Forest fire data monopoly
I asked Bing chat to produce a report on all causes of forest fires. The reply was a report from the Government of Canada. When I asked for reports from other data sources, I got this reply....
The Canadian government data monopoly.
My prompt: “Is the Canadian government forest fire report accurate compared to other data sources?”
chat replied. “I couldn’t find any other sources that directly compare the accuracy of the Canadian government report on forest fire causes. However, according to the Canadian government, nearly half of all forest fires are caused by lightning. Human activity such as smoking and campfires can also cause forest fires1.
I don’t know about you, but I find it disconcerting that the sole source of forest fire causes comes from the government, not exactly my most trusted source of information.
At least, however, Climate Change was not named as one of the primary causes.
Does this mean that Canadians can finally exclude Climate Change as a cause of forest fires?
Good observation, Gene.
I'm always surprised when climate change isn't suggested as the cause. . . for anything!