Queensland University Prof. – Fires stats, don’t add up
So far, 26 people have perished in the fires raging across Australia. The figures for animal species are even more devastating. An estimated 2 million have died. According to CNN, “a half a billion animals have been killed,” in New South Wales alone.
Of particular interest to readers of Subspecieist.com, University of Sydney News outlines:
Australia supports a rich and impressive diversity of mammals, with over 300 native species. The continent is uniquely dominated by marsupials and is the only great land mass to contain three major groups of living mammals: marsupials, monotremes (egg-laying platypus and echidna) and placentals. About 244 species, or 81 percent of this distinctive fauna, are found only in Australia.
Some 34 species and subspecies of native mammals have become extinct in Australia over the last 200 years, the highest rate of loss for any region in the world.
The liberal media is working overtime to put the blame on climate change. Three Hollywood celebrities, including Russell Crowe, highlighted climate change as the cause for the fires at the Golden Globes. The Guardian in the UK has published three different articles/opinion pieces in the last 36 hours downplaying arson as the cause, and emphasizing climate change.
From The Guardian, Jan. 7,
Bots and trolls spread false arson claims in Australian fires ‘disinformation campaign’
Online posts exaggerating the role of arson are being used to undermine the link between bushfires and climate change…
“Looking at the kinds of accounts that post using the #ArsonEmergency hashtag, you see that these are individuals who are hyper-partisan ideologues, behaving in a way that is not reflective of the average Twitter user.
“The conspiracy theories going around (including arson as the main cause of the fires) reflect an increased distrust in scientific expertise, scepticism of the media, and rejection of liberal democratic authority.
Dr. Timothy Graham (photo) conducted a survey of Twitter accounts blaming arson over climate change. He claims there’s a “suspiciously high number of bot-like and troll-like accounts”. He asserts that out of 1,340 Tweets under the hashtag #arsonemergency only 315 were genuine.
A second Guardian piece, Jan. 8, blamed 4Chan and other “conspiracy” boards for the Climate “Denialism.”
There is already evidence emerging of 4chan boards trying to spread misinformation that fires are being started by Muslim terrorists.
Note – Muslim brothers, Fadi and Abraham Zreika, both 18, were arrested in west Sydney suburbs for lighting fires with firecrackers. See Jihad Watch, Jan. 7,
Muslim teen laughs after appearing in court for setting grass fire
CNN gives some hard numbers, Jan. 7,
Australian states battle bush fires every year — but little has compared to the widespread devastation of this fire season.
The New York Times has joined the Guardian in attacking right-wing media in a news analysis, Jan. 7,
Critics see a concerted effort to shift blame, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change…
It’s all part of… a relentless effort… to do what it has also done in the United States and Britain — shift blame to the left, protect conservative leaders and divert attention from climate change.
In the piece, Dr. Graham is quoted:
“Maybe 3 to 5 percent of fires could be attributed to arson, that’s what scientists tell us — nevertheless, media outlets, especially those that tend to be partisan, jump on that,” Dr. Graham said.
However, local news in Australia ABC 57, quotes a press release from police officals, Jan. 8:
Police have charged at least 24 people for intentionally starting bushfires in the state of New South Wales, according to a statement the New South Wales Police released Monday.
NSW Police have taken legal action against 183 people, 40 of whom are juveniles, for fire-related offenses since November 8, the statement said. The legal actions range from cautions to criminal charges.
Out of those 183 people, 53 have received cautions or criminal charges for failing to comply with a total fire ban and 47 are accused of discarding a lit cigarette or match on land, according to the police statement.
Hardly “3 to 5 percent” as Professor Graham has asserted to media worldwide.
Bill DeWitt (photo), a Kentucky-based libertarian anthropologist remarked:
“The New York Times and Dr. Graham of Australia are at least 17.6% full of bullshit”