Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says blame environmentalists, not climate change, for California wildfires
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke believes if you're going to fault anyone for the wildfires raging across California, it should be the environmentalists.
Climate change has "nothing to do" with the blazes, Zinke told KCRA. There's no need to worry about drought conditions and high temperatures, because the real issue is limits on logging. "America is better than letting these radical groups control the dialogue about climate change," he said. "Extreme environmentalists have shut down public access. They talk about habitat and yet they are willing to burn it up."
This has been the state's most destructive fire season in recorded history, with more than 1,000 square miles burned so far and at least nine people dead. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has said these fires, fueled by dry brush and extreme temperatures, are "the new normal." Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Guardian that in the western United States, "we know that the wildfire activity in recent decades — at least half of it — is attributed to human-caused climate change. This is a reality that we have created and that we are living with, but this is an evolving situation."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a USA Today op-ed last week, Zinke wrote that logging is a responsible way to manage a forest, and is good for the economy. Climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote in The Guardian last week that the current forest management strategies do leave forests dense and easier to burn, but the policies were enacted to protect the timber industry.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
What to know when planning an awe-inspiring hike on the Inca Trail
The Week Recommends Peru's most famous trail leads to Machu Picchu
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Lead poisoning remains a threat
The Explainer The toxin is built into our lives
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Should you use a 529 plan? What to know about this college savings option.
The Explainer This tax-advantaged savings account can be used to pay tuition or buy textbooks
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plants
Speed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Strong Taiwan earthquake kills 9, injures hundreds
Speed Read At magnitude 7.4, this was Taiwan's biggest earthquake in 25 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
EPA sets auto pollution rule that boosts EVs
Speed Read The Biden administration's new rules will push US automakers toward electric vehicles and hybrids
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
More than 150 people dead following earthquake in Nepal
Speed Read The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers continue digging through rubble
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Nearly 1,000 birds dead in one night after striking building in Chicago
Speed Read The birds died after colliding with the McCormick Place convention center next to Lake Michigan
By Justin Klawans Published
-
At least 1 dead at Burning Man as thousands remain stranded from flooding
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Earthquake rattles Southern California as Tropical Storm Hilary hits
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Hawaii reportedly downplayed threat of wildfires for years prior to Maui blaze
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published