The surge in COVID-19 Delta variant cases in non-vaccinated populations -- primarily in states that voted for the former guy -- is a self-inflicted health crisis among Covidiots, who stubbornly refuse to be vaccinated. If it only impacted them and not others, like health care workers and first responders, we'd say it's a case of natural selection, where the fittest had the sense to get vaccinated.
The same reckless mentality seems to be playing out in some conservative parts of the West when it comes to climate change. There are reports that victims of the Bootleg fire in rural Oregon are dismissing the role that climate change has played in the West's worsening drought and fire emergencies:
"The West has been beset by historic drought and heat waves this year exacerbated by climate change, but among the small towns that have been threatened by the Bootleg Fire — Sprague River, Beatty, Bly — there is little talk of global warming. Instead, residents vent about the federal government’s water policies and forest management. They blame liberal environmentalists for hobbling the logging industry and Mexican marijuana farmers for sucking up the area’s water.
'Now the top end of the Forest Service are a bunch of flower children,' said Jim Rahi, 71, who was filling up his 3,600-gallon water tanker to deliver to firefighters in the town of Lakeview, east of the spreading fire. 'That’s what the real problem is. It’s not that much hotter. It’s environmentally caused mismanagement.'" (our emphasis)
Literally not seeing the forest (fire) for the trees, these climate change deniers see only what's right in front of them: they're running out of water for their farms now, so drain what remains in the reservoirs. More idiocy from these communities:
"This part of southern Oregon has suffered intensely from the ongoing drought. The falling lake levels that feed the nearby Klamath Project, a farming community created by the federal government a century ago, have dropped beyond what is needed to protect endangered fish habitats, pushing federal officials to shut the floodgates that water farmers’ fields.
This has prompted weeks of angry protests led by conservative activists demanding the federal government release more water, including those people in the network of Ammon Bundy, who led an armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge in 2016.
But despite the harm from fires and drought, many in this part of southern Oregon don’t place the blame on a changing climate. About 70% of Klamath County voted for former president Donald Trump in the past election, and residents often echo his skepticism on the topic.
'Global warming?' Lawrence said as he sat drinking coffee with three friends on Wednesday morning around a table at the back of the Sycan Store in Bly.
'Yeah, right,' one of the others muttered." (our emphasis)
When you have followers of lunatic Sovereign citizen Ammon Bundy weighing in on the West's water policy, you're wandered into Nutsville. As with Covidiots (and there's plainly major overlap), the climate change deniers are continuing to embrace conspiracy theories and b.s. about the root cause of their environmental problems. But drain that reservoir now, dammit, to hell with next year!
