Thread by @AlexEpstein

I angered many climate catastrophists with my claim "The cause of dangerous wildfires is not the one degree of global warming in the last 150 years--it is bad, 'green' forest management." But as I will explain in this thread, this is 100% true.

https://twitter.com/AlexEpstein/status/1303849214493908992

Gavin Newsom and other California leaders are blaming the dangerous, out-of-control wildfires in CA on climate change. But temperatures have risen 1 degree C in the last 150 years. Is it really possible that that amount of warming makes dangerous wildfires inevitable? No.

With proper forest management we can prevent anything resembling the dangerous, out-of-control wildfires we are experiencing today. And we could do so even if the CA climate were far more fire-prone than it is today. (It has actually been far more fire-prone in the past.)

The key to limiting the danger of wildfires is managing the forest so as to lower the "fuel load"--the amount of dead wood debris that exists in a given area. This can be done by regular "controlled burns" or by manually removing the debris as is often done in logging operations.

Terrible forest management is the root cause of today's wildfires. Policymakers have prevented controlled burns, debris clearing, and logging--jacking up the "fuel load" to incredibly dangerous levels. The obvious solution is rational forest management.

Unfortunately, CA policymakers, instead of admitting that the root cause of our wildfire problems is their bad forest management policies--something fully within their control to fix--blame rising CO2 levels, a minor factor that they have no real ability to affect for decades.

Why do I say rising CO2 levels and temps are a minor factor? Because it’s hard to determine any definite influence. Temps are rising slowly, and rising temps tend to cause more precipitation. The influence is certainly tiny compared to irrational forest management.

The negative effect of rising global temperatures on California wildfire susceptibility in particular is dubious because past centuries had far more fire-prone climates. The Palmer Drought Index shows a slight decrease in California drought severity since 1900.

Historical evidence shows us that prior to manmade CO2 emissions CA experienced regular "megadroughts" that could last over a century. The modern era has been very lush by comparison. Even if CA could lower global CO2 levels we could easily suffer a regional drought.

If CA policymakers want to fix forest management *and* slow rising CO2 levels, the only way to do that would be to liberate low-carbon energy innovation, especially in reliable nuclear. Instead, CA policymakers have criminalized nuclear and are shutting down CA's nuclear plants.

CA policymakers' "solution" to rising CO2 levels has been to mandate that we use a lot of unreliable solar and wind, which makes electricity unaffordable and unreliable. This has caused blackouts *and* has contributed to wildfires by taking money away from powerline maintenance.

The path forward is simple: focus on the main cause, forest management, which is totally within our control. Stop pretending that lowering CO2 levels would bring about some fire-free paradise--and that it is possible near-term. Stop mandating "unreliables." Decriminalize nuclear.

If you'd like to know more about a rational, pro-freedom path forward on energy, environment, and climate, go to EnergyTalkingPoints.com. Please refer your policymakers, especially if, like me, you live in CA. This amazing state is burning in irrationality.