Bushfire Sense and Nonsense
To the Editor
Climate Conversation Group
11 September 2019
Bushfires are normal events in this season in tropical and sub-tropical latitudes of the southern hemisphere — in Australia, Africa and South America. Even Captain Cook noted many fires in Eastern Australia in 1770, long before the era of “global warming” hysteria.
What is unusual is the number and ferocity of recent Australian fires.
Destructive bushfires need three things: a big load of dry fuel, hot dry winds and a point of ignition.
A big load of dry fuel, close to towns and buildings, in this season, is a sign of gross mismanagement (seen most commonly in public lands). That fuel should have been raked, dozed or burnt in safer weather conditions.
Hot dry winds are not unusual in this season in these latitudes — no use whinging.
But how do over a hundred bushfires start suddenly? Machinery occasionally starts fires but not 120 fires in a short time. There have been no lightning storms so who are the arsonists or idiots starting these fires?
Viv Forbes
Washpool
Queensland 4306
Australia
Here is a true story about a fire that Viv and Judy fought: The Fire with Nine Lives (pdf, 82.5 KB, unpublished). They think you might enjoy it.
Views: 195
Australia is becoming hotter and drier. It would be very odd if that meant fewer and less destructive fires.
But of course if you believe you know more about the science than climate scientists you can believe anything you like. Knowledge and rational thinking won’t stop you indulging yourself…
Looks like you’ve got yourself a fiery Frenchie, here, Richard. I’ll get some popcorn.
There are non-partisan coal-friendly solutions for this unprecedented run of hot weather…
We may to get rid of anything that burns, we’ve already done a lot of that so it should help.
Sometimes bad things happen to good planets…
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/11/how-actually-dare-people-politicise-the-bushfires-by-claiming-scientifically-its-linked-to-the-climate-crisis
Brigitte,
You say:
it’s difficult to confirm this, as the Australian temperature records are riddled with adjustments over recent years that had the effect of lowering past temperatures to accentuate or even create a warming trend. This is well documented on Jo Nova’s website and others.
But even in a warming climate, many fires can be prevented by sensible management, as Viv describes. So read the letter you’re commenting on. Viv explains the simple requirements for a bushfire. How you can shift the blame to human emissions is beyond understanding. Emissions are claimed to cause a little warming, not a tropical firestorm.
Don’t make up things I said, such as, “you believe you know more about the science than climate scientists.” I do not. Mainstream climate scientists refuse to answer my questions. My beliefs have nothing to do with it.
I must repeat: stop giving abuse.
Simon,
Brilliant cartoon, thanks.
Australia isn’t getting significantly hotter if one looks at all the raw data. Go back and look at the records and newspaper articles of the federation drought. Homogenisation and truncated records as well as adjustments have created most of the warming. Here are all the station records put together as a music video.
https://youtu.be/cWgdD-TYxKo
The full set of rainfall records also have no trend .
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/top-cop-blames-children-arsonists-for-starting-queensland-bushfires-20190910-p52pv0.html
No evidence at all that areas where the fires are currently burning have become any hotter or drier than they have been in previous decades.
http://joannenova.com.au/2019/09/its-a-science-emergency-how-many-fires-can-australia-stop-with-solar-panels-and-windfarms/
Captain Cook, the first recorded whitefella to see Australia, documented many bushfires in NSW as he sailed past that coast. My paternal grandfather, from the same neck of the woods as Cook, a settler on a small ‘selection’ in the Blue Mountains in the late 19th century, endured the Jubilee drought around the turn of the twentieth century and was financially ruined by the total lack of rain for nine years.
People who do not read or understand history, such as new commenter Brigette Allain, are doomed to repeat historical mistakes through ignorance of them. She reminds me of the old truism that it is better to be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth (metaphorically speaking) and removie all doubt.
In my view, the most serious consequence of Green ignorance in forested areas around the world is the idiotic and short-sighted failure to reduce the fuel load of brush and dead timber when it is safe to have controlled burns. Add this to idiot criminal firebugs, and we see ral disasters.
Australian air and sea surface temperatures have increased , plus eastern and coastal rainfall has decreased:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/#tabs=Tracker&tracker=trend-maps&tQ=map%3Drain%26area%3Daus%26season%3D0112%26period%3D1970
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Thanks, Simon. You claim “eastern and coastal rainfall has decreased.” Click the “Time series” link and you’ll see rainfall has clearly increased for 120 years.
http://joannenova.com.au/2019/09/fires-in-august-in-1951-in-queensland-were-described-as-catastrophic-when-co2-was-311ppm/
Correct Richard, but I was referring to changes in rainfall distribution. The irony is that the parts of the country where people live are those where the rainfall is decreasing.
Of course, the nutters over at JoNova insist that the BoM are wrong and intentionally misrepresent and manipulate the data for unknown nefarious ends. Just like on this side of the Tasman. Apparently, the conspiracy is global.
Maggy,
Thanks, astonishing, isn’t it? Jo puts it well: it’s not a climate emergency but a history emergency. Everyone’s forgotten even the recent past. Naturally, that’s because it’s not being taught.
Simon,
Well, you didn’t say so. But I can’t see any evidence, so how does that work?
Simon you can’t even read what you link to. Go back and look at the rainfall map 1900 – present
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/#tabs=Tracker&tracker=trend-maps&tQ=map%3Drain%26area%3Daus%26season%3D0112%26period%3D1900
Most of the eastern and coastal region is greenish. That is, it has got wetter. Winter has got a bit drier, Spring and summer wetter