LBC has had some hysterical callers this morning concerning the wildfires.
A few years ago, they interviewed a chap who was an expert in ecology and climate change.
He was very level-headed and had plenty of evidence to back up his stance.
Basically all down to a change in how the land is being managed now, or not, whichever viewpoint you take. He used Hawaii as an example. They had only just got the wildfires under control over there. Decades ago, they made a high percentage of their income from pineapple groves. Then they realised they could make more money more easily from tourism, so the pineapple groves largly become abandonded scrub land, a tinderbox in effect, and when it caught light, we had it all over the news as being attributed to "Climate Change"
He also said the very same scenario was taking place in the Med, lack of traditional management of the landscape.
You could say the same about muirburn over here, poorly thought-out policies from those organisations with an agenda who control the narrative.
I remember working out bush in Oz 30yrs ago. The volunteer rural firemen moaning big time about being restricted the amount of preventative burning they were allowed to do.
I think they also restricted logging and thinning the wojds too.
None of thus us any surprise, either stuff burning
Or the fact climate change us being solely blamed for it.
No mention of a thing else.
Some off thexenglish moorland groups as well as the Moorlabd Assoc, are pretty good at highlighting the amount of work keepers do fighting fires.
Their was a clip doing the rounds, I think on SGA site amongst others.
Anyway a lass moaning ( i perfume a keepers daughter? ) anoht Snp/Holywood niw paying attention and thanking keepers/farmers/ estates for their help on the fires
But ignoring them or actually going out of their way to make their life's/jobs harder the rest of year.
Pretty much everyone working in the uplands has predicting exactly this happening for years now.
I wonder how many million in grant money ( tax payers money) has went up in smoke on those 2 reserves?
I bet it could be in 10s. £££
With the country so skint we seriously need to be looking at some of these environmental schemes.
A lot of folk making some serious money from them