Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Professor of climatology: “95% of forest fires are caused by humans”

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 14 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
4 minute read

The fires in California, especially in and around Los Angeles, are not caused by climate change but by human activity. That’s according to a recent study that reviewed decades of fire incidents. Whether through carelessness, accidents or intentional acts, humans are behind the overwhelming majority of fires.

John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at the University of California, Merced, has analyzed three decades of fire data from Los Angeles County. His research shows that most fires in the area are caused by human activity, NBC News reports.

– More than 95% of these are human-ignited fires. Arson is among the causes, but most human-caused fires are not intentional, Abatzoglou explains.

According to his analysis, vehicles and other equipment are the most common causes of fires in the area between 1992 and 2020. Sparks from faulty machinery or heat from engines can quickly ignite dry vegetation, especially during the hot and dry months of summer.

However, Mr. Abatzoglou stresses that changes in the weather, such as strong winds, can contribute to exacerbating the conditions that make fires more difficult to control, but they are not the primary cause of fires.

Poor maintenance of power lines and infrastructure problems are other examples of factors contributing to the current and perhaps most devastating fires in California’s history.

The statistics seemingly support a growing criticism of simplistic explanations that refer only to climate change.

Nonchalant political governance

California’s authorities have long been questioned for what many believe is their inability to address the problems and work preventively. As recently as 2020, the state experienced one of its worst fire seasons ever, with millions of acres burning and thousands of people forced to leave their homes.

The state’s criticized governor, Gavin Newsom (D), has previously highlighted climate change as a key factor behind the growing problems with fires in the state. At the same time, there are growing calls for more pragmatic solutions that address the human factors behind the fires.

Critics of the theory that climate change is the main cause of the fires say the focus should shift to human behavior. The dryness and heat that make areas particularly vulnerable to fires are exacerbated by poor infrastructure maintenance, carelessness and illegal actions.

The impact of eucalyptus trees

Eucalyptus trees, common in many parts of the world and especially in California, have been shown to have a significant impact on forest fires. The trees contain large amounts of oils that are extremely flammable making them particularly risky in hot and dry conditions.

Research has shown that eucalyptus oils, released at high temperatures, can create a kind of ‘fire torch’ that makes the fire spread faster. In some cases, it has also been shown that these trees can help make forest fires more intense, acting as a form of “fire torch” rather than a barrier.

Eucalyptus trees arrived in California in the 19th century, mainly via migrants from Australia. The trees were initially introduced as a solution to provide fast-growing trees for paper production and fuel.

By the early 1900s, thousands of acres of eucalyptus trees were planted with the encouragement of the state government. In modern-day California, and particularly in Los Angeles, eucalyptus is a common feature of the landscape, with large stands in both urban and more remote areas.

Arson is part of the problem

Arson is another part of the problem. Authorities in California report that individuals sometimes intentionally set fires on land for a variety of reasons, including insurance fraud, revenge or pure vandalism.

At the same time, experts point out that many fires are accidental and could be prevented with better training and safety practices. According to Mr. Abatzoglou, much of the responsibility lies with individuals and businesses to take precautions.

According to statistics from California, the number of fires linked to human activity has remained stably high for several decades. This includes everything from cigarette butts discarded in the wild to accidents on construction sites.

Despite this, some argue that climate change has a contributing role by creating longer periods of extreme heat and drought. But, as Abatzoglou points out, in the vast majority of cases the direct causes are human.

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

Swedish young bulls receive feed supplement to reduce methane emissions

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published today 7:23
– By Editorial Staff
Anna Hessle from SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) admits herself that it becomes a bit strange
2 minute read

Swedish young bulls are receiving a new feed supplement to reduce their methane emissions. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is currently testing the product in Skara, Sweden.

In Skara, researchers are investigating whether a new feed additive can reduce young bulls’ methane emissions and make the animals more “environmentally friendly”. The feed supplement is manufactured in Sweden and is reportedly significantly cheaper than other alternatives available on the market.

Anna Hessle from SLU acknowledges that the climate discussion has gotten the “wrong focus” but still hopes for good results.

It has become somewhat the case that ruminants have been portrayed as climate villains, even though I personally perhaps think that’s a bit of the wrong focus since it’s really about us having to reduce our fossil fuel emissions, she tells tax-funded Radio Sweden (SR) and continues:

But then the industry can show its good will by trying to reduce emissions even if one might bluntly think that the problems lie elsewhere.

British anger against Arla

The food industry, particularly regarding dairy cows, has long been singled out and accused of being a so-called environmental villain. Recently, the feed supplement Bovaer was developed, with help from financing by billionaire Bill Gates, which is also supposed to reduce cows’ methane emissions by making them fart and burp less.

Danish-Swedish dairy company Arla, for example, began giving it to British cows last year, which led to very harsh criticism from the public and many calls to boycott the company. Bovaer is also used for Swedish cows, but currently to a lesser extent than in the United Kingdom.

When the bulls are slaughtered at the beginning of next year, the project in Skara will be evaluated, but results are already visible when measuring methane emissions in the animals’ exhaled air.

That can be seen in the preliminary data we’ve received, says Hessle.

Norwegian party leader wants to expel Greta Thunberg

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 19 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Norwegian Progress Party politician Sylvi Listhaug has grown tired of Greta Thunberg "repeatedly" returning to Norway to participate in climate activist actions.
2 minute read

Climate activist protests at Norway’s largest oil refinery have triggered harsh criticism from opposition leader Sylvi Listhaug, who is now demanding that Swedish activist Greta Thunberg be expelled from the country.

Monday’s blockade at Equinor Mongstad outside Bergen, Norway, gathered approximately 200 demonstrators from the widely media-covered group Extinction Rebellion. The activists blocked roads to the refinery, which is the country’s largest and primarily produces gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel.

Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug launches a fierce attack against Thunberg in a podcast with Bergen newspaper Bergens Tidende. She is upset that the Swedish activist repeatedly travels to Norway to participate in protests and actions, and believes that enough is enough.

Listhaug, who often profiles herself as a tough law-and-order politician, believes that Thunberg’s repeated demonstrations constitute a serious problem requiring drastic measures.

— I believe she should be expelled, says Listhaug, who even describes Thunberg as a “Swedish gang criminal”.

Thunberg, who temporarily left the demonstration to return on Tuesday, explained the action’s purpose in a press release:

“We are here because there is no future in oil. Fossil fuels lead to death and destruction”, it states.

“Breaks the rules of the game”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre tries to navigate between fundamental rights and practical consequences. In Bergen newspaper Bergensavisen, he emphasizes that Norway stands firm on freedom of expression and demonstration, but simultaneously signals that the activists’ methods are unacceptable when they prevent ordinary people from getting to work.

— It breaks the rules of the game. There are people going to work and they shouldn’t have to experience insecurity with that, the prime minister emphasizes.

The view of Thunberg among European leaders has changed markedly since she was celebrated as a teenager at summits around the world.

After she expanded her activism to include criticism of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and other political issues, she has increasingly begun to be regarded as a disruptive element and an “extremist” who must be stopped or restricted – a sharp contrast to how she was previously portrayed as a hero and role model for young Europeans.

Swedish climate extremists who blocked ambulance acquitted by Supreme Court

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 11 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Police remove the road blockade in August 2022.
2 minute read

A nearly three-year legal process concluded this week when all activists from Restore Wetlands (Återställ Våtmarker) were acquitted for blocking the E4 motorway in August 2022, which in addition to causing long traffic jams also delayed an ambulance on an emergency call.

According to Sweden’s Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen), the road blockade was not comparable to the threats against vital societal interests required by law for a conviction of sabotage, and therefore acquitted all participants in the climate alarmist group’s action. The Supreme Court particularly emphasized the importance of freedom of demonstration and freedom of expression in a ruling that will serve as guidance for how civil disobedience should be punished, which in practice opens the door for more motorway blockades.

The legal situation has been unclear regarding what constitutes a serious disruption or obstruction in these cases. It’s good that we now have clear guidance from the Supreme Court on how prosecutions for sabotage should be assessed in the future, says Chief Prosecutor Katarina Johansson Welin in the Supreme Court’s press release.

The group itself describes its action as an “act of love”.

Victory! Today we celebrate that the sabotage charge has been shot down for the last time. In my heart, I have always known that I acted exactly right. To sit peacefully and openly on a motorway and demand that emissions decrease is among the strongest acts of love for our children and for life that you can do, and we did exactly that, says one of those acquitted in the climate group’s press release.

Green Party economist: Good that fewer children are born in Sweden

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 11 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The Green Party politician Lennart Olsen sees children as an unnecessary burden on the economy and the environment.
2 minute read

That fewer children are born in Sweden is only good for the environment, argues Green Party (Miljöpartiet) politician Lennart Olsen. Children and young people also cost more than older people, who can still work at higher ages if the pension age is raised, he adds.

Olsen writes in a debate article in the Bonnier publication Dagens Nyheter that people should view positively the fact that Swedes are not reproducing themselves.

“What’s needed here is a reversed perspective, where lower birth rates and eventually decreasing population should be welcomed to reduce the exploitation of the earth’s ecosystems“.

The Green Party member believes that the Swedish government’s investigation aimed at proposing measures to raise the very low birth rates in Sweden is “misguided”. He argues that the state can save money from fewer children being born.

“For the state’s and municipal sector’s economy, children and young people are a much greater expense than the elderly. This is because virtually all people between 0 and 20 years old cost a lot of money in the form of preschool, school, higher education, parental insurance, child allowance and more“, Olsen explains his thesis and argues that older people also won’t need as much pension if the retirement age is raised further.

Above all, the Green Party economist sees the possibility that fewer Swedish children will lead to a better climate in the long term.

“The positive effects of such a development can then also take effect and lead to reduced pressure on the earth’s ecosystems“, writes Olsen.

Olsen represents a so-called neo-Malthusian line, an ideological movement that strives for reduced population and strongly influences the climate alarmist movement.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.