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Climate Change Doubled the Size of Forest Fires In Western US, Says Study (time.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TIME: Man-made climate change has doubled the total area burned by forest fires in the Western U.S. in the past three decades, according to new research. Damage from forest fires has risen dramatically in recent decades, with the total acres burned in the U.S. rising from 2.9 million in 1985 to 10.1 million in 2015, according to National Interagency Fire Center data. Suppression costs paid by the federal government now top $2 billion. Now a new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has found that a significant portion of the increase in land burned by forest fires can be attributed to man-made climate change. Other factors are also at play, including natural climate shifts and a change in how humans use land, but man-made climate change has had the biggest impact. That trend will likely continue as temperatures keep rising, researchers said. Climate change contributes to forest fires in a number of ways. Fires kill off trees and other plants that eventually dry and act as the fuel to feed massive wildfires. Global warming also increases the likelihood of the dry, warm weather in which wildfires can thrive. Average temperatures in the Western U.S. rose by 2.5 degree Fahrenheit since 1970, outpacing temperature rise elsewhere on the globe, according to the research.

5 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is this in the US only?? by Orgasmatron · · Score: 0, Troll

    What are you, a child? This is serious stuff, not a place for logic or consistency. Global warming doesn't act the same everywhere. It causes fire where there are fires, and it causes ice where there is ice, and it causes floods where more water is unwanted, and droughts where more water is wanted. It corrupts hard drives here, but makes encryption unbreakable there.

    You can never tell when it is ready to strike, or how. It may enlarge your prostate today, but undercook your neighbor's pasta tomorrow. The only safe thing to do is hand over your rights to your government and your money to your betters so they can get nicer private jets to enjoy while flying between their parties.

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  2. Re:Whatever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Has the earth ever not had climate change? It's natural folks!

    I'd be careful making statements like that even in jest, especially after January 20, 2017.

    After Hillary wins the election and is inaugurated, statements opposing, criticizing, or questioning AGW could get you ass-raped for decades in federal prison.

  3. Re:Total BS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    The fact that the argument keeps changing should tell anyone everything they need to know.

    Not to mention we're still in a cold period.

    And the notion that there's some global temperature that climate is "supposed to be' is patently unscientific and ignorant of history.

  4. Re:Unh-uh by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1, Troll

    It just struck me how absofuckinglutely hilarious it is that we see all the Trumpers going round wearing "You're a cuck if you're not for Trump" T-shirts when it's *Trump* who's aiming to make *them* cuckolds. The ones who actually have wives or girlfriends, that is, assuming that any of them do.

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  5. Re:Choices by ganjadude · · Score: 1, Troll

    "the scientists" huh? nice appeal to authority there

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