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Firefighter extinguishes conspiracy theories with cold hard facts

Cres/Twitter, @wildlandmike/TikTok

Who would have thought that giving the world access to all human knowledge via the internet, the ability to follow and hear from experts on any subject via social media, and the ability to see what's happening anywhere in the world via smartphones with cameras would result in a terrifying percentage of the population believing and spouting nothing but falsehoods day in and day out?

Those of us who value facts, reason, and rational thought have found ourselves at some of our fellow citizens and thinking, "Really? THIS is how you choose to use the greatest tool humanity has ever created? To spew unfounded conspiracy theories?"

It's a marvel, truly.

Between Coronavirus/Bill Gates/5G conspiracies and QAnon/Evil Cabal/Pedophile conspiracies, I thought we were pretty much full up on kooky for 2020. But apparently not. The massive fires up and down the West Coast have ignited even more conspiracy theories, some of which local law enforcement and even the FBI have had to debunk.

Can we please get off this timeline of insanity?

Thankfully, there are voices of reason out there. Pretty much any rumor you hear or see gets fact checked pretty quickly, so unless you're so far gone that you think every single fact checking website is "in on it," it's not too hard to find the truth.

And sometimes, the truth comes in brief, refreshing, not-unattractive packages.

A firefighter who goes by the TikTok handle @wildlandmike shared a quick response video to a young woman's ridiculous conspiracy-laden video about the Western fires. His delivery is perfect, and Twitter users are going gaga over it.

It doesn't hurt that Wildland Mike fits the "hot firefighter" stereotype, and many of the responses were...well...thirsty. (As a colleague asked this morning, "Do they not let ugly people become firefighters or something?") Good-looking experts spewing facts is a double whammy of attractiveness in the disinformation age. It is what it is.

But the comments also highlighted the unfortunate fact that this girl making the conspiracy video has an actual reach.


Just for funsies, I looked her up on TikTok. She has 2.6 million followers, SO THAT'S NEAT. Most of her content doesn't appear to be this off the wall crazy, which actually makes it worse. Kids are going to follow her to see her talk about her dog or her having lived in an amusement park and then get hit with a conspiracy theory video. It's also entirely possible that she makes conspiracy theory videos for a joke or as satire or something, but DON'T YOU KNOW SATIRE IS DEAD AND PEOPLE BELIEVE BATSH*T CRAZY THINGS IN 2020, @cierra_mistt???

Seriously, is there some kind of humanity reset button somewhere? Has anyone looked for one in earnest? Maybe it's hidden under the edge of Flat Earth or on the belly button of Sasquatch or something.

At any rate, more firefighters fighting fiction with facts, please. It's the content we all need right now.

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Planet

Yes, arsonists started some of Australia's fires. No, it doesn't mean climate change is fake

Photo by Issy Bailey on Unsplash

With vast swaths of Australia up in flames, debates are raging over what has caused the unprecedentedly intense fire season. And along with those debates, a slew of disinformation is swirling around the internet, clouding people's understanding of what's happening in the land down under.

Recent headlines about people being arrested on arson charges have only added confusion to the chaos. So let's clear a few things up.

The New South Wales police department has stated that 183 people, including 40 juveniles, have been arrested on fire-related charges during the 2019/2020 bush fire season. The police department noted:

  • 24 people have been charged over alleged deliberately-lit bushfires
  • 53 people have had legal actions for allegedly failing to comply with a total fire ban, and
  • 47 people have had legal actions for allegedly discarding a lighted cigarette or match on land.
New South Wales has been hit hard by the fires, as has the state of Victoria. However, a Victoria spokeswoman told The Guardian, "There is currently no intelligence to indicate that the fires in East Gippsland and the North East have been caused by arson or any other suspicious behavior."
However, media outlets ran with '183 people arrested for arson!' (or the more exaggerated '200 arsonists arrested!)' headlines, which bots and trolls and people who don't actually read articles started sharing as fact. Climate change deniers began pointing to such headlines as proof that claims of climate change contributing to the out-of-control fire season are bunk. Conspiracy theorists started claiming that environmentalists and eco-terrorists are the ones starting the fires as a way to push the big, bag climate change agenda.

Oof, people. Let's look at what we know.

RELATED: Climate change is not a partisan issue. So, let's stop treating it like one.

Yes, some fires in Australia were started by arsonists. That's actually not unusual. More fires appear to have been started by people being negligent—also not unusual. Fires in remote areas are most likely to be caused by lightning. In fact, there are nine causes of fire ignition recognized by fire investigators—and no, climate change is not one of them. But that doesn't mean climate change isn't a contributing factor.

What some people seem to be missing is that no one is claiming that climate change itself is igniting fires. That doesn't even make logical sense. Where climate change plays a role is in setting the stage for fires to start and spread easily. Intensely dry, hot conditions—which are exacerbated by global warming—create a virtual tinderbox out of the landscape.

Stefan Rahmstorf, climatologist and lead author of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report, says the bushfires have been exacerbated by two factors that have "well-established" links to climate change: drought and record heat. Last summer was the hottest on record in Australia, and the country has also seen record-low rainfall this season.

"Due to enhanced evaporation in warmer temperatures, the vegetation and the soils dry out more quickly," Rahmstorf told Time. "So even if the rainfall didn't change, just the warming in itself would already cause a drying of vegetation and therefore increased fire risk."

RELATED: Want to see stronger climate change policies? Elect more women as lawmakers

People pointing to the arson headlines seem desperate to downplay the role climate change is playing in the bushfires, but scientists aren't having it.

"There are now disingenuous efforts to downplay the clear role of climate change in worsening the intensity and severity of the Australian fires, or to blame 'arson' as a way to distract from the growing threat of climate change," Peter Gleick, climate scientist and co-founder of Pacific Institute in California, told Time. "These efforts should be called out for what they are: gross climate denial."

So yeah. Fires start for many reasons, including arson and negligence. That's not debatable. But fires spread faster in certain conditions, and the fire conditions in Australia this season are linked to climate change. That's not debatable, either. Arson arrests aren't any kind of proof that climate change isn't real. Not even close.

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climate change

5 things people are doing to help the victims of the California fires.

The fires engulfing Napa and Sonoma counties are rapidly becoming some of the worst in California's history.

Photo by Josh Edelson/Getty Images.

On Sunday night, flames swept into Santa Rosa and other cities across the region with little warning. At least 24 people have been confirmed dead, with hundreds displaced and nearly 300 still reported missing.

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents from hotel owners to teachers and students to local government officials to relief workers are marshalling help those to affected. Here's what they've been up to in the days since the devastation began.

1. Farms are taking in displaced animals, and high school volunteers are working around the clock to care for them.

Local students learning animal care and agriculture at Vintage Farm have been rescuing dogs, goats, horses, and other pets and farm animals and housing and feeding them in the teaching farm's facilities.

"I’ve actually been having to make the kids go home," teacher Emmalee Casillas told the Napa Valley Register. "They’re probably pulling eight to 10 hours each on average."

The Sonoma Valley High School farm is also accepting large animals.

2. Hotels are offering rooms to evacuees at steep discounts or for free.

The Napa Valley Register reports that the county's Meritage Resort and Spa, a luxury hotel whose rooms typical sell for upward of $300 per night, is providing accommodations to displaced locals at $99 a night.

The room-sharing service Airbnb is connecting evacuees with hosts offering their space for free. Photo by Lionel Bonaventure/Getty Images.

Meanwhile, individuals are opening their homes to evacuees. Airbnb hosts in the area are offering free stays to people displaced by the fires, and residents are circulating a public Google document with a list of donated housing.

3. Two local Boys and Girls Clubs sites are opening to all children during the day in the wake of widespread school closures.

Children whose classes have been cancelled can visit the Napa Clubhouse and the community gym at American Canyon.

"The Club is sensitive to the fact that a disaster of this nature puts pressure on families and will provide a diversion for school age children in a safe location where kids can just be kids," a spokesperson for the organization relayed in a news release sent to the Napa Valley Register.

4. Dozens of facilities across the affected area are currently operating as shelters.

These facilities include public spaces like high schools and community centers, places of worship, and private venues, like the Sonoma Raceway campground.

5. The U.S. postal service is still delivering mail.

On Wednesday, a drone operator captured striking footage of a postal truck making deliveries in a burned out neighborhood in Santa Rosa.

In a statement issued to The Mercury News in San Jose, postal service district manager Noemi Luna revealed, "A few customers asked the carrier to leave their mail if the mailbox was still standing," a request the carrier decided to honor.

There's also many ways for you to pitch in. Here's how:

The Sacramento Bee has compiled a list of requests and opportunities to help on their website, located here.

Unlike many disaster relief scenarios, local government and agencies are requesting supplies. The Sacramento Bee compiled a list of shelters, many of which are in need of bedding. The City of Sonoma and the staff of the local school district were requesting following items for their shelters as of Oct. 9: non-latex gloves, heavy duty garbage bags, adult diapers, baby wipes, prepared lunch foods, coffee creamer, to-go coffee cups, and ground coffee.

Many organizations, including the Red Cross, are looking for volunteers, including those with medical training, to assist evacuees.

Those too far away to deliver supplies or volunteer can donate to Redwood Credit Union's relief fund, United Way of Wine Country, or one of dozens of GoFundMe drives raising money for relief.

More

When a Texas mosque burned down, a local synagogue took in the congregation.

When a Victoria, Texas, mosque burned down under mysterious circumstances on early Jan. 28, 2017, members were distraught.

The fire, which collapsed the building, left the congregants of the Victoria Islamic Center without a place to worship.

That is, at least, until members of a local Jewish congregation showed up at a mosque founder's house with a key to their synagogue.  

"This is sad for everyone in the community and as Jews we especially have to feel for the Muslim community. When a calamity like this happens, we have to stand together," Robert Loeb, the synagogue's president, told Reuters.

Both communities are small — Victoria boasts a few dozen Jewish and about 100 Muslim residents — which synagogue officials said makes sticking together all the more important.

"Everyone knows everybody, I know several members of the mosque, and we felt for them," Loeb said.

Others in the community pitched in as well.

The Victoria Islamic Center, before the fire. Photo by Victoria Islamic Center/Facebook.

A few days after the fire, local high school students rallied in support of the mosque, praying and planting trees. Donations to a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for rebuilding have exceeded $1 million.

After an election year that saw an increase in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents, Jewish and Muslim groups have been coming together to support one another.

Back in November, the Islamic Society of North America and the American Jewish Committee joined forces to create the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Committee, with the goal of combatting hateful speech and violence toward members of either faith and pushing for expanded rights for religious and ethnic minorities.

Meanwhile, groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Bend the Arc Jewish Action have been leading protests and petitions against Donald Trump's executive order barring travelers from Muslim nations from entering the United States.

While it's still unclear whether the Texas mosque fire was an act of hate, the synagogue said it had plenty of space to welcome their neighbors.

When terrible things happen to those nearby, the least we can do is find that space in ourselves.

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