I doubt if anyone in Santa Barbara failed to notice the monstrous cloud of smoke and air pollutants, including of course CO2, emitting from the Rey Fire for several days. This made me wonder: If these pollutants were added to the air pollution from the dozens or hundreds of other wildfires in the U.S. at the same time and that level of pollution was then added to the wildfires, volcanic emissions, sea water evaporation, and animal flatulence occurring at the same time across the entire planet Earth, how does that massive, virtually incalculable quantity of CO2 and other air pollutants compare to the CO2 and air pollution that are emitted as a result of human activity?

Any reputable scientist that attempted to study and write on this question would be considered a “climate change denier” and risk censure, but I will venture my own nonscientific, uneducated guess. Anthropogenic CO2 and other air pollution from internal combustion engines, coal-burning power plants, and all other sources probably amount to one percent or less of what climate change devotees claim is the air pollution leading to a catastrophic change in the Earth’s climate.

In order to deny the truth of what was seen rising above the Santa Ynez Mountains recently, a certain faith-based religious fervor is required. Dissension and skepticism cannot be tolerated, gospel-type sources (“scientific” papers based on computer modeling) are considered unerring and immutable, false prophets are celebrated, and those of little faith and indeed the entire world face something like an Armageddon ending.

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