Arson is certainly a thing that happens but isn't suddenly drastically increasing for no reason.
What is increasing is the rate at which those acts become extensive bushfires. Which is caused by drought drying out the land (increasing fuel). Which is linked to ... yep, climate change.
Assuming "cause a brushfire" means intentional causing, rather than unintentional causing during commission of another arson, that's certainly an alarming trend. I live in a region of Canada that's had seasonal forest fires for as long as I remember and I don't recall any of them being intentionally set. Not good to see this emerge as a crime trend although I'm, in a way, not surprised given I've wondered for awhile why terrorists haven't been using forest fires as a tactic given the potentially low risk to mayhem ratio.
'but isn't suddenly drastically increasing for no reason.' You have data on that?
Given the fanatic stirring caused by Thunberg, enactment of a 'State of Fear' as envisaged in the novel by Michael Crichton is not an unreasonable fear. It's even been encouraged by climatatogist Stephen Schneider who wrote: "...to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climate change ...we have to get some broad-based support, to capture the public’s imagination. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. This double ethical bind which we frequently find ourselves in cannot be solved by any formula. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest. I hope that means being both."
If any arsonist did light a fire with this in mind, he or she has certainly been vindicated given the media's reaction.
My argument was narrow: to counter "seems to be a new thing". The argument of "the scale of these fires is unusual, but if there is an unusual cause, it's an unusual amount of arson, not unusual climate conditions".
If a single act of Arson was the only fire started then it still wouldn't make sense to attribute the fires to arson alone, because arson can start a fire but for it to grow it needs dry fuel. Which is created by drought. Which is linked to climate change.
And of course arson trails behind legal and illegal burning off and lightning as starter of fires anyway [1].
I mean like sure if we were able to somehow eliminate arson and burning off we would probably have less bushfires.
That doesn't change that the scale of these fires is straightforwardly linked to climate change. Fixating on these miscellaneous factors distracts from the broader, more critical issue.
No?
https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/media-centrenews/arso... https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/crime-statisticshisto... https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/e...
Arson is certainly a thing that happens but isn't suddenly drastically increasing for no reason.
What is increasing is the rate at which those acts become extensive bushfires. Which is caused by drought drying out the land (increasing fuel). Which is linked to ... yep, climate change.