By Bill Maher
It's summer, when a young man's fancy
turns to wildfires. According to the National Interagency Fire Center,
we currently have 52 large fires burning in 14 states. Colorado, in
particular, is on fire. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been
consumed, thousands of firefighters have been deployed and hundreds of
homes have been burnt to the ground. Likewise, things are predicted to heat up here in Southern California. A new study of the effects of climate change on global fire patterns finds Southern California is "headed into a more fire-prone future" and West Hollywood can expect to become even more flaming than it is now.
The study, led by UC Berkeley scientists, says that by the end of the century, the world will see more frequent and more severe wildfires than we see now, including fires in the tundra and the forests of the Far North. "Tundra fires": shouldn't that phrase alone make you say, "Hmm, maybe there is something to this global warming"? I'm not saying we're in for even more extreme weather, but they say Adele really will be able to "set fire to the rain."
Of course Republicans will dismiss this as bunk because, after all, these are "Berkeley" scientists and they used "16 different global climate models" to gather "global wildfire and climate data for roughly the last decade and examined climate variables that affect fuel availability." And, if that doesn't spell "liberal hoax," I don't know what does.
By not effectively regulating polluters or funding green technology now, Republicans are ensuring a future of more expense, and possibly even our ultimate demise. Isn't that some serious stuff to be politically toying with -- the survival of Man?
It's time we realized "the adults in the room" aren't the ones living for the immediate gratification of "right now," with no regard for long-term consequences.
