While fires raged across California, the world’s press was on scene to find the footage required to sustain the climate narrative. And waiting in the wings for their moment in the spotlight, naturally, were the experts. This ghoulish spectacle is now part of the climate politics calendar, as various parts of the world experience the seasonal conditions that make fires possible. Yet plenty of evidence speaks against the claim that climate change is having any influence on wildfires. So why does this story now dominate so much of the news agenda?
There is no denying the very basics of the phenomenon. The images produced by news agencies are absolutely terrifying. And it is hard not to see them and put oneself in such a maelstrom. And this seems to be the point. News producers are attracted to such drama, and drawn to augmenting the reality with the climate narrative. Indeed, TV news producers are among the most tragic victims of ideological narratives, their tendency to amplify ‘experts’ on the fringes tending to destroy rather than inform public debate. After all, debate is boring, compared to the sensation of harnessing their audiences’ sympathy for the helpless victims of unstoppable infernos.
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