Neil Young Blasts Trump Over California Wildfires Tweet: 'That's What Climate Change Looks Like'

[babylonsister]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-trump-california-wildfires-754627/?fbclid=IwAR1gusLPr_IoDkLi984fm8L2caKxwx2Ybmjx61hI-I4IC83acr0t7DGaPDA

November 11, 2018 2:31PM ET
Neil Young Blasts Trump Over California Wildfires Tweet: ‘That’s What Climate Change Looks Like’
Rocker whose Malibu-area home was destroyed in blaze writes, “California is vulnerable – not because of poor forest management as DT (our so-called president) would have us think”
By Daniel Kreps


Neil Young issued a dispatch on his Archives site to blast Donald Trump’s tweets regarding the California wildfires. The rocker also revealed that his own home near Malibu had been destroyed in the blazes that have thus far caused historic damage in both northern and southern California.

“California is vulnerable – not because of poor forest management as DT (our so-called president) would have us think. As a matter of fact this is not a forest fire that rages on as I write this,” Young wrote. “We are vulnerable because of Climate Change; the extreme weather events and our extended drought is part of it.”

Young went on to explain the science behind the California wildfires and why Trump is a “Denier” of climate change. “It really is time for a reckoning with this unfit leader. Maybe our new Congress can help. I sure hope so,” Young wrote.

He continued, “Firefighters have never seen anything like this in their lives. I have heard that said countless times in the past two days, and I have lost my home before to a California fire, now another.”

Young has previously sparred with Trump over the president’s continued use of “Rockin’ in the Free World” at campaign rallies, a situation that Young has openly protested but is unable to prevent due to performance rights issues.

“Imagine a leader who defies science, saying these solutions shouldn’t be part of his decision-making on our behalf,” Young wrote in conclusion. “Imagine a leader who cares more for his own, convenient opinion than he does for the people he leads. Imagine an unfit leader. Now imagine a fit one.”

The California wildfires have so far killed at least 23 people, destroyed over 100,000 acres of land and forced the evacuations of thousands of residents. On Sunday morning, Trump reiterated in a tweet, “With proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!”

Brian K. Rice, the president of the California Professional Firefighters, responded to Trump’s claims in a statement (via CNN), “The President’s message attacking California and threatening to withhold aid to the victims of the cataclysmic fires is ill-informed, ill-timed and demeaning to those who are suffering as well as the men and women on the front lines. In my view, this shameful attack on California is an attack on all our courageous men and women on the front lines.”

Katy Perry also slammed Trump over the president’s wildfires tweet.

[msongs]

1. these fires are not unusual. happen every year at one size or other nt

[EleanorR]

2. hotter, dryer, more dead trees

Thanks to climate change.

The 2018 wildfire season is shaping up to be California's most destructive and expensive on record, with $432m already spent on firefighting and containment. Cal Fire asked lawmakers for an additional $234m in early September - the earliest the agency has ever requested emergency funds - to prepare for the peak of the fire season, which traditionally runs through the fall.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2018/sep/20/why-are-california-wildfires-so-bad-interactive