here for 50 years, why all of a sudden do we have fire season and rolling black outs?
I just can't believe anyone from CA doesn't buy that climate change has caused this.


And once again, there is only one network pushing this BS.
I'm sure Fox "news" presents it like it is 50/50, but it is 97/3, and you know most of those 3 % were on the Koch brother's payroll.

Do scientists agree on climate change?
https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/17/do-s...limate-change/

Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.

The electrical thing is easy to explain. The equipment is getting old and is not being maintained well.

Regarding the climate, I have spent many decades in southern CA. I know what the climate is and was like. It hasn't changed. Not enough to cause a massive difference in fires.

You can't even blame drought because the 2019 fires followed a winter/spring which saw above average precipitation.

Well I live in the Sierras at 6000’ and it’s obvious that the climate is changing. The pine trees aren’t doing that well (due to drought and beetle infestation) and the oak trees are flourishing. That’s a sign the planet is warming up.

[Wiganer]

When I was in Zambia last year for mile after mile the locals had cleared strips alongside the road through controlled bush fires, some to make charcoal to sell for fuel, some to make walking safer (drive snakes away etc). I didn’t see any areas where it seemed to have got out of control. this was all being done by folks living literally in mud huts with fuck all equipment. Kind of puts in perspective any failings of wealthy countries to better manage things.

Can we get a little backstory on all your travels please. It seems you have been to a lot of random places

Nothing amazing, I work for an international NGO.

[Sanlmar]

The devastating Australian fires have been mostly ignored by the US media, probably because Australia is so far away, and because we are being distracted by Iran matters.

My wife had a bunch of women over yesterday.

They were all going on about the Australian fires and how terrible they were. The thing that struck me was their singular discussion about the affected animals. Apparently, there is a social media theme/meme where cute but helpless koalas and kangaroos are shown.

Not one mention of the affected people. I know when to keep my mouth shut. I don’t wish to be a casualty either

There was nothing cute in California if I remember correctly.

[Dan Druff]

The electrical thing is easy to explain. The equipment is getting old and is not being maintained well.

Regarding the climate, I have spent many decades in southern CA. I know what the climate is and was like. It hasn't changed. Not enough to cause a massive difference in fires.

You can't even blame drought because the 2019 fires followed a winter/spring which saw above average precipitation.

Well I live in the Sierras at 6000’ and it’s obvious that the climate is changing. The pine trees aren’t doing that well (due to drought and beetle infestation) and the oak trees are flourishing. That’s a sign the planet is warming up.

2019 was the coldest winter/spring in all of California and Nevada in many years. I'm talking about consistent cold from January-March. The summer also wasn't particularly hot, as we didn't have much of the usual heatwave which tends to show up in late August or early Sept.

I reject that California has been significantly warmer in recent years and causing fires or issues with the trees.

The drought is the bigger issue. For several consecutive years in the 2010s, California had drought. However, the 2016-2017 season was way above average, and after a semi-dry 2017-2018, the 2018-2019 season was again well above average. So it looks more like we just ran bad for some years in a row, and it's not a result of climate change. Either way, we'll need more data in order to see the truth here. But we had big droughts in other decades, as well. California, especially southern, just has big variance when it comes to precipitation totals, mainly because it almost all falls in a 4-month period.

[simpdog]

Well I live in the Sierras at 6000’ and it’s obvious that the climate is changing. The pine trees aren’t doing that well (due to drought and beetle infestation) and the oak trees are flourishing. That’s a sign the planet is warming up.

2019 was the coldest winter/spring in all of California and Nevada in many years. I'm talking about consistent cold from January-March. The summer also wasn't particularly hot, as we didn't have much of the usual heatwave which tends to show up in late August or early Sept.

I reject that California has been significantly warmer in recent years and causing fires or issues with the trees.

The drought is the bigger issue. For several consecutive years in the 2010s, California had drought. However, the 2016-2017 season was way above average, and after a semi-dry 2017-2018, the 2018-2019 season was again well above average. So it looks more like we just ran bad for some years in a row, and it's not a result of climate change. Either way, we'll need more data in order to see the truth here. But we had big droughts in other decades, as well. California, especially southern, just has big variance when it comes to precipitation totals, mainly because it almost all falls in a 4-month period.

So climate change is only when it gets warmer?

[MumblesBadly]

WTF?, so if you are from Trump, you just have to ignore science? Facts?
You are going w/his 'you need to rake the forests' BS?
I'm sorry, did we used to clear dangerous brush and have our electrical lines and equipment well maintained, and we just stopped for no reason?
All the stuff you blame has been here for 50 years, why all of a sudden do we have fire season and rolling black outs?
I just can't believe anyone from CA doesn't buy that climate change has caused this.


And once again, there is only one network pushing this BS.
I'm sure Fox "news" presents it like it is 50/50, but it is 97/3, and you know most of those 3 % were on the Koch brother's payroll.

Do scientists agree on climate change?
https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/17/do-s...limate-change/

Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change.

In Australia the federal government has been spending less money on fire mitigation and services every year. Also the greenies are very vocal and they're pandered to somewhat in regard to clearing and burning off.

Global warming is real, but to say the bushfires we've been getting is a result of GW is kinda fanciful IMO.
We've been having record droughts the last few years. If we had normal rainfall there would be so much more fuel to burn. I'm sure it's effected the situation to some degree though.

And where did you get advanced training in climate science in order to refute the predictions of such increasingly long and dangerous droughts for Australia due to global warming per climate scientists for some time now?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews...%3fid=68096029

[Texter]

Discussing how hot and cold it’s been over a few years/decades means nothing in climate discussions....either believer or denier.

In poker parlance, you’re being results oriented.

[Dan Druff]

2019 was the coldest winter/spring in all of California and Nevada in many years. I'm talking about consistent cold from January-March. The summer also wasn't particularly hot, as we didn't have much of the usual heatwave which tends to show up in late August or early Sept.

I reject that California has been significantly warmer in recent years and causing fires or issues with the trees.

The drought is the bigger issue. For several consecutive years in the 2010s, California had drought. However, the 2016-2017 season was way above average, and after a semi-dry 2017-2018, the 2018-2019 season was again well above average. So it looks more like we just ran bad for some years in a row, and it's not a result of climate change. Either way, we'll need more data in order to see the truth here. But we had big droughts in other decades, as well. California, especially southern, just has big variance when it comes to precipitation totals, mainly because it almost all falls in a 4-month period.

So climate change is only when it gets warmer?

No, but Jayjami was raising the point that warmer temperatures are some of the reason for the fires and the dying trees. I was explaining that it hasn't been warmer, so that couldn't be the case.

The problem is that the left screams "climate change" whenever a short-term pattern occurs in the weather.

Remember the devastating 2005 hurricane season, which included Katrina? We were told by climate scientists and the left that this would be the new normal, and that terrible hurricane seasons would become the rule rather than the exception.

Then we had two quiet hurricane seasons immediately following, then a worse-than-average in 2008, then several quiet seasons again. Then we stopped hearing the claim that climate change has caused hurricanes to get worse. Now suddenly after some bad hurricanes at the end of the 2010s, we're hearing it again. Sigh.

I'm not a climate change denier, but I'm also not a sky-is-falling climate change panicker. Weather has tons of variance, and to draw conclusions over short-term patterns is just LOL.

[limitles]

So climate change is only when it gets warmer?

No, but Jayjami was raising the point that warmer temperatures are some of the reason for the fires and the dying trees. I was explaining that it hasn't been warmer, so that couldn't be the case.

The problem is that the left screams "climate change" whenever a short-term pattern occurs in the weather.

Remember the devastating 2005 hurricane season, which included Katrina? We were told by climate scientists and the left that this would be the new normal, and that terrible hurricane seasons would become the rule rather than the exception.

Then we had two quiet hurricane seasons immediately following, then a worse-than-average in 2008, then several quiet seasons again. Then we stopped hearing the claim that climate change has caused hurricanes to get worse. Now suddenly after some bad hurricanes at the end of the 2010s, we're hearing it again. Sigh.

I'm not a climate change denier, but I'm also not a sky-is-falling climate change panicker. Weather has tons of variance, and to draw conclusions over short-term patterns is just LOL.

OK forget the consensus of climatologists world wide and we'll accept your perspective of a person born into the cheese burger
eating era of Southern California in the mid 1990's

One thing you cannot overlook in Australia or California is the population change and the effect that has on
water sources. That is also science or even just math. Either way there is a problem and you deal with it
one way or another.