Michael Shellenberger, Time magazine's Hero of the Environment, Green Book Award winner, and the founder of Environmental Progress, says blaming climate change for a lack of rain in Los Angeles is "ridiculous."
Shellenberger published an annual rainfall chart for LA going back to 1877 that shows no drying trend. There are wet years and dry years.
"Climate change isn't responsible for the LA fires," he said. "(Governor) Gavin Newsom and (LA Mayor) Karen Bass are. The media blame climate change to divert attention from the incompetence of the politicians they like."
Shellenberger said that in the coming weeks, the public will hear — from Newsom and Bass — that nothing could've been done to stop the fires.
"Those will be lies," he said.
Newsom cut funding for preventing wildfires and failed to establish sufficient water resources for fighting fires, explained Shellenberger. Bass cut $17.5 million in funding for the LA Fire Department and took a trip to Africa knowing of the wildfire risk.
"It's true that California, in general, and Los Angeles in particular, are fiery places," he said. "It's true that Santa Ana winds made the fires worse. But Newsom and Bass have known about those hazards for all of their careers."
As of the latest reports, one arson arrest has been made in connection with the LA wildfires. The arrest relates to the Kenneth Fire, where a man was detained by local residents and subsequently arrested on suspicion of arson.
