California's Fires and Global Warming....

Some interesting data from the Heartland Institute..

"Attempts by activists to make the ongoing California wildfires a global warming issue are patently ridiculous. The modest warming of the twentieth century has resulted in moister soil conditions and reduced drought frequency and severity. Arguing that global warming is causing more drought and wildfires is like arguing that increasing crop yields is causing more starvation.

"The May 25, 2007 issue of Geophysical Research Letters reports that for twentieth century soil moisture trends, 'An increasing trend is apparent in both model soil moisture and runoff over much of the U.S.' The study adds, "This wetting trend is consistent with the general increase in precipitation in the latter half of the twentieth century. Droughts have, for the most part, become shorter, less frequent, and cover a smaller portion of the country over the last century.'

"The July 2004 issue of International Journal of Climatology reports, 'it is now clear that many places in the Northern Hemisphere, and in Australia, have become less arid,' and 'in these places, the terrestrial surface is both warmer and effectively wetter.' The study concludes, 'A good analogy to describe the changes in these places is that the terrestrial surface is literally becoming more like a gardener's greenhouse.'