Trump: Environmental laws making California wildfires 'so much worse'

[Swordsmyth]

President Trump (http://thehill.com/people/donald-trump) appeared on Sunday to place blame for massive wildfires in California on the state's environmental laws, including its water and forest management policies, saying that such regulations have made the blazes "so much worse."
"California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized," Trump tweeted. "It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean. Must also tree clear to stop fire spreading!"

More at: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/400484-trump-california-environmental-laws-make-wildfires-so-much-worse?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=idealmedia&utm_campaign=thehill.com&utm_term=68731&utm_content=1

[Anti Federalist]

Known this for over 30 years, when the first widespread restrictions on logging went into place.

People were warned that this would happen.

But of course, it can never be the fault of bone headed government fatwas, no, it's climate change.

[Republicanguy]

I would state more to do with population and the environment is more the cause.

[Swordsmyth]

I would state more to do with population and the environment is more the cause.

As if you would know. :rolleyes:

[Pauls' Revere]

All of the above.

[pcosmar]

I would state more to do with population and the environment is more the cause.

but you are already known to be full of crap. of course you could Flaunt your ignorance like a hero's cape if you like.

[Anti Federalist]

I would state more to do with population and the environment is more the cause.

Harvest rates (logging) have dropped 2/3.

Over half of all CA forested land (57%) is owned by the fedgov.

Only a tiny percentage of the population lives on forested land, owned by anybody.

https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2018/3798/forest-watershed-management-040418.pdf

Massive fires were the pre-historic norm.

Human intervention reduced those over the last century.

Now human intervention and action is considered evil and to be eliminated, so the fires have, literally, come roaring back.

[Republicanguy]

but you are already known to be full of crap. of course you could Flaunt your ignorance like a hero's cape if you like.

No it is just you who thinks everything is the government's fault.

[Swordsmyth]

No it is just you who thinks everything is the government's fault.

Anyone with a brain knows that is the case for most things.

[Suzanimal]

No it is just you who thinks everything is the government's fault.

:bigpoo:
-rep

[fedupinmo]

No it is just you who thinks everything is the government's fault.

Dammit, I forgot to switch the rep to neg... Force of habit plus little coffee absorption I guess. Anybody got a double ding?

[Swordsmyth]

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross ordered the National Marines Fisheries Service (https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2018/08/us-secretary-commerce-wilbur-ross-issues-directive-national-marine), which is under his jurisdiction, to take control of water use in California and override any efforts to protect endangered species. "The protection of life and property takes precedence over any current agreements regarding the use of water in the areas of California affected by wildfires," Ross said in a statement.
The directive asks the federal agency (https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2018/08/us-secretary-commerce-wilbur-ross-issues-directive-national-marine) to “make clear” that water can be used as necessary to fight the fires, even if they impact endangered species.
The National Marine Fisheries Service works with the state to protect the delta smelt and Chinook salmon, two fish species under threat because of California's drought, according to ABC News. (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-overrides-endangered-species-protections-prioritize-water/story?id=57115350) The two agencies limit the amount the water taken from rivers to protect fish.

“American lives and property are at stake and swift action is needed,” Ross said.

More at: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/09/commerce-chief-scolds-california-over-environmental-policies-says-hinder-firefighters-lives-are-at-stake.html

[Swordsmyth]

Dammit, I forgot to switch the rep to neg... Force of habit plus little coffee absorption I guess. Anybody got a double ding?

I hit him once for you.

[axiomata]

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/built-to-burn/

[Anti Globalist]

Maybe California should start banning people from camping in forests. Surely that'll stop all the wildfires from happening.

[euphemia]

It’s a zoo out there. Nobody seems to understand that forests need to be managed. Wood is a renewable resource.

[Republicanguy]

An article in the guardian by Matthew Hurteau, a New Mexico biology professor.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/13/donald-trump-wildfires-science-forest-management

[dannno]

An article in the guardian by Matthew Hurteau, a New Mexico biology professor.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/13/donald-trump-wildfires-science-forest-management



But that is not what’s going on. For one thing, a large portion of the area burning is not forest.

Uhh.. ok...

PARADISE, CA - NOVEMBER 09: Smoke rises beyond PG&E's Poe Dam off I-70, in Pulga, Calif., November 9, 2018, near the reported start of the Camp Fire blaze that destroyed the town of Paradise and killed at least six people. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)


https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SJM-L-LINES-1110-10.jpg



https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/Paradise-fire-map-update-How-did-the-Camp-fire-start-in-Paradise-California-1043721.jpg?r=1541927300116

[Republicanguy]

Is the biology professor wrong entirely?

[Swordsmyth]

California Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to veto a 2016 bipartisan bill aimed at mitigating wildfire risks from power lines and utility equipment has become the focus of critics as fires rage across the state.
Wildfires have scorched more than 221,000 acres (https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/12/size-destruction-of-california-wildfires/) across California since Thursday, and Brown’s critics are pointing to the two-year-old veto as news reports suggest power lines may have sparked the deadliest wildfire in California’s history.
“He has done nothing to harden those assets,” state Sen. John Moorlach, a Republican, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. (RELATED: Jerry Brown Is ‘Not Correct’ About California Wildfires, Scientist Says) (https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/13/jerry-brown-not-correct-wildfires/)
Moorlach sponsored the 2016 bill, called SB 1463, which would have given local governments a bigger role in putting together fire risk maps with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting agency.
The bill also required the CPUC to work with utilities to mitigate wildfire risks, including putting transmission lines underground if necessary. The bill passed through both state legislative chambers, but Brown vetoed (https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/SB_1463_Veto_Message.pdf) the bill in September 2016. Brown said state officials “have been doing just that through the existing proceeding on re-threat maps and re-safety regulations.”


Two years later, Moorlach said the state agencies and utilities have made little progress in mitigating the risk of wildfires faced by communities across the state.
“Well they’ve been working on it for like eight years and they haven’t gotten it done. This is really simple stuff,” Moorlach said. “Utilities are just sort of hanging onto the money.”
Journalist Katy Grimes also criticized Brown’s veto. The conservative journalist tweeted (https://twitter.com/KATYSaccitizen/status/1062350097168486402) that “Brown had many chances to address CA’s increasing wildfires since his election in 2011, but instead chose to play politics.”

More at: https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/13/california-jerry-brown-wildfire/