The wildfires in California replicate the massive fire storms in the boreal forest in Canada and Siberia, the lungs of the earth. Our addiction to fossil fuel has ignited an age of fire.
I suspect that our fire weather is connected to the billions of dollars we are spending on armaments that we send all over the world. All those bombs are releasing carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere, so we continue to cause destruction. In a sense, the bombs are exploding in Los Angeles, as well as Gaza and Ukraine and Yemen and…
How does warfare compare with our use of fossil fuels and its effect on our climate?
Apparently an M1 Abrams tank gets about 0.6 mpg and burns around 60 gallons an hour travelling across country and fk knows how many of those thing are rumbling around the planet, plus all the other war machines. So the contribution of war to ghg emissions is huge even without adding the products of the detonation of ordinance.
Yet we being taught by our "civil" leaders to believe all that military production and use of those war machines is GDP. It's not. Government "defense" of the civilian population is never GDP; in fact it's always a cost and a liability towards operating a civil society. Nonetheless, economists have willfully perverted the meaning of GDP to include "war" production (of which production is "fenced" by being counted as taxable "earnings" of the M.I.C private sector) which is, in turn, presented to us by our government officials as offsetting our ever burgeoning mountain of tax payer debt. Pure delusion. In reality it is a liability. It is nothing more than debt spending...leading to more debt. Currently that debt is costing the U.S. taxpayer nearly 3 billion dollars a day. If you're awake, that should make you vomit in revulsion.
Folks need to start understanding that there are only two real outputs that can be considered as real GDP: Food and shelter. And they should realize that Mother Nature is now equilibrating our environmental and economic obscenities by literally accelerating the burning of our proverbial "candle" at both ends. Our assets (and former fruits of past GDP), Food and Shelter, are now being vaporized before our eyes. What is not being burned away, but rather is becoming painfully obvious to some keen observers among the ashes and cinders, is that huge, naked, and growing mountain of public debt.
Meanwhile these same government officials proselytize (at their fireside "chats" otherswise known as -equally obscene- propaganda press conferences) about how strong we are; how we should believe in "standing as one" and how we should remain unified as victors of adversity ---as Rome burns. Not me; I don't buy it for a second. I've read about how this movie ends.
I don’t only mean the fossil fuels used by the military, and I don’t only mean the bombs themselves, but the structures that are pulverized are also putting a lot of pollutants into the air.
Wars a win-win-win for speeding up anthropogenic climate disasters.......but so is AI (or as I call it Artificial Stupidity Systems...ASS) and bitcoin....the profligate use of electricity and water by these two brainwaves of the technosphere........will guarantee that we burn fossil fuels to the end of the world as we know it.
The Pentagon is one of the leading Greenhouse gas emissions sources in the world and wars are a major contributor, but, while I don't have the data in front of me, that is NOT greater than economic activity based on fossil fuels.
To what economic end? Like the one we see in L.A.? All that accumulated economic wealth (much of it as a result of war) generated over generations being vaporized in a few weeks? What a grand argument.
Well apart from the profits trousered by the MIC and the oligarchs, most wars are fought for territory and / or resources. Both of which are counted as Capital, not just by Neo-liberals, but by adherents to all forms of Capitalism, and Socialism and Communism.
GDP is generally considered to be the total output of finished goods and services produced by a society within a given time period. What is usually not counted in war (as well as other industrialized "economic activity" is the cost to our environment. That is usually factored in as a big, fat zero. In my opinion, if you count ALL the costs of constantly waging war to capture additional resources in this day and age, its is likely not an economically or environmentally sustainable endeavor. You also seem to be inferring that territory and/or resources must be captured by the "economic activity" of war. That is clearly not the only means.
BTW. I would venture to guess that if you separate the profits of the MIC, from the "economic activity" of war that seeks to capture territory and/or resources in this day and age, then you are separating the bulk cost of any given endeavor. I find it disingenuous in your argument to do so. Also, lives are invariably lost and/or shattered in war. What, exactly, is "capital" value you place on any given life or injury in your "economic activity" war equation?
What I said is that territory and resources are considered Capital.
While physical warfare resulting in death and destruction is Empires go to method of acquiring that Capital, many capitalists would rather acquire intact infrastrucrure and so might prefer economic warfare - sanctions, embargo, tariffs and such like.
Everything about the capitalist system is unsustainable, that's a given and all costs to the environment and society are "externalities" which of course improves the corporate bottom line.
I recommend reading The Anti Capitalist Chronicles by Prof. David Harvey.
The biggest user of fossil fuels is the US DOD. If I'm even to believe that global climate crisis is, which Im not, then why aren't they setting the example rather than creating global CO2 by blowing up pipelines creating the largest release of methane in our globe's lifetime? This has been the coldest winter I recall since I was a child in High school in the late 70's here in the US northeast. As a child I remember news shows like NBC and CBS nightly news on the TV talking about being careful opening car doors because your skin could freeze to them.
What do they say? Those who don't know their history are bound to repeat it? I remember California almost always being on the news for mud slides and wildfires almost constantly when I was young. OK so I get it, it's inconvenient for people that choose to live in a desert that have gotten used to the availability of water to change over to a more desert like environment and certainly not good for property prices. Of course there were significantly less people living there in the 70's than today. There's actually more water in the US than there used to be. Overall the US precipitation since 1940 to 2025 has increased by 11%. Just because people move to Southern California doesn't make more water fall from the sky. Has anyone seen the mightly Colorado river after California? It's a mud bed. It's been so overused trying to keep a desert green that it doesn't make it to Mexico anymore. But who cares it's only Mexico. It always rains to much in one place and not enough in the other so it must be a climate crisis, right?
I acutally think that this whole "climate crisis" is just another way for government to give itself the ability to mess with the climate under the guise of national security. "Well we have to send up nuclear bombs of dust to block out the sun" and this kind of crazy consipiracy shit they constantly invent to move their control agenda forward. What better way to stop China's ascent than by blocking the sun and decimating the Asian population? Anything to retain Western control. Although when it came down to money in their pockets and paying American workers they destroyed America and shipped not only the jobs but the machines to Asia. Couldn't wait to get that big payoff. They should all be tried for treason and then deposed in the public square.
I've often tried to find the data of ocean's warming and lack of precipitation but it's just not available to be seen because the data doesn't support it. What does support it is the propaganda channels that are constantly pushed on the US population. The mainstream media hasn't done a piece of investigative anything since the early 80's as they too were sold out for the almighty dollar and Wall Street profits. How does one measure the depth of the ocean? At what place, at what time, at what tide and how does the underwater landscape itself change those numbers just by ebbs and flows of silt and sand?
What's the common denominator among all problems the US is facing? Wall St and Government in bed together. What are the 2 biggest monopolies?
Wall Street must be broken up and I don't mean just reconnected by the internet. I mean each state must maintain it's own "Wall Street" and businesses that reside in that state cannot incorporate in Delaware they must incoporate in the state they have setup shop in and they must be held to the states incorporation requirements. Return that power to each individual state. The federal government must be weakened. They must exist within the borders of DC not leaking over the border to Virginia like the Pentagon and others. We must reinstate the auditors of the government that have been forced out by constantly taking away oversight funding and increasing operational funding. It's all so corrupt and they all know it.
Finally and most importantly the people must have the right to bring criminal charges against their government which currently is only possible through the Attorney General who is put in place by the president. No conflict of interest there. I'd like to see an attorney general elected by the population at large but they can barely figure out who should be their president.
Chris, your post brought to mind Noam Chomsky and his extensive knowledge. While I miss hearing Professor Chomsky speak, I am grateful for your presence and the important work you do. I am deeply thankful to you and all those who tirelessly advocate for humanity.
I agree; however, we don’t live in a perfect world, and advocating for human rights often comes at a great cost. That’s why I deeply appreciate those who are willing to make sacrifices and stand by those in need, especially those who continue supporting the resistance. The least I can do is offer my gratitude and financial support in any way I can.
I do what I can on my social media and I’m also one of those who’s been through a rough time with attacks and threats. So, WWII, don’t assume anything about what you don’t know.
Of course you are. That's because it is inferred that you don't wish to do it yourself. In a functioning Republic, it is not necessary to thank citizens for being citizens (if that's what you mean by "humanity". That's because it should not be a choice, but rather the daily responsibility of everyone.
Wow, so many loony toons comments. Regardless of what anyone thinks, climate change is here, whether we like it or not. As far as LA is concerned, they brought this on themselves and now, they're paying the price. The same for everywhere else. Alberta is caught between a rock and a hard place as they have little to nothing else to offer anyone that is a lucrative as the tar sands, which is why the PM is down in Mar-A-Lago kissing King Donald's ring as we talk about this tonight. She will do whatever it takes to keep the money coming in. Contaminating her province to the point of inhabitability doesn't matter as she knows that it won't happen in her lifetime. She gets rich and doesn't care about anyone else while she is still above ground to enjoy the wealth.
This is the pattern we see everywhere. People are given opportunities to get wealthy and they sell their souls to get more. Meanwhile, the planet burns all around them. They don't care about the future. All that matters is the lifestyle of the rich and famous today, for as long as they are still alive to enjoy it. It's a sickness that will kill the planet's ecosystem unless we stop it somehow. Any ideas?
If you’re going to blame the human beings who happen to live in LA County for the perfect storm of horror that has descended on them now, you might have to blame yourself when it happens to you. The entire human race has created this problem, one way and another, and the entire human race will suffer for it if we don’t manage to stop it. Inexcusably, millions of other species will, as well. We’re in this together, like it or not.
This sickness of avarice has been around for a long time. It wanes and waxes. Right now greed is very popular. Not sure how to fix it but we need to call it out for what it is ... rapacious, predatory, morally corrupt capitalism - the behaviour is destroying our planet. And if we are going to try and find salvation in religion, well most organized religions (but not all), are on the take too.
I am so happy to see this article on Fire Weather. As a resident of the province of Alberta where the oil sands are located, I found this book absolutely riveting and horrifying at the same time. The behaviour of fires has changed with warming air and less moisture in the soil. The devastation in California this past week is a warning about the future. I urge anyone who cares about why this is happening to pick up this book.
OMG. Not everything is climate change, and not everything is right wing evangelicals. I am as libertarian left as it is possible to be, but Santa Ana winds have been doing this for millennia. The disaster was caused by a) people building homes in inappropriate places, like fire zones, or coastal wetlands, or flood zones, b) California politicians, despite having a mandate from the public for a decade to build new reservoirs, have not built any c) an incoherent fire-prevention policy that has resulted in almost no mitigation--do we remove brush? not remove brush? We just can't decide, so we'll do nothing d) the mayor cutting the budget of the fire department by 18 million, while the state and city gave many more millions to Israel to continue bombing Gaza e) PGE refusing to update its power lines or bury them, increasing the risk of aging power lines sparking and increasing fire risk e) the state keeping the prime reservoir above LA empty for over a year f) the state neglecting to save any of the record breaking rain from last year and letting it drain into the ocean g) the state refusing federal help from Donald Trump's administration after the last horrendous fires h) the state refusing offered help from Vladimir Putin after the last horrendous fires, when he offered to give them fire fighting planes that can scoop up water from oceans or lakes to drop on fires. As a result, California has to rent a whole two of these planes from Canada. So what exactly are you suggesting is "climate change" about any of that? Human negligence and stupidity, yes. Climate change, no. In fact, Santa Ana winds tend to get better as the temps warm.
You left out 300 days of no rainfall -that is clearly climate related. And excessive heat that dried the vegetation. That too is climate related. And the excessive growth of vegetation due to abnormally high precipitation after years of drought which stoked the fuels for the fire.
I have never promoted anything Trump in my life. You are revealing your tawdry tribal bona fides rather than anything sensible. I'm guessing you've never read a climate study in your life. No one is denying climate change here. But not everything is due to climate change. Some things are just due to climate period. What is the LA climate? How normal is it for there to be 300 days with no rain? It is common. How common is it for there to be a rainy year followed by a dry year? Common. What is the environment where the worst fires happened? They are fire zones and never should have been built up. If they were built up, they needed to be extensively managed. They weren't. In fact, they could not have been managed worse. What does the IPCC say about the likelihood of any fire or flood being the result of climate change? Oh that's right, they say there is "low confidence" of any such association. Calling everything climate change when a disaster is actually caused by environmental degradation and negligence is just lazy and stupid. And it guarantees that nothing will be fixed.
Climate scientists (or at least the sensible ones) do not say that any fires or floods are 'the result of climate change', that would be silly. They make them worse. As does environmental degradation and poor management. We all know humans impact in many disastrous ways.
Precipitation may increase overall, but if it all falls in a brief period followed by hundreds of dry days the result is more dead vegetation highly prone to burning in the right conditions. That's what has happened in Southern California.
Every one of your lettered points is true and extremely important. But that does not mean there is no climate change factor in these disasters, only that it is more imperative to fix the problems. I was born in LA and lived and visited intermittently for almost 75 years. Yes, there have always been fires and heat and drought, but I have watched them all get horrifyingly worse. I’ve watched the vegetation of the entire area brown and then blacken and then die, the typical temperatures get higher every decade, and the fires become more violent, even in areas with less development. You can’t convince me it’s not real - I’ve watched it.
Whoever serves the LA area, there are videos of power lines sparking fires all over the place. It is a perennial problem in southern California and has come up in many news reports.
Hedges inadvertently - and lazily and unforgivably - reinforces Trump right wing lies about the alleged $17 million cut in the LA fire budget and an alleged lack of water at hydrants as factors in the devastation of the LA wildfires.
First of all, there may not even have been a real cut in the fire department's resources, from what I've heard. And even if there were, it would not have translated into staff and equipment reductions and it would not have had any effect on actual capacity to respond. And even if there were virtually unlimited manpower and equipment resources to respond, that could NOT have stopped this wildfire under the conditions (100 mph winds and dry vegetation under extreme drought). Finally, hit the links and look at the pie chart in the LA City budget, where cops are triple the fire department funds (and so much funding goes to PENSIONS, not actual response resources).
Second, Hedges again is lazy about fire hydrants. Regardless of the amount of water available, there could never have been enough water from hydrants and air planes to stop this wildfire, given the conditions.
These crucial fact errors were not buried in the weeds - they were in the lede paragraph!
We need to be extremely careful in facts and truth AND NOT ECHO FASCIST LIES.
Those woke clueless politicians and bureaucrats were installed so that when things like this happen they will get the blame rather than the globalists installing them and setting the woke agenda. It’s backwards from what most think. The “competency crisis” is a deliberate controlled demolition masquerading around as an accident of well meaning useful virtue signaling idiots:
The wildfires were not caused due to incompetence, but rather “on purpose malice” posing as incompetence, and they are likely being started with DARPA directed energy weapons, 100% unvetted terrorist illegal immigrants (“We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.”—Obama), looters, and Antifa posing as firemen, just as in 2020:
Globalist Goals: rewild America, clear off the shores for the military, kill most of us, shove the rest of us into 15 minute prison cities. To do this you must first destroy the old cities and systems and rebuild new ones.
Paid arsonists are destroying these cities so they can buy them up for pennies on the dollar.
All of this destruction is geared toward maximizing pain and death, while destroying economic, social, physical, and mental productive capital on a vast scale. All designed to lead directly to global dependence-based enslavement where you will eat ze bugs and own nothing and be happy about it - or else.
In other words, their goal is to demolish our ability to sustain ourselves, transforming us into slaves reliant on their "generosity" for our survival and they’re reaching a level of control where Harari feels confident telling us that our Free Will is over while contemplating killing us outright out loud in public:
“Mr. Harari, thinking about all this, puts it this way: “Utopia and dystopia depends on your values.” … The useless class he describes is uniquely vulnerable. “If a century ago you mounted a revolution against exploitation, you knew that when bad comes to worse, they can’t shoot all of us because they need us,” he said, citing army service and factory work.
Now it is becoming less clear why the ruling elite would not just kill the new useless class. “You’re totally expendable,” he told the audience. … “We don’t need you. But we are nice, so we’ll take care of you.” —Source (worth reading in full): https://archive.is/rWLoO
The pictures I've seen of the tar sands mines in Alberta made me think of Tolkien's Mordor, the realm of the dark lord in the Lord of the Rings, where unspeakable evil dwells.
Hey, but actor James Woods (whose house was apparently spared) referred to those who believe that the L.A. fires are related to man-made climate chance as “ignorant assholes.” (Perhaps his self-proclaimed 184 I.Q. was taking a break when he spoke.) Seriously, a terribly distressing article to read. One does what one can to minimize one’s carbon footprint, but my fear is that within a few decades the planet may be more different than anyone can now imagine, and not in a good way.
But he’s a fine actor who did excellent work with Leone and Oliver Stone, and frankly, I find him less annoying than Rob Reiner and the Hollywood crowd.
I've been reading commentaries from the residents of Palisades in California, some of whom own multi, multi million dollar homes that were vaporized by the fires, reading their heartfelt descriptions of losing, not only the homes, but the contents that carried family histories, archeological meaning going back centuries, and so on. I do relate to their heartbreak, but then I immediately think about the Palestinian families in Gaza who are bombed in their tents (yes tents) by 2000 pound bombs supplied to the zionist entity by the United States, vaporizing everything in a 300 meter radius. I'm afraid even the destruction of the boreal forest in your article will only resonate with the media and readers/watchers for about two days after the fires are brought under control, until the next major disaster catches their attention. Even the environmental consequences of the Canadian tar sands extraction (that we have read and watched for decades) doesn't seem to hit the right nerves, as our thirst for fossil fuels doesn't diminish, but actually grows exponentially. Why, well the destruction the extraction in northern Alberta causes to the native populations and flora and fauna is basically hidden from the general public by a media owned and controled by mega corporations.
I liked your article, Chris, and as one who reads and regularly follows your posts, I know the empire won't let you reach a wider audience, and will silence you if you touch enough nerves they don't want you to touch.
My blood is boiling as I reflect on the powerful testimony of this essay.
Then consider the comments. Bizarre, tone deaf, logical fallacies like deflection, argument by assertion, and conspiracy theories that seem plausible until you realize they're constructed by selecting poorly sourced evidence while ignoring everything to the contrary. All to point to some Other as responsible for whatever is wrong.
My professor of west coast forest ecology fire regimes was from So Cal. That disaster was probable has been known for decades, given the political impossibility of limiting growth. I've also read the first hand accounts of unfathomable devastation by the Canadian First Nations Cree peoples. The nations Chris went to speak with directly; the people whose expertise should be respected as the living wisdom of long experience locally and as a deep rooted connection to all life.
That's why I object so much to casual use of the term "tribal." Currently a Euro and Euro descent intellectual fad designating what they believe is merely the normal us v. them behavior of all human groups. Done several times on this site as if the truism were value free. It isn't. Historically, "tribal" was applied to sub-Saharan Africans, Native peoples of the Americas, and indigenous Australians. You know; wild, irrational, uncivilized, irrelevant. In contrast, western Euro groups and their descendants are ethnic, civilized. People whose empirical science, rationalism, and powerful technology produce all relevant information needed in their world.
The results of which should become more and more obvious as the Earth burns, drowns, is bombed, blows away, and is buried in those oil derived plastics. Tell me now who's civilized and who isn't.
Unfortunately, this is the unvarnished truth.......what's happening in LA tonight....and what is going to continue for days to come...is our future if we continue to deny the truth about hydrocarbons, elect denialists like Trump (raking the forest indeed), and are too lazy or lacking in imagination to begin the fastest global transition in the history of human life on earth.
Another future is possible......but it will require all of us, and a collective effort to reduce our carbon footprints.......imagine a world where everyone can thrive, and then roll up our sleeves and join the brave pioneers who have been working hard to inform us/show us another way.
And there's lots we can do: solarize, go EV, go electric bike, grow some of your own food......make your home a plastic free zone, get off Amazon, recycle and use recycled products instead of buying new, learn to repair stuff, learn to darn, waste nothing, restore soil wherever possible, put in a heat pump, use less electricity, swear off jet set vacations, ditch the snowplowers and gas lawn mowers, kill your lawn............etc. etc. etc.
Doing nothing is not an option, crying what can I do, an excuse.
The climate changes all the times; the man-made theory remains to be proven. I used to believe in man-made climate change, but I am now convinced that it is a hoax.
Delusion means detachment from reality and belief in imaginary. Calling climate science and catastrophe a hoax fits that definition and I stand by the claim.
A cultist is someone who suspends independent reason and agency to follow a cult leader. Trump has called climate science a hoax. His followers are cultists. You echo that lie, thus the shoe fits, so wear it.
1. "Delusion" depends on what side you are... the covid "vaccines" were "science" and have you not believed in "the science" you'd be labeled as "heretic", "delusional" and "anti science". The real science is not a fix point - it always changes as it progresses. Just as there was (and still is) a push to label gene therapy as "vaccines" and "extreme harmful" as "safe", there are interests at play to push this narrative; the "solutions" are not better than the problems they are trying to solve but make privileged actors to increase their fortune and justify more and more abusive control over the population. Either way, you can recognize true science by the fact that it can be debated; whenever you cannot debate anything, it is either religion, either plain dogma.
2. Trump also says that the sun rises from the East... since this is Trump we are talking about, FOR SURE the sun must be rising from the West - is that so?!
You falsely attempt to frame this as "what side you're on". And with your allusion to COVID, you obviously do not understand the critical distinctions between "science" (and how it evolves) and public health communications strategy. So much of the attacks on alleged "lies" in the science were really related to public health communications strategies which sought to avoid or minimize vaccine hesitance. Similarly, there is a sharp distinction between scientific debate and(essential) and what parades under that banner: so much of what is claimed to be scientific debate is just bullshit.
And your Trump sunrise false analogy is a serious failure in logical reasoning, which is so bad as to undermine your credibility and imply bad faith..
Hiya Bill, yes how well the duality of covid or climate has been drummed into us. When I say climate change hasn't been debunked people say I suppose you're on your 10th jab. When I say there's no evidence that vaccines save lives people say I suppose you're a climate change denier.
And yes attacking the 'science' on covid was in fact attacking the unscientific unevidenced measures.
Either way, the Earth has two heat sources; one is the sun, the other is the molten magma at the core of the Earth. The magma is cooling down and the Earth will eventually freeze - and that is the truth.
When the Earth was formed, it was a ball of hot, boiling magma; now it isn't anymore - the Earth is actually cooling down.
Long term temperature charts show how the Earth temperature has a relatively fast oscillation (saw-tooth shape), over-imposed on an asymptotic decline: the Earth is cooling down.
I suggest you read "The Ends of the World" by Peter Brannen. It is a summary of the previous 5 extinctions on planet Earth. The evidence indicates that a key factor in each extinction was massive volcanic eruptions that put huge quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere thereby drastically raising the global temperature.
If we learnt anything from the "covid" fakedemique, "correlation is not causation" :)...
1. When CO2 was much higher, the plant life was exploding... is this bad?
2. Low CO2 levels mean that the plants will have a hard time to survive as it is their fuel; we are close to a critical low point in CO2 concentration in history.
3. Whatever we may believe, the science is NEVER settled; to have a super complex ecosystem as the Earth has and single out an element that is present in less than half of a one thousandth of the atmosphere and claim that is the key for climate is -well - hubris.
One last thought: we live in a world in which lobotomy got the Nobel Prize for "science".
Yes, the earth will reclaim itelf into a poisoness sulfur dioxide atmosphere that will kill every oxygen breathing thing upon it if it get's too out-of-balance or so the geologist say.
Minimizing CO2 as a cause of climate change because it is only 0.4% is based on what? You are talking through your hat. CO2 is the prime driver for global surface temperature, has been since the cyanobacteria created free oxygen through photosynthesis and oxidized the CH4. And the math supports CO2 as critical whether from climatologists or Exxon scientists who were told to keep their mouths shut about the truth. Anybody who dismisses CO2’s effect on global temperature is the same as a flat earther and, by the way, THEIR numbers are increasing, too. The round earth is a conspiracy dating back 2500 years. Have you joined that club yet?
Again, you read this substack so you are supposed to be an educated person... so why the insults? Seriously... One gets to insults after runs out of arguments...
"Math supports CO2 as critical [..]" say you... Math supports NOTHING; if the models used are inaccurate, so it is the result... GIGO.
So far, NONE of the predictions climate "science" made came true - heck - they cannot even forecast the weather properly...
There are many climate scientists that question the CO2-centric models - why is a public debate never allowed?
Last but not the least, when you find yourself aligned with Google algorithms and the billionaires, you HAVE TO know that you are buying into propaganda... right, Stan?
I see... well, when the solution is a TAX and EVs (which are more harmful to the environment than regular cars) I don't buy the theory of man-made climate change... but I believe in arson and energy weapons.
I'd weigh in on this since the contrarians clearly don't know botany or forestry. But what's the point if it's buried in a long set of gotchas? If you're interested in plants-CO2, read my comment to Bill Jarrett, a less articulate proponent of the same disinformation.
The fact that climate changes naturally doesn't mean that humans aren't ALSO changing it by emitting massive amounts of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide. Not to mention that human-caused climate change is happening about 1,000 times faster than natural climate change. It was proven in the late 19th century that greenhouse gases trap heat, so by emitting them in such large amounts, humans are heating the planet, thereby causing climate change. There is no more to "believe" in here than believing that the Earth is round or that water is wet. That's why Bill called you a delusional cultist, and I agree with him.
No, you are wrong... What you say is just repeating what you have been told, but you cannot independently verify. In other words, it is YOUR belief, YOUR choice... I used to think the same, until I realized that it is all nonsense...
When the "climate lock-downs" will start, will you kiss the hand that holds the leash?
Again: CO2 is 0.04% from the total... and without it plants will die - NO MORE FOOD and OXYGEN for you.
Yes, the temperature is rising a bit, but that is because the Earth is recovering from a mini glaciation... but overall, the Earth is cooling down and WILL freeze, before the sun runs out of fuel. As a matter of fact, that happened before and it was saved by a massive volcanic activity.
You can also tell that the man-made climate change is BS by the solutions are suggested... like "carbon taxes" and EVs, solar panels and wind farms, all way more detrimental to the environment than fossil fuels. How many of the billionaires that preach climate change have you seen giving up private jets? Their beef? It was a viral video at UN, talking about this very topic and how we should reduce meat consumption; in the lunch break they were all in line at the meat buffet and close to NONE to the vegan one...
In reality, the solution for now is NUCLEAR; zero CO2 emissions (if that actually would matter). But the nuclear plants are closed all over... Germany has no more natural gas, but refuses to do the bloody obvious: restart the nuclear plants!!! Because - you see? - this is not a pragmatic solution to a problem - this is ideology!!!
I USED TO think like you, but I was able to, when presented with facts, change my mind... This is NOT the behavior of a "cultist" - I could argue that YOU are one.
I haven't been "told" anything. I actually READ reliable sources like, you know, CLIMATOLOGISTS, who BTW are the only ones qualified to comment on this as scientists, and almost 100% of whom agree that anthropogenic climate change is quite real. You seem to be exactly what Bill called you, a delusional cultist, judging by the BS buzzwords you use, like WEF (as if the ruling class of the world was the body that first identified and told the world about global warming/climate change). We're done, I'm not wasting any more time responding to your idiocy. And BTW, screw nuclear, totally evil and destructive crap. As Buckminster Fuller said, the sun is a perfect example of a nuclear reactor, and it's also a perfect example of how close one should be to the Earth (not to mention all the harm caused by mining uranium).
John Vaillant, author of “Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World” is a MUST read. A fabulous writer, Vaillant documents the development of the tar sands (and that alone is fascinating) and the horrendous Fort McMurray Alberta fire in 2016. These new fires create their own weather systems. You can't put them out with conventional methods. Water has little to no effect when the temperature reaches 950 degrees. It vapourizes before it lands on the ground. And what is burning is not only wood, vegetation and soil, it's a toxic mix of plastics, vinyl, rubber, gasoline, paint, solvents, insulation, roofing material, drywall, wiring, automobiles - everything you can think of that can burn in a home, business or property. No one's talking about the horrific toxins being released into the atmosphere. Almost nothing about the obscene toll these fires inflict on wildlife. We've really f' ed up the planet with fire suppression, deforestation, burning fossil fuels and all the damage from wars.
I suspect that our fire weather is connected to the billions of dollars we are spending on armaments that we send all over the world. All those bombs are releasing carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere, so we continue to cause destruction. In a sense, the bombs are exploding in Los Angeles, as well as Gaza and Ukraine and Yemen and…
How does warfare compare with our use of fossil fuels and its effect on our climate?
The US military is by far the single largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world.
Apparently an M1 Abrams tank gets about 0.6 mpg and burns around 60 gallons an hour travelling across country and fk knows how many of those thing are rumbling around the planet, plus all the other war machines. So the contribution of war to ghg emissions is huge even without adding the products of the detonation of ordinance.
Yet we being taught by our "civil" leaders to believe all that military production and use of those war machines is GDP. It's not. Government "defense" of the civilian population is never GDP; in fact it's always a cost and a liability towards operating a civil society. Nonetheless, economists have willfully perverted the meaning of GDP to include "war" production (of which production is "fenced" by being counted as taxable "earnings" of the M.I.C private sector) which is, in turn, presented to us by our government officials as offsetting our ever burgeoning mountain of tax payer debt. Pure delusion. In reality it is a liability. It is nothing more than debt spending...leading to more debt. Currently that debt is costing the U.S. taxpayer nearly 3 billion dollars a day. If you're awake, that should make you vomit in revulsion.
Folks need to start understanding that there are only two real outputs that can be considered as real GDP: Food and shelter. And they should realize that Mother Nature is now equilibrating our environmental and economic obscenities by literally accelerating the burning of our proverbial "candle" at both ends. Our assets (and former fruits of past GDP), Food and Shelter, are now being vaporized before our eyes. What is not being burned away, but rather is becoming painfully obvious to some keen observers among the ashes and cinders, is that huge, naked, and growing mountain of public debt.
Meanwhile these same government officials proselytize (at their fireside "chats" otherswise known as -equally obscene- propaganda press conferences) about how strong we are; how we should believe in "standing as one" and how we should remain unified as victors of adversity ---as Rome burns. Not me; I don't buy it for a second. I've read about how this movie ends.
War is a 110% boon to the fossil fuel industries of the world..............get rid of weapons of mass destruction, and carbon emissions go down.
I don’t only mean the fossil fuels used by the military, and I don’t only mean the bombs themselves, but the structures that are pulverized are also putting a lot of pollutants into the air.
Wars a win-win-win for speeding up anthropogenic climate disasters.......but so is AI (or as I call it Artificial Stupidity Systems...ASS) and bitcoin....the profligate use of electricity and water by these two brainwaves of the technosphere........will guarantee that we burn fossil fuels to the end of the world as we know it.
They aren't smart these boys.....just venal.
I'm curious as to why you assign climate disaster blame to being gender specific?
What are you referring too?
The Pentagon is one of the leading Greenhouse gas emissions sources in the world and wars are a major contributor, but, while I don't have the data in front of me, that is NOT greater than economic activity based on fossil fuels.
It could be argued that war is an economic activity. : )
Yes, one that generates a negative ROI.
Not for the arms industries, only the rest of us.
To what economic end? Like the one we see in L.A.? All that accumulated economic wealth (much of it as a result of war) generated over generations being vaporized in a few weeks? What a grand argument.
Well apart from the profits trousered by the MIC and the oligarchs, most wars are fought for territory and / or resources. Both of which are counted as Capital, not just by Neo-liberals, but by adherents to all forms of Capitalism, and Socialism and Communism.
GDP is generally considered to be the total output of finished goods and services produced by a society within a given time period. What is usually not counted in war (as well as other industrialized "economic activity" is the cost to our environment. That is usually factored in as a big, fat zero. In my opinion, if you count ALL the costs of constantly waging war to capture additional resources in this day and age, its is likely not an economically or environmentally sustainable endeavor. You also seem to be inferring that territory and/or resources must be captured by the "economic activity" of war. That is clearly not the only means.
BTW. I would venture to guess that if you separate the profits of the MIC, from the "economic activity" of war that seeks to capture territory and/or resources in this day and age, then you are separating the bulk cost of any given endeavor. I find it disingenuous in your argument to do so. Also, lives are invariably lost and/or shattered in war. What, exactly, is "capital" value you place on any given life or injury in your "economic activity" war equation?
What I said is that territory and resources are considered Capital.
While physical warfare resulting in death and destruction is Empires go to method of acquiring that Capital, many capitalists would rather acquire intact infrastrucrure and so might prefer economic warfare - sanctions, embargo, tariffs and such like.
Everything about the capitalist system is unsustainable, that's a given and all costs to the environment and society are "externalities" which of course improves the corporate bottom line.
I recommend reading The Anti Capitalist Chronicles by Prof. David Harvey.
The biggest user of fossil fuels is the US DOD. If I'm even to believe that global climate crisis is, which Im not, then why aren't they setting the example rather than creating global CO2 by blowing up pipelines creating the largest release of methane in our globe's lifetime? This has been the coldest winter I recall since I was a child in High school in the late 70's here in the US northeast. As a child I remember news shows like NBC and CBS nightly news on the TV talking about being careful opening car doors because your skin could freeze to them.
What do they say? Those who don't know their history are bound to repeat it? I remember California almost always being on the news for mud slides and wildfires almost constantly when I was young. OK so I get it, it's inconvenient for people that choose to live in a desert that have gotten used to the availability of water to change over to a more desert like environment and certainly not good for property prices. Of course there were significantly less people living there in the 70's than today. There's actually more water in the US than there used to be. Overall the US precipitation since 1940 to 2025 has increased by 11%. Just because people move to Southern California doesn't make more water fall from the sky. Has anyone seen the mightly Colorado river after California? It's a mud bed. It's been so overused trying to keep a desert green that it doesn't make it to Mexico anymore. But who cares it's only Mexico. It always rains to much in one place and not enough in the other so it must be a climate crisis, right?
I acutally think that this whole "climate crisis" is just another way for government to give itself the ability to mess with the climate under the guise of national security. "Well we have to send up nuclear bombs of dust to block out the sun" and this kind of crazy consipiracy shit they constantly invent to move their control agenda forward. What better way to stop China's ascent than by blocking the sun and decimating the Asian population? Anything to retain Western control. Although when it came down to money in their pockets and paying American workers they destroyed America and shipped not only the jobs but the machines to Asia. Couldn't wait to get that big payoff. They should all be tried for treason and then deposed in the public square.
I've often tried to find the data of ocean's warming and lack of precipitation but it's just not available to be seen because the data doesn't support it. What does support it is the propaganda channels that are constantly pushed on the US population. The mainstream media hasn't done a piece of investigative anything since the early 80's as they too were sold out for the almighty dollar and Wall Street profits. How does one measure the depth of the ocean? At what place, at what time, at what tide and how does the underwater landscape itself change those numbers just by ebbs and flows of silt and sand?
What's the common denominator among all problems the US is facing? Wall St and Government in bed together. What are the 2 biggest monopolies?
Wall Street must be broken up and I don't mean just reconnected by the internet. I mean each state must maintain it's own "Wall Street" and businesses that reside in that state cannot incorporate in Delaware they must incoporate in the state they have setup shop in and they must be held to the states incorporation requirements. Return that power to each individual state. The federal government must be weakened. They must exist within the borders of DC not leaking over the border to Virginia like the Pentagon and others. We must reinstate the auditors of the government that have been forced out by constantly taking away oversight funding and increasing operational funding. It's all so corrupt and they all know it.
Finally and most importantly the people must have the right to bring criminal charges against their government which currently is only possible through the Attorney General who is put in place by the president. No conflict of interest there. I'd like to see an attorney general elected by the population at large but they can barely figure out who should be their president.
I did a piece myself that included the impacts of conflict on the climate crisis https://shadowlightblog.substack.com/p/the-hidden-climate-catastrophe
Chris, your post brought to mind Noam Chomsky and his extensive knowledge. While I miss hearing Professor Chomsky speak, I am grateful for your presence and the important work you do. I am deeply thankful to you and all those who tirelessly advocate for humanity.
BINGO!
I agree; however, we don’t live in a perfect world, and advocating for human rights often comes at a great cost. That’s why I deeply appreciate those who are willing to make sacrifices and stand by those in need, especially those who continue supporting the resistance. The least I can do is offer my gratitude and financial support in any way I can.
I do what I can on my social media and I’m also one of those who’s been through a rough time with attacks and threats. So, WWII, don’t assume anything about what you don’t know.
Respect,
Reza
Of course you are. That's because it is inferred that you don't wish to do it yourself. In a functioning Republic, it is not necessary to thank citizens for being citizens (if that's what you mean by "humanity". That's because it should not be a choice, but rather the daily responsibility of everyone.
Wow, so many loony toons comments. Regardless of what anyone thinks, climate change is here, whether we like it or not. As far as LA is concerned, they brought this on themselves and now, they're paying the price. The same for everywhere else. Alberta is caught between a rock and a hard place as they have little to nothing else to offer anyone that is a lucrative as the tar sands, which is why the PM is down in Mar-A-Lago kissing King Donald's ring as we talk about this tonight. She will do whatever it takes to keep the money coming in. Contaminating her province to the point of inhabitability doesn't matter as she knows that it won't happen in her lifetime. She gets rich and doesn't care about anyone else while she is still above ground to enjoy the wealth.
This is the pattern we see everywhere. People are given opportunities to get wealthy and they sell their souls to get more. Meanwhile, the planet burns all around them. They don't care about the future. All that matters is the lifestyle of the rich and famous today, for as long as they are still alive to enjoy it. It's a sickness that will kill the planet's ecosystem unless we stop it somehow. Any ideas?
If you’re going to blame the human beings who happen to live in LA County for the perfect storm of horror that has descended on them now, you might have to blame yourself when it happens to you. The entire human race has created this problem, one way and another, and the entire human race will suffer for it if we don’t manage to stop it. Inexcusably, millions of other species will, as well. We’re in this together, like it or not.
This sickness of avarice has been around for a long time. It wanes and waxes. Right now greed is very popular. Not sure how to fix it but we need to call it out for what it is ... rapacious, predatory, morally corrupt capitalism - the behaviour is destroying our planet. And if we are going to try and find salvation in religion, well most organized religions (but not all), are on the take too.
Off the cliff, eyes wide open.
I am so happy to see this article on Fire Weather. As a resident of the province of Alberta where the oil sands are located, I found this book absolutely riveting and horrifying at the same time. The behaviour of fires has changed with warming air and less moisture in the soil. The devastation in California this past week is a warning about the future. I urge anyone who cares about why this is happening to pick up this book.
The percipitation records show an 11% increase across the US since 1940.
Yes, as temperatures increase there is more water vapour in the air and therefore more rain. Thanks for confirming that climate change is happening.
However, it doesn't mean that this is evenly spread.
It's never been evenly spread. That's why there are floods and draughts all the time.
OMG. Not everything is climate change, and not everything is right wing evangelicals. I am as libertarian left as it is possible to be, but Santa Ana winds have been doing this for millennia. The disaster was caused by a) people building homes in inappropriate places, like fire zones, or coastal wetlands, or flood zones, b) California politicians, despite having a mandate from the public for a decade to build new reservoirs, have not built any c) an incoherent fire-prevention policy that has resulted in almost no mitigation--do we remove brush? not remove brush? We just can't decide, so we'll do nothing d) the mayor cutting the budget of the fire department by 18 million, while the state and city gave many more millions to Israel to continue bombing Gaza e) PGE refusing to update its power lines or bury them, increasing the risk of aging power lines sparking and increasing fire risk e) the state keeping the prime reservoir above LA empty for over a year f) the state neglecting to save any of the record breaking rain from last year and letting it drain into the ocean g) the state refusing federal help from Donald Trump's administration after the last horrendous fires h) the state refusing offered help from Vladimir Putin after the last horrendous fires, when he offered to give them fire fighting planes that can scoop up water from oceans or lakes to drop on fires. As a result, California has to rent a whole two of these planes from Canada. So what exactly are you suggesting is "climate change" about any of that? Human negligence and stupidity, yes. Climate change, no. In fact, Santa Ana winds tend to get better as the temps warm.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018GL080261
Also, please read any IPCC report on the likelihood of any particular weather catastrophe being caused by climate change.
You left out 300 days of no rainfall -that is clearly climate related. And excessive heat that dried the vegetation. That too is climate related. And the excessive growth of vegetation due to abnormally high precipitation after years of drought which stoked the fuels for the fire.
Get off the climate denial Trump cult crack pipe.
I have never promoted anything Trump in my life. You are revealing your tawdry tribal bona fides rather than anything sensible. I'm guessing you've never read a climate study in your life. No one is denying climate change here. But not everything is due to climate change. Some things are just due to climate period. What is the LA climate? How normal is it for there to be 300 days with no rain? It is common. How common is it for there to be a rainy year followed by a dry year? Common. What is the environment where the worst fires happened? They are fire zones and never should have been built up. If they were built up, they needed to be extensively managed. They weren't. In fact, they could not have been managed worse. What does the IPCC say about the likelihood of any fire or flood being the result of climate change? Oh that's right, they say there is "low confidence" of any such association. Calling everything climate change when a disaster is actually caused by environmental degradation and negligence is just lazy and stupid. And it guarantees that nothing will be fixed.
Climate scientists (or at least the sensible ones) do not say that any fires or floods are 'the result of climate change', that would be silly. They make them worse. As does environmental degradation and poor management. We all know humans impact in many disastrous ways.
Southern California is a desert engineered into a man-made paradise.
And yet since 1940 the US precipitation as increased by 11%.
Precipitation may increase overall, but if it all falls in a brief period followed by hundreds of dry days the result is more dead vegetation highly prone to burning in the right conditions. That's what has happened in Southern California.
That's how deserts are. They get rainfall in spring and then die the rest of the year.
Yes, and because it's getting hotter it's getting drier in the hot times and wetter in the wet times.
Hell again.
Every one of your lettered points is true and extremely important. But that does not mean there is no climate change factor in these disasters, only that it is more imperative to fix the problems. I was born in LA and lived and visited intermittently for almost 75 years. Yes, there have always been fires and heat and drought, but I have watched them all get horrifyingly worse. I’ve watched the vegetation of the entire area brown and then blacken and then die, the typical temperatures get higher every decade, and the fires become more violent, even in areas with less development. You can’t convince me it’s not real - I’ve watched it.
This is the winter , not a hot dry summer
It’s a hot dry summer that has lasted through the winter. 300 days with no rainfall!
PG&E doesn't serve the Los Angeles area.
Whoever serves the LA area, there are videos of power lines sparking fires all over the place. It is a perennial problem in southern California and has come up in many news reports.
Hedges inadvertently - and lazily and unforgivably - reinforces Trump right wing lies about the alleged $17 million cut in the LA fire budget and an alleged lack of water at hydrants as factors in the devastation of the LA wildfires.
First of all, there may not even have been a real cut in the fire department's resources, from what I've heard. And even if there were, it would not have translated into staff and equipment reductions and it would not have had any effect on actual capacity to respond. And even if there were virtually unlimited manpower and equipment resources to respond, that could NOT have stopped this wildfire under the conditions (100 mph winds and dry vegetation under extreme drought). Finally, hit the links and look at the pie chart in the LA City budget, where cops are triple the fire department funds (and so much funding goes to PENSIONS, not actual response resources).
Second, Hedges again is lazy about fire hydrants. Regardless of the amount of water available, there could never have been enough water from hydrants and air planes to stop this wildfire, given the conditions.
These crucial fact errors were not buried in the weeds - they were in the lede paragraph!
We need to be extremely careful in facts and truth AND NOT ECHO FASCIST LIES.
Some notes on this Chris:
Those woke clueless politicians and bureaucrats were installed so that when things like this happen they will get the blame rather than the globalists installing them and setting the woke agenda. It’s backwards from what most think. The “competency crisis” is a deliberate controlled demolition masquerading around as an accident of well meaning useful virtue signaling idiots:
https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/why-all-these-brands-ab-inbev-target
The wildfires were not caused due to incompetence, but rather “on purpose malice” posing as incompetence, and they are likely being started with DARPA directed energy weapons, 100% unvetted terrorist illegal immigrants (“We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.”—Obama), looters, and Antifa posing as firemen, just as in 2020:
https://tritorch.com/degradation/!AntifaDressedAsFiremen.jpg [image]
dutchsinse: All of SE Quebec Erupted Into Wildfires ALL AT ONCE June 2nd: https://old.bitchute.com/video/d07sl4jc6a3u
Globalist Goals: rewild America, clear off the shores for the military, kill most of us, shove the rest of us into 15 minute prison cities. To do this you must first destroy the old cities and systems and rebuild new ones.
Paid arsonists are destroying these cities so they can buy them up for pennies on the dollar.
https://tritorch.com/degradation/ArsonistsStartingForrestFiresInOregon2020AntifaTactics.pdf [pdf]
All of this destruction is geared toward maximizing pain and death, while destroying economic, social, physical, and mental productive capital on a vast scale. All designed to lead directly to global dependence-based enslavement where you will eat ze bugs and own nothing and be happy about it - or else.
In other words, their goal is to demolish our ability to sustain ourselves, transforming us into slaves reliant on their "generosity" for our survival and they’re reaching a level of control where Harari feels confident telling us that our Free Will is over while contemplating killing us outright out loud in public:
“Mr. Harari, thinking about all this, puts it this way: “Utopia and dystopia depends on your values.” … The useless class he describes is uniquely vulnerable. “If a century ago you mounted a revolution against exploitation, you knew that when bad comes to worse, they can’t shoot all of us because they need us,” he said, citing army service and factory work.
Now it is becoming less clear why the ruling elite would not just kill the new useless class. “You’re totally expendable,” he told the audience. … “We don’t need you. But we are nice, so we’ll take care of you.” —Source (worth reading in full): https://archive.is/rWLoO
Dutchsinse (9/9/2020): NIGHT 2: Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) off California -- Color enhanced2020; https://old.bitchute.com/video/zD4BRqfQ0jpz
What DEWs look like when used:
https://tritorch.com/degradation/DEWsDirectedEnergyWeaponsUsedOnChile.mp4
What DEWs do to cars, Maui edition:
https://old.bitchute.com/video/1w5QiDpShY8p
Blessings to the California victims.
Delusional
Delusional
The pictures I've seen of the tar sands mines in Alberta made me think of Tolkien's Mordor, the realm of the dark lord in the Lord of the Rings, where unspeakable evil dwells.
Hey, but actor James Woods (whose house was apparently spared) referred to those who believe that the L.A. fires are related to man-made climate chance as “ignorant assholes.” (Perhaps his self-proclaimed 184 I.Q. was taking a break when he spoke.) Seriously, a terribly distressing article to read. One does what one can to minimize one’s carbon footprint, but my fear is that within a few decades the planet may be more different than anyone can now imagine, and not in a good way.
You’re off by a digit. His I. Q. Is 1984.
But he’s a fine actor who did excellent work with Leone and Oliver Stone, and frankly, I find him less annoying than Rob Reiner and the Hollywood crowd.
Yeah, "kill them all" Woods is kinda likeable. 😡
He’s a conservative
I've been reading commentaries from the residents of Palisades in California, some of whom own multi, multi million dollar homes that were vaporized by the fires, reading their heartfelt descriptions of losing, not only the homes, but the contents that carried family histories, archeological meaning going back centuries, and so on. I do relate to their heartbreak, but then I immediately think about the Palestinian families in Gaza who are bombed in their tents (yes tents) by 2000 pound bombs supplied to the zionist entity by the United States, vaporizing everything in a 300 meter radius. I'm afraid even the destruction of the boreal forest in your article will only resonate with the media and readers/watchers for about two days after the fires are brought under control, until the next major disaster catches their attention. Even the environmental consequences of the Canadian tar sands extraction (that we have read and watched for decades) doesn't seem to hit the right nerves, as our thirst for fossil fuels doesn't diminish, but actually grows exponentially. Why, well the destruction the extraction in northern Alberta causes to the native populations and flora and fauna is basically hidden from the general public by a media owned and controled by mega corporations.
I liked your article, Chris, and as one who reads and regularly follows your posts, I know the empire won't let you reach a wider audience, and will silence you if you touch enough nerves they don't want you to touch.
The description of the Tar Sands sounds like a modern version of Dante's Inferno. It's horrifying.
My blood is boiling as I reflect on the powerful testimony of this essay.
Then consider the comments. Bizarre, tone deaf, logical fallacies like deflection, argument by assertion, and conspiracy theories that seem plausible until you realize they're constructed by selecting poorly sourced evidence while ignoring everything to the contrary. All to point to some Other as responsible for whatever is wrong.
My professor of west coast forest ecology fire regimes was from So Cal. That disaster was probable has been known for decades, given the political impossibility of limiting growth. I've also read the first hand accounts of unfathomable devastation by the Canadian First Nations Cree peoples. The nations Chris went to speak with directly; the people whose expertise should be respected as the living wisdom of long experience locally and as a deep rooted connection to all life.
That's why I object so much to casual use of the term "tribal." Currently a Euro and Euro descent intellectual fad designating what they believe is merely the normal us v. them behavior of all human groups. Done several times on this site as if the truism were value free. It isn't. Historically, "tribal" was applied to sub-Saharan Africans, Native peoples of the Americas, and indigenous Australians. You know; wild, irrational, uncivilized, irrelevant. In contrast, western Euro groups and their descendants are ethnic, civilized. People whose empirical science, rationalism, and powerful technology produce all relevant information needed in their world.
The results of which should become more and more obvious as the Earth burns, drowns, is bombed, blows away, and is buried in those oil derived plastics. Tell me now who's civilized and who isn't.
Unfortunately, this is the unvarnished truth.......what's happening in LA tonight....and what is going to continue for days to come...is our future if we continue to deny the truth about hydrocarbons, elect denialists like Trump (raking the forest indeed), and are too lazy or lacking in imagination to begin the fastest global transition in the history of human life on earth.
Another future is possible......but it will require all of us, and a collective effort to reduce our carbon footprints.......imagine a world where everyone can thrive, and then roll up our sleeves and join the brave pioneers who have been working hard to inform us/show us another way.
And there's lots we can do: solarize, go EV, go electric bike, grow some of your own food......make your home a plastic free zone, get off Amazon, recycle and use recycled products instead of buying new, learn to repair stuff, learn to darn, waste nothing, restore soil wherever possible, put in a heat pump, use less electricity, swear off jet set vacations, ditch the snowplowers and gas lawn mowers, kill your lawn............etc. etc. etc.
Doing nothing is not an option, crying what can I do, an excuse.
https://lawyerlisa.substack.com/p/climate-minute-desert-greening-from
The climate changes all the times; the man-made theory remains to be proven. I used to believe in man-made climate change, but I am now convinced that it is a hoax.
Delusional cultist
Care to elaborate on your statement or it is above your pay grade? Means nothing as you dropped it.
Delusion means detachment from reality and belief in imaginary. Calling climate science and catastrophe a hoax fits that definition and I stand by the claim.
A cultist is someone who suspends independent reason and agency to follow a cult leader. Trump has called climate science a hoax. His followers are cultists. You echo that lie, thus the shoe fits, so wear it.
At least now we have something to work with :P...
1. "Delusion" depends on what side you are... the covid "vaccines" were "science" and have you not believed in "the science" you'd be labeled as "heretic", "delusional" and "anti science". The real science is not a fix point - it always changes as it progresses. Just as there was (and still is) a push to label gene therapy as "vaccines" and "extreme harmful" as "safe", there are interests at play to push this narrative; the "solutions" are not better than the problems they are trying to solve but make privileged actors to increase their fortune and justify more and more abusive control over the population. Either way, you can recognize true science by the fact that it can be debated; whenever you cannot debate anything, it is either religion, either plain dogma.
2. Trump also says that the sun rises from the East... since this is Trump we are talking about, FOR SURE the sun must be rising from the West - is that so?!
You falsely attempt to frame this as "what side you're on". And with your allusion to COVID, you obviously do not understand the critical distinctions between "science" (and how it evolves) and public health communications strategy. So much of the attacks on alleged "lies" in the science were really related to public health communications strategies which sought to avoid or minimize vaccine hesitance. Similarly, there is a sharp distinction between scientific debate and(essential) and what parades under that banner: so much of what is claimed to be scientific debate is just bullshit.
And your Trump sunrise false analogy is a serious failure in logical reasoning, which is so bad as to undermine your credibility and imply bad faith..
Hiya Bill, yes how well the duality of covid or climate has been drummed into us. When I say climate change hasn't been debunked people say I suppose you're on your 10th jab. When I say there's no evidence that vaccines save lives people say I suppose you're a climate change denier.
And yes attacking the 'science' on covid was in fact attacking the unscientific unevidenced measures.
I see... so the "vaccines" ARE "safe and effective" and "saved millions of lives" - right Bill?
I urge you to read this book.
What book? You forgot the link.
Either way, the Earth has two heat sources; one is the sun, the other is the molten magma at the core of the Earth. The magma is cooling down and the Earth will eventually freeze - and that is the truth.
When the Earth was formed, it was a ball of hot, boiling magma; now it isn't anymore - the Earth is actually cooling down.
Long term temperature charts show how the Earth temperature has a relatively fast oscillation (saw-tooth shape), over-imposed on an asymptotic decline: the Earth is cooling down.
As for the CO2; according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth), CO2 is 0.04% from the total... to claim that this is the ONLY cause of climate change is ridiculous!!!
"The science" has been corrupted for many centuries to serve the interests of the ruling class.
Sure, we were lied to about the injectable products in 2020 and beyond, but FOR SURE we are told the truth about everything else.
I suggest you read "The Ends of the World" by Peter Brannen. It is a summary of the previous 5 extinctions on planet Earth. The evidence indicates that a key factor in each extinction was massive volcanic eruptions that put huge quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere thereby drastically raising the global temperature.
If we learnt anything from the "covid" fakedemique, "correlation is not causation" :)...
1. When CO2 was much higher, the plant life was exploding... is this bad?
2. Low CO2 levels mean that the plants will have a hard time to survive as it is their fuel; we are close to a critical low point in CO2 concentration in history.
3. Whatever we may believe, the science is NEVER settled; to have a super complex ecosystem as the Earth has and single out an element that is present in less than half of a one thousandth of the atmosphere and claim that is the key for climate is -well - hubris.
One last thought: we live in a world in which lobotomy got the Nobel Prize for "science".
Yes, the earth will reclaim itelf into a poisoness sulfur dioxide atmosphere that will kill every oxygen breathing thing upon it if it get's too out-of-balance or so the geologist say.
Minimizing CO2 as a cause of climate change because it is only 0.4% is based on what? You are talking through your hat. CO2 is the prime driver for global surface temperature, has been since the cyanobacteria created free oxygen through photosynthesis and oxidized the CH4. And the math supports CO2 as critical whether from climatologists or Exxon scientists who were told to keep their mouths shut about the truth. Anybody who dismisses CO2’s effect on global temperature is the same as a flat earther and, by the way, THEIR numbers are increasing, too. The round earth is a conspiracy dating back 2500 years. Have you joined that club yet?
Again, you read this substack so you are supposed to be an educated person... so why the insults? Seriously... One gets to insults after runs out of arguments...
"Math supports CO2 as critical [..]" say you... Math supports NOTHING; if the models used are inaccurate, so it is the result... GIGO.
So far, NONE of the predictions climate "science" made came true - heck - they cannot even forecast the weather properly...
There are many climate scientists that question the CO2-centric models - why is a public debate never allowed?
Last but not the least, when you find yourself aligned with Google algorithms and the billionaires, you HAVE TO know that you are buying into propaganda... right, Stan?
Fire Weather, the book Chris is talking about in his post.
I see... well, when the solution is a TAX and EVs (which are more harmful to the environment than regular cars) I don't buy the theory of man-made climate change... but I believe in arson and energy weapons.
Just for you:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/oXJEvpIcLPfa
Does anyone remember elementary science class? 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% everything else. That CO2 is like a penny in the federal budget.
It’s like a penny in a light socket. Read some science, please.
I'd weigh in on this since the contrarians clearly don't know botany or forestry. But what's the point if it's buried in a long set of gotchas? If you're interested in plants-CO2, read my comment to Bill Jarrett, a less articulate proponent of the same disinformation.
How does that sand taste?
... said the guy whose name is "high" :P...
Hubris much?
Can one man pollute a pond?
Am I supposed to find meaning into your ramblings?!
It’s obvious you have a problem finding meaning, Hubie. Keep trying.
We'll continue our "conversation" once you are not High, Tom...
The fact that climate changes naturally doesn't mean that humans aren't ALSO changing it by emitting massive amounts of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide. Not to mention that human-caused climate change is happening about 1,000 times faster than natural climate change. It was proven in the late 19th century that greenhouse gases trap heat, so by emitting them in such large amounts, humans are heating the planet, thereby causing climate change. There is no more to "believe" in here than believing that the Earth is round or that water is wet. That's why Bill called you a delusional cultist, and I agree with him.
... or try this:
https://odysee.com/@detoezichthouder:c/ClimateTheMovie:c
Not everyone agrees with the Google-WEF dogma...
https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/deep-heat-the-hidden-driver-of-global
and from here:
https://theethicalskeptic.com/2020/02/16/the-climate-change-alternative-we-ignore-to-our-peril/
I don't claim that I am right, just that the science is not "settled" - it NEVER is.
No, you are wrong... What you say is just repeating what you have been told, but you cannot independently verify. In other words, it is YOUR belief, YOUR choice... I used to think the same, until I realized that it is all nonsense...
When the "climate lock-downs" will start, will you kiss the hand that holds the leash?
Again: CO2 is 0.04% from the total... and without it plants will die - NO MORE FOOD and OXYGEN for you.
Yes, the temperature is rising a bit, but that is because the Earth is recovering from a mini glaciation... but overall, the Earth is cooling down and WILL freeze, before the sun runs out of fuel. As a matter of fact, that happened before and it was saved by a massive volcanic activity.
You can also tell that the man-made climate change is BS by the solutions are suggested... like "carbon taxes" and EVs, solar panels and wind farms, all way more detrimental to the environment than fossil fuels. How many of the billionaires that preach climate change have you seen giving up private jets? Their beef? It was a viral video at UN, talking about this very topic and how we should reduce meat consumption; in the lunch break they were all in line at the meat buffet and close to NONE to the vegan one...
In reality, the solution for now is NUCLEAR; zero CO2 emissions (if that actually would matter). But the nuclear plants are closed all over... Germany has no more natural gas, but refuses to do the bloody obvious: restart the nuclear plants!!! Because - you see? - this is not a pragmatic solution to a problem - this is ideology!!!
I USED TO think like you, but I was able to, when presented with facts, change my mind... This is NOT the behavior of a "cultist" - I could argue that YOU are one.
I haven't been "told" anything. I actually READ reliable sources like, you know, CLIMATOLOGISTS, who BTW are the only ones qualified to comment on this as scientists, and almost 100% of whom agree that anthropogenic climate change is quite real. You seem to be exactly what Bill called you, a delusional cultist, judging by the BS buzzwords you use, like WEF (as if the ruling class of the world was the body that first identified and told the world about global warming/climate change). We're done, I'm not wasting any more time responding to your idiocy. And BTW, screw nuclear, totally evil and destructive crap. As Buckminster Fuller said, the sun is a perfect example of a nuclear reactor, and it's also a perfect example of how close one should be to the Earth (not to mention all the harm caused by mining uranium).
When people run out of arguments, they are using insults! You should feel ashamed, Jeff...
John Vaillant, author of “Fire Weather: On the Front Lines of a Burning World” is a MUST read. A fabulous writer, Vaillant documents the development of the tar sands (and that alone is fascinating) and the horrendous Fort McMurray Alberta fire in 2016. These new fires create their own weather systems. You can't put them out with conventional methods. Water has little to no effect when the temperature reaches 950 degrees. It vapourizes before it lands on the ground. And what is burning is not only wood, vegetation and soil, it's a toxic mix of plastics, vinyl, rubber, gasoline, paint, solvents, insulation, roofing material, drywall, wiring, automobiles - everything you can think of that can burn in a home, business or property. No one's talking about the horrific toxins being released into the atmosphere. Almost nothing about the obscene toll these fires inflict on wildlife. We've really f' ed up the planet with fire suppression, deforestation, burning fossil fuels and all the damage from wars.
Thanks Chris. Neal would have loved this post. Gretel
Thanks Gretel. Miss him. Hope you are well.
Living in Santa Fe among many old and new friends. Come visit. G
After being driven out of Santa Fe, I spent weeks camping out on the Taos plateau.
Related to Paul Ehrlich? Fill us rubes in on the inside game.