“A stage setting is not a background; it is an environment.”
Robert Edmund Jones
My intention was to use this first post of 2025 to get your feedback, but I can’t ignore the horrors of the past week. Is climate change the sole cause of the LA fires? No. But, is it a contributor? Yes. Climate change helped set the stage for what is appearing to be the worst and costliest weather-related disaster in US history.
First, my heart goes out to every single person impacted by these devastating fires. The tragedy is ongoing, and the recovery will takes years.
Just like with any big news story, there is an endless amount of information floating around about what is happening and why. We are deluged, and it’s hard to distinguish between facts, opinions, and rumors. With all the finger pointing, it’s also easy to overlook the big picture.
Climate change helped set the stage
One factual, measurable thing is this: Southern California is experiencing a drought this winter. How dry? To give you an idea, the soil moisture level was in the lowest 2% on record. November through April is the traditional rainy season, but not this year. So, when the Santa Ana winds kicked up last week, the conditions were ripe for tragedy to strike.
The volatility of precipitation we are seeing – wild swings of drought and excessive rainfall – is one hallmark of a warmer planet. Wildfires are among many weather-related disasters that are becoming worse as a result. Climate change set the stage to make this disaster possible.
There are two relevant points of scientific consensus:
- Human activity is causing climate change
- Climate change is leading to more frequent extreme weather events and natural disasters
The silver lining
The fact that human activity (primarily through burning fossil fuels) is causing climate change is an actually good thing. Hear me out. Imagine if all this crazy stuff was happening more and more often and we had no idea why. That would be terrifying.
What’s happening is scary, especially if you have been directly impacted by one of the many disasters in recent years. But the fact that we have control over how things go from here gives us something to be hopeful about. In other words, if we’re causing it, we can also fix it. Once we stop harmful emissions, things will begin to turn around. We can do this.
What can we do?
It’s easy to feel helpless; but we’re not. We can raise the noise level about climate change, help other people connect the dots to understand the “why” behind events like this, and encourage our business and political leaders to find clean energy solutions. Meanwhile, let’s help the latest victims any way we can.
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.