Articles tagged with: Wildfires

ARTICLE REVIEWS

Article by The Daily Caller oversimplifies drivers of wildfires and downplays role of climate change

in The Daily Caller, by Chris White

— 28 Sep 2020

"The causes of the increase in burned area in the western US in recent decades – and the record-setting fires of 2020 – are complex, driven by a mix of a changing climate, a 10..

Article by Michael Shellenberger mixes accurate and inaccurate claims in support of a misleading and overly simplistic argumentation about climate change

in Forbes, by Michael Shellenberger

— 06 Jul 2020

"Shellenberger’s article promoting his new book “Apocalypse Never” includes a mix of accurate, misleading, and patently false statements. While it is useful to push back agai..

Breitbart article on California fires misleads by omitting explanation of climate’s influence

in Breitbart, by Joel Pollak

— 19 Dec 2017

"The Breitbart article provides a poorly reasoned and misleading view of how climate change has contributed to recent fires in California and the rest of the western USA. The most ..

Global Warming and fire suppression practices boost wildfires in the US West, as correctly reported in The Atlantic

in The Atlantic, by Robinson Meyer

— 11 Sep 2017

"The article provides an excellent summary of how rising air temperatures are leading to drier conditions and more fire activity among forests in parts of the western United States..

CLAIM REVIEWS

Brush rake attachments are primarily used to pile up heavy forest debris as part of active thinning, harvesting, and removal projects

CLAIM
“this is [...] a brush rake. It's used for clearing underbrush and debris from the forest floor that builds up and creates fuel for wild fires. Now you can stop looking stupid trying to make fun of Trump telling California to rake the forest.”

SOURCE: Facebook users, Facebook

Published: 04 Nov 2020

VERDICT

Climate change, forest management and several other causes contribute to wildfire severity and total area burned in the western United States

CLAIM
“Forest fires are caused by poor management. Not by climate change.”

SOURCE: Anonymous, Facebook

Published: 16 Sep 2020

VERDICT

Western US wildfires are not the result of widespread arson

CLAIM
a distressing number of the [West coast] fires are not accidents, and willful arson is the cause.

SOURCE: Glen Morgan, We The Governed

Published: 14 Sep 2020

VERDICT

Climate change is one factor affecting how fires in Australia burn, regardless of whether arsonists or lightning started them

CLAIM
the bushfires [in Australia] were caused by arsonists and a series of lightning strikes, not 'climate change'

SOURCE: Sean Adl-Tabatabai, Thomas D. Williams, NewsPunch, Breitbart

Published: 08 Jan 2020

VERDICT

President Trump’s claim that water supply policy has worsened California wildfires is baseless

CLAIM
California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean.

SOURCE: President Donald Trump, Twitter

Published: 07 Aug 2018

VERDICT

INSIGHTS

Of the many factors that cause wildfires, the influence of climate change and human activities is growing

— 16 Oct 2023

Although there are multiple things at play when it comes to wildfires, climate change is becoming increasingly important. Wildfires are the result of complex interactions between b...

A discussion with experts on California wildfire links to climate change

— 16 Mar 2018

In many of these conversations, the question is framed in a fairly reductionist way: “Did global warming cause the California fires?” A more nuanced and scientifically-answerab...