The following was sent to me: it contains the latest Republican
talking points on the So Cal fires.
The So Cal fires are creating a problem for Republicans. First, people are angry because resources that could have been used to fight fires were diverted to Iraq. Second, although my reading has convinced me that global warming has only a minor role in the fires [and idiotic land use policy has a major role ] the
more below--
So Cal situation will spread to more of the US with increased global warming. Already, there is drought in the Southeast.
The reaction of the Republicans is to look for a scapegoat. They have found one in the Sierra Club. This email is being spread around Southern Cal:
"Appeals were filed most often by anti-logging
>> groups, including the
>>> Sierra Club, Alliance for Wild Rockies, and Forest
>> Conservation
>>> The GAO examined 762 U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
>> proposals to thin forests and prevent fires during the past two
>> years. According to the study, slightly more than half the proposals
>> were not subject to third-party appeal. Of those proposals subject
>> to appeal, third parties challenged 59 percent.
>>>
>>>Council. According to the GAO, 84 interest groups
>> filed more than
>>> 400 appeals of Forest Service proposals. The
>> appeals delayed
>>> efforts to treat 900,000 acres of forests and cost
>> the federal
>>> government millions of dollars to address.
>>>
>>> Forest Service officials estimate they spend
>> nearly half their time, and $250 million each year, preparing for the appeals and procedural challenges launched by activists.
>>>
>>> "The report demonstrates that the appeals
>> needlessly delay federal efforts to prevent wildfires, and if the process is not streamlined, millions of acres will be lost this summer," said Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico).
>>>
>>> "The American people will no longer tolerate
>> management by wildfire," Domenici added.
>>> "This finding is nothing short of appalling,
>> especially when you think of the catastrophic losses suffered in last year’s [2002]horrific fire season alone," said House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-California).
>>>
>>> "These were not only losses of forest, endangered
>> species, and wildlife habitat, they were losses of human life and family property," Pombo said.
>>
This email was obviously written in 2003. It probably contains major errors. However, it is being used to redirect
people's anger.