Who Caused the Fires?

By Tom Haughey

On the evening news we’ve all seen forest fires gobbling up hillsides and homes in Southern California. There is, however, considerable difference of opinion as to why the fires are raging. In Sacramento various government officials point the finger eastward and (as usual) blame The Donald. The problem, they assert, is global warming and Trump is the reason things are getting worse (since he pulled the US out of the Paris climate accords). There is a weak spot in such reasoning, however. Actually there are a number of weak spots. . . To begin with, our departure from Paris did not reverse the air quality gains of the last couple of decades. Furthermore, the fight against global warming (or at least the state’s plan for fighting it) may actually be the cause for the fires rather than a preventive.

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