Climate change is the cause of mega-fires in the West. Yet, the President thinks the cause is the lack of raking leaves. Science denialism has led to a colossal debacle in this country. Not only with fires, but with the coronavirus, as well.

Raking leaves is an activity that some people dread each year. For others, it’s a form of exercise. Raking leaves in the forests is also a way to put out the fires in California. I’ve done my share of raking leaves. I’ve backpacked, hiked and explored the forests in Colorado and other locations in the west. I never realized that removing leaves would prevent the fires burning now in the American West.

For the President of the United States, raking leaves is the way to put out the fires in California, and elsewhere in the West. Trump made this claim again in a meeting with California officials. To Trump it’s simply a matter of clearing the forest floor. But to fire experts and scientists, this not true. Summer temperatures have continued to rise. The forest floor is drier than ever. Winds are fiercer and unpredictable. Fires are burning at temperatures never witnessed. The fires are so severe that fire experts have coined a new term: mega-fires.

And yet, at a meeting in California, Trump dismissed anything related to climate change. I’ve read the minutes of the meeting and watched some video of the interaction. Here is just one part of the Trump meeting with fire officials and the Governor of California. I found it painful to watch the Governor of California and other officials talk with Trump. Deep down they can’t stand the man. They know he’s a liar and makes up his own facts. He believes climate change is a Chinese hoax. Yet here they are, as the West is burning, kissing Trump’s rump. They plead with him to accept the reality of climate change. Yet, we know climate change is the cause of mega-fires

This is a short dialog between Wade Crowfoot, Secretary for Natural Resources of California and Mr. Trump. Crowfoot is an expert on natural resources and knows what’s causing the worst fire season on record. You can read the text, and watch the video. If you watch the video it becomes clear that Trump simply laughs at Crowfoot who tries to explain the danger present because of climate change. It’s disgusting to watch the President’s disdain for science.

The Dialog: Climate change is the cause of mega-fires

I don’t know about you, but if I were there I would call for a Nancy Pelosi moment. I would want someone to stand, point her finger and say, no you’re wrong Mr. President.

Trump’s responses to Mr. Crawfoot’s comments highlight the President’s extreme science denialism. In this case he argues that it will simply get cooler. That’s should stop the fires. But, wait. When he first started talking about the Covid-19 pandemic, he said it would get hotter, which would put a stop to the virus. That hasn’t worked out, has it.

Then Trump pulled the “science doesn’t know” card on Crawfoot. In the midst of the worst fire season on record in California, the President sticks to the rules of conspiracy theorists. He further’s his disdain for factual information. The only way that Trump can make sense of the fires in California forests to lay blame on those who manage the forests. Crawfoot and the Governor of California know that forest management is important to mitigate against future forest fires. But, its only one part of the solution. Instead we know that climate change is the cause of mega-fires.

Trump is literally playing with fire when he continues he obsession with rejecting science.

The Danger of Science Denialism

Science denialism is not new. Climate change denial is an organized machine. A resource that is helpful to tease out this machine is The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society. The authors of this Oxford Handbook explain how contrarian scientists, fossil fuel corporations, think tanks, and front groups have assaulted main stream science. They’ve done this for decades. “Climategate” was manufactured by using very minor errors in an IPCC report, and blew it into another “gate.”

Now, these deniers have the President of the United States as one of its members. And that is dangerous.

Most Americans accept the science of climate change. Two-thirds of Americans say the federal government is not doing enough to reduce the effects of climate change (Pew Research Center). Compared to more than a decade ago, more Americans say protecting the environment and dealing with global climate change should be top priorities for the president and Congress.

There has been an effort in the Trump administration to roll back regulations designed to protect the environment. Yet, the American people clearly disagree with these policy changes.

Science denialism is supported by the media, especially YouTube. Misinformation around climate change and its impacts are still commonplace in some prominent mainstream media. For example, it is easy to find climate change misinformation videos on YouTube. You can easily find videos such as “What they haven’t told you about climate change,” or “The truth about climate change,” or “Actual Scientists Says: Climate change is a scam!” According to a study reported in Time Magazine, even after searching using terms such as climate change, global warming, temperature change, the “Up Next” section listed many videos that pointed you to misinformation about the term you search for.

Having the President of the United State as a science denier is a danger to all Americans.

Conclusion

The reality of climate change is affecting most of the United States. Flooding, drought, rising shorelines, high heat-indexes, and mega-fires are examples. It is no longer possible to ignore the factual basis that the earth’s climate is changing. It’s changing because of the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. The result is an increase in the temperature of the earth. Meanwhile, it is evident that climate change is the cause of mega-fires

There is a 97% consensus on global warming. There are scientists who don’t agree with this. But they tend to be scientists without backgrounds in climate science. There is near 100% agreement that climate change is real among scientists with backgrounds and expertise in climate science. Here is a video that might help you with your understanding of the reality of climate change. The scientist featured in this video is John Cook. He is a research professor at the Center for Climate Change Communications at George Mason University. He founded the Skeptical Science, a website which has been acclaimed by many scientific organizations.

The foolishness of Trump’s science denial is unacceptable. Teenagers that I’ve worked with for a great deal of time have a better understanding of the earth. They know the earth’s atmosphere is heating up. Teenagers know that in their short lifetime that hurricanes, flooding, drought conditions, and fires are common place. They also have led one of the largest climate crisis protests in the world.

It’s time for the politics of this country come to terms with the reality of science. It is shocking that the man in the White House and the man at the head of the Senate possess the incompetence that they do.

Mr. President, raking the forest floor will not help put out the fires. Get your head out of the muck, and step up.