Trump vs Biden: Forest Fires

Many factors contribute to the megafires that have increased in number of late. The firefighting community widely recognizes that the hot and dry conditions associated with global warming are the primary driving cause behind the massive forest fires of late, and that not enough environmental laws currently exist to protect California forests. Firefighting groups note that there is not a shortage of water to fight the fires despite long-standing arguments about what percentage of water should go to farmers and what percentage should be in rivers and lakes. Overall, citing one factor as the sole cause of such fires is simplistic. 

While suburbs are threatened by such fires, poor governance increases the threat of climate-related catastrophes in many additional areas. In California, 57% of 33 million acres of forest are owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service or federal Bureau of Land Management, with only 3% controlled by state and local governments. Ultimately, the state cannot compel the federal government to manage its forests. 

The Case for Trump

Better forest management, including logging and the clearing out of lower vegetation, would help eliminate the risk factor of excess fuel being present to feed the megafires. "Congress and the President could help by providing more money to the US Forest Service and other entities for fuel management,” says UCLA climate scientist Glen MacDonald.

“Climate arsonist” is a loaded term with unique legal implications and is an aggressive and simplistic way to refer to one individual’s impact on the climate.  

For further reading…

https://www.sciencealert.com/science-expert-trump-california-wildfire-tweets

https://www.axios.com/trump-tweets-california-wildfires-environmental-laws-4dab9df4-f92f-4f1c-bb80-2fe2771d4b21.html

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article245727925.html

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/aug/06/donald-trump/california-wildfires-made-worse-hot-dry-conditions/

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/biden-climate-floods-wildfires-relocation.html

https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-how-global-warming-has-increased-us-wildfires

https://www.politifact.com/article/2014/sep/23/10-fact-checks-about-climate-change/

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/jan/09/donald-trump/trump-repeats-overly-simplistic-false-claim-califo/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/06/climate/trump-california-fire-tweets.html