Numerous explanations have been given for the fires in the West, especially California, and proposals offered for how to deal with them. Here are some . . .
Bjørn Lomborg in the New York Post: Most important is “the way we manage forest lands and develop our landscape.”. . .
Randal O’Toole: “We live in a fire zone where roughly 1 percent of the natural landscape is going to burn each year no matter what we do. . . . we need to take responsibility to protect our own property and not rely on the Forest Service or other adjacent landowners to protect us.”. . .
Ron Bailey: Three factors: The western climate since 1950 has been hotter; we’ve had 100 years of forest mismanagement; too many people are living in the woods.
Myron Ebell in the Detroit News: Commercial logging can prevent future fires.
Please check any that apply:
1. lightning
2. human careless fire use
3. too much fuel on the ground (dead trees, brush, logging debris
4. hotter summers
5. bureaucracy and regs that require years to manage even small plots
6. green purists who oppose almost all logging, even thinning
7. former clearcuts that have been allowed to develop very crowded second growth
8. BLM and Forest Service budgets that short change management to control and prevent fires
Meanwhile politicians, environmental purists, and most of the media are looking for simple answers.