The blazes in the Pacific Northwest are severe, but coming under control. Across the country, Hurricane Harvey set records for devastation that might have already been broken by Irma. It’s a scary scenario, but official response has been so fast and effective that catastrophic loss of life has been mostly avoided. Irma was stronger, larger and on land longer than Katrina, yet the death tolls can’t even be compared. In the face of this amazing response, the left has literally nothing for which they can criticize Trump. Faced with their disappointment that Irma didn’t wreak more havoc, they have taken to blaming Trump for the very events of nature themselves.
Complaints
The voice of the left has been predictable. They say that manmade climate change is the sole reason we have seen forest fires, hurricanes, solar flares and earthquakes over the past few weeks. They say that Trump’s politics are responsible for the devastating climate change, and some even go so far as to say that “mother nature” is protesting Trump’s presidency.
Yes, I’m serious.
These are all pervasive claims across the left and social media. In fact, the left’s media darling Jennifer Lawrence called it “Mother Nature’s rage and wrath.” She went on to describe that she can only cope with the situation by retreating to her shrine of the Kardashians. You know how stupid and ridiculous all of this is, but we’re still going to break it down piece by piece in the desperate attempt to keep logic and sanity alive in America.
Timing
Ok. For the sake of argument, we will pretend that the most extreme predictions of the radical climate alarmists is completely true. We’ll set aside data for now and assume they’re right when they say that extreme weather and catastrophic events are spiking and accelerating all because of anthropogenic climate change and political policy.
Even with that extreme stance, by their own models Trump can’t possibly have impacted the current natural disasters. The most recklessly radical models still don’t come close to suggesting that minor policy changes made within the last nine months could impact the current hurricane or wildfire season. Their own “science” fully exonerates Trump from the disasters we are currently enduring.
Fires
With that out of the way, let’s discuss some real science. The theory behind climate-change induced wildfires is that warmer air draws moisture away from topsoil and contributes to faster growing fires. Seems reasonable. The problem is that the 20-year trend in North America and the rest of the world has been an increase in topsoil moisture. Droughts have been in sharp decline, and the ensuing precipitation has outstripped the impact of any rising temperatures. Knowing that, there are two fire trends we need to discuss.
First, average acres burned in wildfires is in fact up. It’s way up. The last 10 years saw almost double the total acreage burned than in the late 80s and early 90s. Before you score one for the climate change kids, let’s look at the other number. Average number of fires is way down. In fact, it’s down by the exact same proportion that acreage is up. If you want a simple explanation, conservation efforts have reduced the number of natural fires and impact of the logging industry. This has contributed to a huge rise in fuel, thus making wildfires bigger and less frequent.
Extreme Weather
If feels like I’m drawn back to this every other week. Even accounting for an anomalously intense hurricane season in 2017, extreme weather is in massive decline both globally and in the U.S. Let’s take a moment to remember that Harvey was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in 12 years (Katrina happened in 2005). You can actually check the registry that shows every cyclone event in the last 60 years, and there is no question that tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes are all way below average from even 20 years ago. Tornadoes, extreme thunderstorms and all other types of weather follow the same pattern.
I didn’t touch on the insanity of trying to blame Trump or climate change for earthquakes and solar flares, but we need to make note of this. The left is now so viciously resolute in their condemnation of Trump that they have abandoned any pretense that they aren’t being completely ridiculous. It might be good for a laugh if so many Americans weren’t taken in by it. They have entered a state of dangerous delusion, and they have made it clear that they would rather see Americans dead and their country destroyed than admit even a single positive moment in a Trump presidency.
~ American Liberty Report
