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No, evidence going back decades and regarding worse fires confirms that man not nature causes the fires. It is sad that alarmists have focused on one wild fire year claiming it is evidence of climate change. This is impossible just as one cold winter is not evidence of global cooling any more than one swallow doth not a summer make.I submit the greatest error the alarmism crowd is they are too easily fooled by the randomness, complexity and chaotic non-linear climate. Hot weather is climate change and cold weather is ignored, when neither is more than noise unless data of weather is compiled over centuries or more.Climate change is any significant long-term change in the expected patterns of average weather of a region (or the whole Earth) over a significant period of time. Climate change is about abnormal variations to the climate, and the effects of these variations on other parts of the Earth. W.“Climate change is as remote from our experience as the world of atomic movements, and we are just as unable to see or experience it directly in our daily lives. But that is because climate is too large and slow to see, rather than too small and quick…When you look out the window, the weather you see is not climate. As with atoms and molecules, you can only get some idea of it through indirect means. There may be palm trees or their maybe snow outside to give you a clue, but you cannot actually see climate itself with your own eyes. Our knowledge and experience of it is fundamentally indirect, accumulated from years of experience or from the prevailing plant life. We often defer to elders and look at records accumulated over generations to get a sense of it.”Taken by Storm: The Troubled Science, Policy, and Politics of Global Warmingby Christopher Essex (Author), Ross McKitrick (Author)It is beyond absurd to jump on the wild fires of 2019 as relevant to any trend of the earth’s climate for many reasons including the fact humans are the cause of the fires directly or indirectly.The terrible loss of life from the Black Friday wild fires of 1939 spurred the Australian federal government to commission a royal inquiry to see what caused the ferocious inferno and how to prevent future fires. There is a lot of historical data in the Report relevant to the Quora question.“(f) Immediate Causes.—Almost all fires are caused by man. Lightning.— Infrequent, as generally followed by rain. Of these classes settlers, miners and graziers are the most prolific fire causing agents. The percentage of fires caused by them far exceeds that of any other class. Their firing is generally deliberate. All other firing is, generally, due to carelessness.”[Emphasis added]ref. REPORT of the ROYAL COMMISSION to inquire into The Causes of and Measures Taken to Prevent the Bush Fires of January, 1939, and to Protect Life and Property…It is true that most Australia wild fires are caused by humans directly or indirectly. There is a long history of these natural wild fires and how to overcome the devastation. The fires have been a reality for thousands of years before European settlement and the pre-history proves that controlled burn of the large contiguous accumulation of fuel is the most important action to prevent the kind of fires witness this year.Because history is the touch stone of understanding climate it most relevant to look back of the record of wild fires in Australia.There is a very relevant analysis and answer to your question from the Stretton Royal Commission report after the deadly BLACK FRIDAY BUSH FIRE OF 1939.REF.Don Mooney saved to Australia's Worst BushfiresBushfires: South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia updatesThe study shows INTHE BLACK FRIDAY FIRES humans not climate change are the culprits here, particularly “the amount of burning that was done was ridiculously inadequate” quoting from the final report.INTRODUCTION.—PART I. In the State of Victoria, the month of January of the year 1939 came towards the end of a long drought which had been aggravated by a severe hot, dry summer season. For more than twenty years the State of Victoria had not seen its countryside and forests in such travail. Creeks, and springs ceased to run. Water storages were depleted. Provincial towns were facing the probability of cessation of water supply. In Melbourne more than a million inhabitants were subjected to restrictions upon the use of water. Throughout the countryside, the farmers were carting water, if such was available, for their stock and for themselves. The rich plains, denied their beneficient [sic] rains lay bare and baking, and the forests from the foothills to the alpine­heights, were tinder. The soft carpet of the forest floor was gone; the bone­dry litter crackled underfoot; dry heat and hot dry winds worked upon a land already dry, to suck from it the last, least drop of moisture. Men who had lived their lives in the bush went their ways in the shadow of dread expectancy. But though they felt the imminence of danger they could not tell that it was to be far greater than they could imagine. They had not lived long enough. The experience of the past could not guide them to an understanding of what might, and did, happen. And so it was that, when millions of acres of the forest were invaded by bushfires which were almost State­wide, there happened, because of great loss of life and property, the most disastrous forest calamity the State of Victoria has known. These fires were lit by the hand of man. Seventy­one lives were lost. Sixty­nine mills were burned. Millions of acres of fine forest, of almost incalculable value, were destroyed or badly damaged. Townships were obliterated in a few minutes. Mills, houses, bridges, tramways, machinery, were burned to the ground; men, cattle, horses, sheep, were devoured by the fires or asphyxiated by the scorching debilitated air. Generally, the numerous fires which during December, in many parts of Victoria, had been burning separately, as they do in any summer, either “under control” as it is falsely and dangerously called, or entirely untended, reached the climax of their intensity and joined forces in a devastating confluence of flame on Friday, the 13th of January. On that day it appeared that the whole State was alight. At midday, in many places, it was dark as night. Men carrying hurricane lamps, worked to make safe their families and belongings. Travellers on the highways were trapped by fires or blazing fallen trees, and perished. Throughout the land there was daytime darkness. At one mill, desperate but futile efforts were made to clear of inflammable scrub the borders of the mill and mill settlement. All but one person, at that mill, were burned to death, many of them while trying to burrow to imagined safety in the sawdust heap. Horses were found, still harnessed, in their stalls, dead, their limbs fantastically contorted. The full story of the killing of this small community is one of unpreparedness, because of apathy and ignorance and perhaps of something worse. Steel girders and machinery were twisted by heat as if they had been of fine wire. Sleepers of heavy durable timber, set in the soil, their upper surfaces flush with the ground, were burnt through. Other heavy wood work disappeared, leaving no trace. Where the fire was most intense the soil was burnt and destroyed to such a depth that it may be many years before it shall have been restored by the slow chemistry of Nature. Acres upon acres of the soil itself can be retained only by the effort of man in a fight against natural erosive forces. The speed of the fires was appalling. They leaped from mountain peak to mountain peak, or far out into the lower country, lighting the forests 6 or 7 miles in advance of the main fires. Blown by a wind of great force, they roared as they travelled. Balls of crackling fire sped at a great pace in advance of the fires, consuming with a roaring, explosive noise, all that they touched. Houses of brick were seen and heard to leap into a roar of flame before the fires had reached them. Some men of science hold the view that the fires generated and were preceded by inflammable gases which became alight. Great pieces of burning bark were carried by the wind to set in raging flame regions not yet reached by the fires. Such was the force of the wind hat [sic], in many places, hundreds of trees of great size were blown clear of the earth, tons of soil, with embedded masses of rock, still adhering to the roots; for mile upon mile the former forest monarchs were laid in confusion, burnt, torn from the earth, and piled one upon another as matches strewn by a giant hand. 6 There had been no force to equal these in destructivenessThere had been no force to equal these in destructiveness or intensity in the history of settlement of this State, except perhaps the fires of 1851, which, too, came at the culmination of a long drought. Some impression, then, of the unusual antecedents of the fires and of their extreme and unprecedented severity may be gained. It will, it is hoped, be apparent that the experience of men in Victoria was such as to leave them unprepared for disaster on such a scale. It is with such facts in mind and with the belief that this facile wisdom which comes after an event is not wisdom, but foolishness, that your commissioner proceeds to report upon the matters into which, to his great honour, he has been appointed by Royal Commission to inquire. ————————————————— INTRODUCTION.—PART II. On the 27th day of January, 1939, a Royal Commission was issued and entered in the Register of Patents. Its terms require your Commissioner, thereby appointed, to inquire into and report upon:— 1. The causes and origins of the serious bush fires which burned in various parts of Victoria during the month of January, 1939. 2. The measures taken to prevent the outbreak and spread of such fires and the measures taken to prevent the destruction of life and public property. 3. The measures which are necessary or desirable to be taken by any and what persons, corporations, or bodies to prevent the outbreak of bushfires in Victoria, or to prevent the spreading of such fires; and 4. The measures which are necessary or desirable to be taken by any and what persons, corporations, or bodies to protect life and private and public property in the event of bush fires burning in Victoria. The first sitting of the Commission so constituted was held at Melbourne on the 31st day of January, 1939. The last public sitting was held on the 17th day of April, 1939. Between those dates the Commission sat daily, continuously, except for one or two short intermissions which were granted to meet the convenience of parties. Sittings were held in the country, also, at many places which were thought to be most easily accessible to witnesses from the surrounding district. The Commission did not attempt to sit at every place affected by the fires. It chose for its sittings places which it considered were centres of country which, because of its physical features, its experience of the fires and other circumstances was likely to be typical of much larger areas. The Commission is satisfied that by this method it has heard classes of evidence which are representative in principle of every class of evidence which could have been given. The Commission, further, inspected areas thought to be typical of all the classes of forest country n the State, widely diverse as they are. It was found that although different kinds of country have problems of fire prevention and suppression which differ in some degree, one from the other, nevertheless the general principles which are thought by informed people to govern these matters are of almost universal application and readily admit of modification according to the exigencies of local peculiarities. It will be found that this Report, in the main, is concerned with generalizations. In few cases will it be found to particularize. For instance under paragraph I. of the terms of the Commission (supra) no attempt was made to discover whether Mr. “A” lit a fire which burnt his district, nor was it regarded of paramount importance whether, in another district, the lighting was deliberate or accidental. It was left to the detectives and the coroner to elicit, in their own spheres, such evidence of this sort as they could. Again, it will be noticed that there does not appear in this Report under, for instance, paragraph 4 of the Commission, any suggestion as to the manner in which, for example, Noojee may be best protected or Omeo made safe. Rather it will appear that the Report suggests methods of control and organization of fire fighting forces, of awakening of public appreciation of the danger of the misuse of fire, of deciding upon, effectuating and enforcing fire prevention schemes, of amendment of the law by repeal or alteration where at present it stands in the way of the safeguarding of our property and our people. The principal parties who appeared before the Commission were:— Those classes of the rural population whose work or interests lie in or near forest areas and who consisted chiefly of farmers, graziers, timber­workers, and saw­millers; the Forests Commission; The Victorian Foresters' Association; The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works; The Country Bush Fire Brigades Association; the Lands Department; the Hardwood Millers' Association; the Forests League; expert witnesses from within and without the Public Service; and various persons who desired to express their views upon the matters for inquiry.The truth was hard to find. Accordingly, your Commissioner sometimes sought it (as he was entitled to do) in places other than the witness box. Much of the evidence was coloured by self interest. Much of it was quite false. Little of it was wholly truthful. The timberworkers were afraid that if they gave evidence they would not be given future employment in the mills. It is difficult to imagine a sufficient reason for the absence of representation of these men before the Commission of Inquiry. Some of them, disregarding advice, gave evidence, which was clearly truthful. The Forest Officers were, in the main, youngish men of very good character. Mostly, they were afraid that if they were too outspoken, their future advancement in the Forests Commission’s employ would be endangered. Some of them had become too friendly with the millers; whose activities they were set to direct and check. It was regrettable that some of the saw­millers and some of the Forestry Officers were loud in praise of one another, when, to the knowledge of both each had neglected many obligations in the matter of fire prevention and suppression. Of the Forests Commission, the Chairman, Mr Alfred Vernon Galbraith, alone was called to speak for the Commission. He found himself in the embarrassing position of being the truthful sponsor of what he thought was a bad case. He is a man of moral integrity. If he were freed from the preoccupations attendant upon a life of enforced mendicancy on behalf of his Department, and if his Commission were placed beyond the reach of the sort of political authority to which he and his department have for some time past been subjected, he would be of greater value to the State and would be able to devote himself more closely to (inter alia) what should be the first consideration of every forester, the problems of fire prevention and suppression. Reference has been made to certain of the foregoing matters for the purpose of showing some of the difficulties with which the commission was confronted and to explain why methods a little unorthodox, but sound, were employed in the search for truth. Some of what has already been set down will, when later expanded, serve to explain, if not to excuse entirely, what appears to have been the mistakes and the failures of persons whose past conduct will be later discussed. This Report will be somewhat inconclusive as to many matters which might have been appropriately examined but which, while being technically relevant, upon a consideration of realities fell, for practical purposes, outside the ambit of the Inquiry. The several classes of people who gave evidence pressed for the preferment of their personal or departmental interests. To enable a report of full effect to be made, it would be necessary to inquire into and resolve the preliminary problem of the co­ordination of control of forest lands by, and recognition and preservation of the rights of, the various persons and departments whose interests are rooted in the soil of the forests ; to inquire into the constitution and administration of some of these departments ; to expose and scotch the foolish enmities which mar the management of the forests by public departments, who, being our servants, have become so much our masters that in some respects they lose sight of our interests in the promotion of their mutual animosities. Nevertheless what will be suggested, should it be thought to be of value, can without insuperable difficulty be later fitted to any change of forest lands control. There is one fundamental policy of fire prevention and of protection against fire. There is only one basis upon which that policy can safely rest, namely, the full recognition by each person or department who has dominion over the right to enter the forests of the paramount duty to safeguard the property and rights of others. It would be found in the forests, as it is in all places outside the forests, that such a policy is the surest safeguard of the rights and property of each one concerned. No person or department can be allowed to use the forest in such a way as to create a state of danger to others. If conformity of this rule cannot be brought about, the offender must be put out of the forest, or, in the case of a public department, its authority curtailed or enlarged, so that the rule may be enforced or voluntarily observed as the case may require. Education of children and adults in this matter is vitally necessary. As no scheme of prevention or safeguards can be brought to a state effectiveness in this State without education, goodwill and the expenditure of money and patient labour, the day is yet distant when we may be able to say that we have, not a condition of perfect safety, but at least a working plan and the knowledge that the plan has the approval of the rural populace. Without their approval and goodwill there can be no real plan because it is man who causes the fires in all years, as he caused the fires of 1939. A law which is not acceptable to the many is made to be broken. It is therefore with some misgivings as to immediate betterment that the recommendations of this Report are made. For much that will be suggested will rest, for its effectuation, upon the voluntary co­operation of those whom it is designed to protect. A little of it will rely upon the stern and swift punishment of the few who, failing to be convinced, cannot be cajouled. That punishment, it is suggested, should take the form of deprivation of rights, rather than, but not to the exclusion of, fine or imprisonment.CHAPTER II. THE CAUSES AND ORIGINS OF THE SERIOUS BUSH FIRES WHICH BURNED IN VARIOUS PARTS OF VICTORIA DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 1939. The first paragraph of the Commission of Inquiry has been used as the title to this Chapter. It is not intended that what follows under this head should be thoroughly exhaustive. The matter is best restricted to those things which have been found to be of practical and real importance. Except that the summer of 1938­39 was unusually dry and that it followed what already had been a period of drought, the causes of the 1939 bushfires were no different from those of any other summer. There were, as there always have been, immediate and remote causes. Upon examination, which is not now undertaken, it will appear that no one cause may properly be said to have been the sole cause. The major, over­riding cause, which comprises all others, is the indifference with which forest fires, as a menace to the interests of us all, have been regarded. They have been considered to be matters of individual interest, for treatment by individuals. As a great deal of what might be said under this heading will be said expressly or by implication later in this Report, it is thought that this chapter may well be compressed. 11 The causes, of the fires under discussion are set out as follows :—a) Dry Season and Dry Forests.— Further elaboration is unnecessary.(b) The Condition of the Forests.— When the early settlers came to what is now this State, they found for the greater part a clean forest. Apparently for many years before their arrival, the forest had not been scourged by fire. They were in their natural state. Their canopies had prevented the growth of scrub and bracken to any wide extent. They were open and traversible by men, beasts and wagons. Compared with their present condition, they were safe. But the white men introduce fire to the forests. They burned the floor to promote the growth of grass and to clear it of scrub which had grown where, for whatever reason, the balance of nature had broken down. The fire stimulated grass growth, but it encouraged scrub growth far more. Thus was begun the cycle of destruction which can not be arrested in our day. The scrub grew and flourished, fire was used to clear it, the scrub grew faster and thicker, bush fires, caused by the careless or designing hand of man, ravaged the forests; the canopy was impaired, more scrub grew and prospered, and again the cleansing agent, fire, was used. And so to­day, in places where our forefathers rode, driving their herds and flocks before them, the wombat and wallaby are hard put to it to find passage through the bush.(c) Various Interests.—It is in these forests which are in the condition described, that various people have followed their various interests and have been permitted to adopt various and conflicting methods or no methods of fire protection.(d) Land Utilization Control.—It has already been shown by example that the absence of any method of co­ordinating the interests and duties of Public Departments and other forest users has been a contributory cause.(e) Permanent Fire Authority.—There has been none.(f) Immediate Causes.—Almost all fires are caused by man. The experience of the past shows that the persons who caused the 1939 fires are to be found among the following classes which are set forth in a descending scale of frequency of responsibility for fire; the manner in and reason for which they cause fire is shortly indicated:—i) Settlers.—Burning off for growth, clearing or protection.Graziers.—Burning to promote grass growth.Miners and Prospectors.—Clearing to facilitate operations.(ii) Sportsmen.—Neglect of camp­fires, billy fires.Tourists.—Lighted matches for smoking. Campers.—Burning, to facilitate passage through the bush.(iii) Forest Workers.—Misuse of fire used for mill operations and for domestic purposes. (iv) Persons using roads.—Neglect of billyfires ; lighted matches; and burning obstructing logs on roadway.(v) Road and Railway Work Gangs.—Billy and camp fires ; careless burning off on railway property.(vi) Locomotives.—Defective spark arresters.(vii) Lightning.— Infrequent, as generally followed by rain. Of these classes settlers, miners and graziers are the most prolific fire causing agents. The percentage of fires caused by them far exceeds that of any other class. Their firing is generally deliberate. All other firing is, generally, due to carelessness. [Emphasis added](g) Laws Relating to Fire Prevention in Reserved and Protected Forests.—The relevant provisions of law which govern the matters of prevention are not here set out. They are to be found in Section 20, Police Offences Act 1928, and Sections 68, 69 and 70 of the Forests Act 1928. It is a strange fact that the law designed for the prevention of fires has, by the unsuitability of its specific terms and the ill­considered use of the power of proclamation conferred by it been a fruitful cause of bush fires. The reasons for the failure of the law are to be found within the law. (i) It imposes penalties in respect of the lighting of fires (unless by authority of a Forest Officer) during November, December, January, February, and March within any reserved forest or half a mile of its boundary or within any portions of protected forests specified by Order of the Governor­inCouncil. (No areas of protected forests have been so specified.)ii) When the Commission reports to the Minister that there is serious danger of fire in any part or parts of Victoria the Governor­in­Council may declare, by proclamation, any specified period to be a “proclaimed period” and any specified area to be a proclaimed area. (iii) A proclaimed area may include any Crown or private land not situate in a city, town or township of more than one thousand inhabitants. The lighting or permitting of the lighting of any fire in the open air in a proclaimed area and during a proclaimed period is, except under the conditions specified in the proclamation, punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. One of the conditions generally specified in the proclamation is that a permit to light such a fire must be obtained from a Forest Officer. (iv) It has been the practice to make one proclamation covering one period for all parts of Victoria which it has been desired to make “proclaimed areas.” This manner of exercising the power of proclamation has also proved to be unacceptable to the rural populace partly because it is quite inappropriate. (h) Reasons for the Failure of the Law.—It is trite to say that no flat rule can be applied with justice to the activities of all mankind or any large class of people. The law relating to the prevention of fires has failed because it is not fitting for the widely diverse conditions and circumstances which obtain in Victoria. Furthermore, it has failed because the people have neither understood nor been instructed in it; (i) In the reserved and protected forests exists a wide range of topographical and climatic conditions. In many years, in places of high altitude, it may be impossible throughout the whole of a summer or for the greater part of summer to promote fire. In other and lower altitudes the rainfall may be so heavy that the same difficulty of burning may be encountered. Settlers and others find it necessary to burn scrub to keep their land clear that their property may be protected from fire, to promote growth or to clear their land for agricultural and pastoral purposes generally. In many cases, fire being the cheapest agent to hand, they must use it. Both under the Section and the Proclamation it is found impracticable to burn in the permitted periods. (ii) Many settlers have not known that the permission of the Forest Officer may be sought. (iii) Many have found that the permission will not be granted as the Forests Officer frequently shuns the responsibility of granting permission or refuses permission at times when experienced people feel that it is safe to burn. (iv) Acting in this state of ignorance or discouragement the settler decides to burn in defiance of the law and, not wishing to be detected in the act, leaves the fire untended, either to die out or to rage across the countryside. (v) The law is so notoriously unpopular, because it is unreasonable and inflexible, that there is no public opinion to check an intending law­breaker. (vi) There has been no effective system of policing the law. (vii) People have learned from their childhood to treat it with contempt. (viii) Many persons charged with the enforcement of the law are country­bred and feel no special zeal for the task of upholding a law which they feel to be just.You can access this 36 page government report here free - http://www.voltscommissar.net/docs/Leonard_Stretton-1939_Bush_Fires_Royal_Commission_Report.pdfThe Australian Aborigines used control burn going back thousands of years.The Australian soil is enhanced with grass fires from time immemorial and in fact Aborigines have used fire sticks for this purpose. Sometimes controlled burns get out of control.Aboriginal burn practices again used on countryA recent burn conducted at a bush reserve near Wedderburn held significance beyond being a land management tool.Members of the Dja Dja Wurrung community applied the burning practices of their ancestors to Bush Heritage Australia’s Nardoo Hills Reserve, a parcel of land set aside for bush regeneration and conservation.“Our fire management practice, which we call Djandak Wii, is an obligation we have to the land, and we love to see the greater biodiversity it brings, and the gradual return to health it brings to country,” Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chief executive officer Rodney Carter said.Arson, mischief and recklessness: 87 per cent of fires are man-madeByPaul ReadNovember 18, 2019 — 12.00amBUSHFIRESThere are, on average, 62,000 fires in Australia every year. Only a very small number strike far from populated areas and satellite studies tell us that lightning is responsible for only 13 per cent. Not so the current fires threatening to engulf Queensland and NSW. There were no lightning strikes on most of the days when the fires first started in September. Although there have been since, these fires – joining up to create a new form of mega-fire – are almost all man-made.About 40 per cent of fires are deliberately lit ... The Hillville fire that destroyed homes last week.CREDIT:NICK MOIRA 2015 satellite analysis of 113,000 fires from 1997-2009 confirmed what we had known for some time – 40 per cent of fires are deliberately lit, another 47 per cent accidental. This generally matches previous data published a decade earlier that about half of all fires were suspected or deliberate arson, and 37 per cent accidental. Combined, they reach the same conclusion: 87 per cent are man-made.Arson, mischief and recklessness: 87 per cent of fires are man-madeToo much fuel causes extreme bush fires, not climate changeWhat was Australia’s Environment Minister thinking?Melissa Price succumbs to pagan witchcraft:“There’s no doubt that there’s many people who have suffered over this summer. We talk about the Victorian bushfires; (in) my home state of Western Australia we’ve also got fires there,” [Melissa Price] told Sky News this morning. “There’s no doubt that climate change is having an impact on us. There’s no denying that.”LWALet’s look at her home state. After 67 years of fire management in the giant, hot, dry state of WA, the trend is clear — the more prescribed area we burn, the less wildfire does. In the graph below the prescribed burns declined for forty years and wildfires increased for thirty. After the Dwelling up Fire in 1961 the state ramped up the preventative burns, and reduced wildfires.As the BushFireFront team say:“We can’t control the weather but we can control the fuel loads“Tough call — what do we do, redesign our energy system, pay billions, change our cars, our houses and our light globes in the hope that bush fires will be nicer, or do we just go back to doing what we used to do that worked?As prescribed fire reduction declined, Wildfires increased in South West Australia.Thanks to Roger Underwood and the BFF team who told us how to prevent megafires in April 2009, fully ten years ago.Avoiding Megafires in AustraliaLarge wildfires can only occur when there is a combination, at the same time, of three things:an ignition source,severe fire weather and,a large contiguous accumulation of fuel.Remove any of these three and you cannot have a large wildfire (= megafire).We obviously can’t control the weather, nor can we hope to eliminate all possible avenues of ignition. The only factor we can control is the large contiguous accumulations of fuel. Therefore, broadscale fuel reduction burning is the only defence we have against large wildfires. This will not prevent fires occurring, but it will ensure fires are less intense, are easier and safer to control and will do less damage.Does it work? Yes it does, as has been shown many times, over many years, by the experience of Western Australian forest managers. The “proof of the pudding” is the incidence of large wildfires in Western Australian forests over the last 50 years.Or we could put up some windmills and solar panels to “stop the flames”.h/t George and PatRating: 9.7/10 (96 votes cast)Too much fuel causes extreme bush fires, not climate change, 9.7 out of 10 based on 96 ratingsThe short killer summary: The Skeptics Handbook. The most deadly point: The Missing Hot Spot.March 6th, 2019 | Tags: Evidence, Fires, Western Australia (WA) | Category: Global Warming |Print This Post |Email This Post |219 comments to Too much fuel causes extreme bush fires, not climate change#JustinMarch 6, 2019 at 5:26 amNo no, they have it all wrong. We CAN control the weather, just give them a few dollars and they will prove it to you!Too much fuel causes extreme bush fires, not climate change

How to file complaint in Consumer Court?You can file a written complaint before the District Consumer Forum for pecuniary value of up to Rupees twenty lakh and to State Commission for value up to Rupees one crore and the National Commission for value above Rupees one crore in situations you feel the services or goods provider did not respect your consumer rights which may come in defective goods and deficient services.It’s not that if you file consumer complaint in consumer court you waive your right to file civil suit. You can still look for the civil suit as that is the main remedy; consumer protection complaint is a quick remedy under the Consumer Protection Act wherein complaint/appeal/petition submitted under the Act does not ask for any court fees but only a nominal fee.Moreover, as Consumer Forum proceedings are summary in nature, you can seek swift justice. You must check if any sub-rules have been passed in your state or union territory as the Act allows this freedom to respective governments i.e. State Forums and National Forums may have their own rules.The Procedure for Filing Complaint before the District ForumThis one is the most important, there is time limit to file the complaint to the consumer forum i.e. it must be filed within two years of the cause of action and if there are reasonable causes for delay in filing the complaint, you can always request the Consumer Forum to condone the delay.Though you can file a handwritten complaint, typed complaint will make things easy not just for the adjudicating officer but for you and the respondent. Ideally, it should be double spaced, with at least 1½ inches of margin space on the left, top and bottom like any standard document.Arrange the complaint in order and give page number all documents for convenience. For instance, if you are submitting application for condonation of delay in situation there is some delay, you should put it before all documents.You complain should have details of the grievance, put in the language that can be comprehended by the officer and the respondent. Preference should be to put in a narrative and chronological manner and must come with what the issue is and what relief you want from the complaint.Best part is, you can appear before the Consumer Forums in person and don’t need any lawyer to represent your case. Even your close relative can appear for you. However, if you wish to hire a lawyer to represent you, you must enclose a Vakalatnama, you may prefer this if you are busy and don’t want to do paperwork and attend the hearing.Place affidavit that the contents of the complaint are true and put the copies of all documents on which you rely upon in support of your Complaint. You also need to submit one original and two photocopies of the same. Also, you should submit as many more copies as there are parties.Being a complainant, you are also asked to send notice in writing to the supplier or service provider you are complaining against. Make sure the notice is simple, clearly pointing out your grievances, and requesting the supplier or service provider to rectify the faults, defects, etc. or replace the goods.You are also required to give ample time to the respondents to either address the issue you raised or come prepared in consumer forum. Make sure that the notice you sent reaches to the respondents/defendants and for that send it to the address where they are actually available.What Happens Once You Have Fulfilled All ConditionsYou are asked to be present on the said date at the Consumer Forum office. If you have asked a lawyer to represent you, he will do this for you. During the admission of the case, you or your lawyer records the presence, whereupon a date is assigned in future. The time is taken to allow the complaint copy to reach to the opposite party.The next hearing takes place when both the parties are present and the adjudicating officer asks to submit affidavits, written arguments, etc. Verbal arguments are listened during this and subsequent hearings which generally take place in some 15 days apart.What if You Missed the Hearing?In situation you were unable to represent your case as you were engaged somewhere else you can call up the PRO and get the next hearing date by giving the complaint number and the date of the hearing you missed. However, make sure that if you are absent at two consecutive hearings, the Consumer Court reserves its right to struck out the case. Even then there is some hop in the form of a letter that you can write addressing the Forum within a month of closure.What after Order/Ruling?As consumer forum hearings are summary decisions, it does not take much time to decide and you can get your issues addressed within a couple of months. The adjudicating officer delivers the order after verbal arguments on or after 15 days. You must show your presence on the day of the passing of the order.In situation you are not satisfied with the order passed by the Consumer Forum, you may appeal against it within one month of the date of the order, with the appellate authority. However, if there is no appeal, and not compliance, the court has right to issue an arrest warrant against the defaulter.The above was taken from How to file complaint in Consumer Court?Government ofIndiaNational Consumer Disputes Redressal CommissionNew Delhi,the 31st May, 2005.NOTIFICATIONG.S.R. 342(E). - In exercise of the powers conferred by section 30A of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986), the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission with the previous approval of the Central Government, hereby makes the following regulations, namely:-1. Short title and commencement.-(1 ) These regulations may be called the Consumer Protection Regulations, 2005.(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.2. Definitions.- In these regulations unless the context otherwise requires,-(a) "Act" means the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986);(b) "Consumer Forum" means a District Forum. a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established in a State under clause (b) of section 9 (hereafter called the State Commission) or the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission;(c) "Registrar" means the head of the ministerial establishment of the Consumer Forum and exercising such powers and functions as are conferred upon him by the President of the Consumer Forum:(d) "rules" means the rules made under the Act;(e) "section" means a section of the Act:(f) words and expressions used in these regulations and not defined herein but defined either in the Act or in the rules shall have the same meaning respectively assigned to them either in the Act or in the rules, as the case may be.3. Arrangements in Consumer Forum,--(1 ) A Consumer Forum, being not a regular court, shall have the arrangements as to depict it distinct from a court.(2) In the hall in which the Consumer Forum shall hear the parties, the dais may not be kept more than 30c.m. in height than the place earmarked for the parties to occupy.(3) At the dais of the hall, the President and the members of the Consumer Forum shall use the same type of chairs at the same level and these chairs need not have high backs.4. Dress code.-(1 ) The President and members of every Consumer Forum while presiding over the Benches,-(a) shall wear simple and sober dress;(b) shall not wear-(i) flashy dress or dress display any affluence;(ii) Jeans or T-shirts.(iii) as if they are holding Courts as Judges of a High Court or a District Court.(2) The advocates shall be allowed to appear in the usual dress as prescribed by the HighCourt but without the gown.5. Hearing hours.-Subject to the provisions of the rules, the normal working hours of the Consumer Forum for hearing matters shall be from 10.30 am to 1.00 p.m and 2.00 p.m to 4.00 p.mon all working days of the Central Government in the case of the National Commission and on all working days of the State Government in the case of the State Commission and the District Forum6. Cause List.-(1 ) Cause list of the Consumer forum for the following entire week shall be made ready before the close of the working hours of the preceding week and displayed on the notice board. The cause list in respect of a Consumer Forum having a website shall also be hosted on the website.(2) Cause list shall be split into three different parts, namely:-(i) Admission and after notice matters;(ii) Matters where evidence is to be recorded;(iii) Final disposal matters.(3) Every cause list shall contain the following particulars, namely:-(1) Sl. No. (2) No. of the matter (3) Names of the parties (4) Name of the party orCounsel or agentappearing(4) If a date of hearing is given in the presence of parties or their agents, it shall not be a ground for non-appearance for the reason that the cause list for the concerned date does not show the matter or contains incorrect entry or there is omission of the particulars of the matter.7. Institution of complaints, appeals and revision petitions.-(1 ) Where a complaint is filed in District Forum or State Commission it shall be filed in three sets and where it is filed in the National Commission it shall be filed in four sets with additional sets equal to the number of opposite party(ies)/respondent(s).(2) Every complaint shall clearly contain particulars of dispute and the relief claimed and shall also be accompanied by copies of such documents as are necessary to prove the claim made in the complaint.8. Nomenclature to be given to the complaints, appeals and revisions petitions. -( 1 ) A complaint shall hereinafter be referred to as Consumer Complaint (C.C.) instead of O.P., e.g., C.C. No.2 of 2005.(2) An appeal shall be referred to as F.A., Revision Petition as R.P., Execution .Application as E.A, Transfer Application T.A. and Review as RA containing the number and the year of filing.9. Scrutiny of complaint, appeal, petition and revision petition.-(1 ) Every complaint, appeal, or revision petition shall after it is filed be numbered by the Registrar.(2) If there is any defect in the filing of the complaint, appeal or revision petition, the particulars of such defects shall be recorded and the party or his agents shall be informed of the defects asking them for removing the defects within 15 days.(3) In case the party disputes in the correctness of the defects pointed out the matter shall be placed before the Consumer Forum for appropriate orders.(4) After the expiry of the time given, the matter shall, irrespective of the fact as to whether the defects have been removed or not, be placed before the Consumer Forum for appropriate orders.(5) If the objections raised by the Registrar are substantial and are not removed within the time allowed for the purpose, those days shall not be excluded for counting the period of limitation.(6) As required by the second proviso to sub-section (3) of section 12, the admissibility of the complaint shall ordinarily be decided within twenty-one days from the date on which the complaint was received.(7) In case any defect is pointed out by the Registrar, twenty-one days from the date on which such defect was removed shall be reckoned for the purpose of sub-regulation (5).(8) All pending complaints, appeals and revision petitions which have not come up for admission till the date of commencement of these regulations and are pending for admission for more than 21 days shall be listed immediately by the Consumer Forum for admission and not later than 21 days from the date of commencement of these regulations.10. Issue of notice.-(1 ) Whenever the Consumer Forum directs the issuance of a notice in respect of a complaint, appeal or revision petition, as the case may be, to the opposite party(ies)/respondent(s), ordinarily such notice shall be issued for a period of 30 days and depending upon the circumstances of each case even for less than 30 days.(2) When there is a question of raising presumption of service, 30 days notice shall be required.(3) Whenever notices are sought to be effected by a courier service, it shall be ascertained that the courier is of repute.(4) While appointing the courier for the purpose of effecting service, security deposit may also be taken.(5) Along with the notice, copies of the complaint, memorandum of grounds of appeal, petitions as the case may be and other documents filed shall be served upon the opposite party(ies )/respondent( s).(6) After the opposite party or respondent has put in appearance, no application or document shall be received by the Registrar unless it bears an endorsement that a copy thereof has been served upon the other side.11. Adjournment.-(1 ) Every proceeding before a Consumer Forum shall be conducted as expeditiously as possible and as per the requirements of the Act.(2) The Consumer Forum shall record the reasons for any adjournment made by it.(3) The cost of adjournment, if asked by the opposite party or parties, shall not be less than five hundred rupees per adjournment and could be more depending upon the value and nature of the complaint as may be decided by the Consumer Forum.(4). The complainant, appellant or petitioner, as the case may be, may also be burdened with cost unless sufficient cause is shown for seeking adjournment:Provided that in the circumstances of a particular case, the amount of cost imposed may be less than five hundred rupees but in no case less than one hundred rupees.(5) The cost imposed may be given to the other party or parties to defray his or their expenses or be deposited in the Consumer Legal Aid Account to be maintained by the respective Consumer Forum, as the Consumer Forum may order.(6) If any adjournment is granted without awarding cost, the order sheet shall mention the reasons thereof.(7) All orders adjourning the matter shall be signed by the President and members constituting the Bench and not by the Court Master or Bench Clerk.(8) Non-availability of a lawyer who is representing the party shall not be a ground for seeking adjournment of the matter unless absence is beyond the control of the lawyer such as his sudden illness or bereavement in the family.12. Hearing by Benches.-Where a Bench, constituted by the President of the State Commission or the National Commission as provided under section 16 or section 20, as the case may be, does not have a member with judicial background and any complex question of law arises and there is no precedent to decide the law point, the Bench so constituted may refer the matter to the President of the State Commission or the National Commission as the case may be to constitute another Bench of which the President shall be a member.13. Arguments.-(1 ) Arguments should be as brief as possible and to the point at issue.(2) Where a party is represented by a counsel, it shall be mandatory to file a brief of written arguments two days before the matter is fixed for arguments.(3) In case of default to file briefs, the cost shall be imposed at the same rates as laid down for grant of adjournments.14. Limitation.-(1 ) Subject to the provisions of sections 15, 19 and 24A, the period of limitation in the following matters shall be as follows:-(i) Revision Petition shall be filed within 90 days from the date of the order or the date of receipt of the order as the case may be;(ii) Application for setting aside the ex-parte order under section 22A or dismissal of the complaint in default shall be maintainable if filed within thirty days from the date of the order or date of receipt of the order, as the case may be;(iii) An application for review under sub-section (2) of section 22 shall be filed to the National Commission within 30 days from the date of the order or receipt of the order, as the case may be;(iv) The period of limitation for filing any application for which no period of limitation has been specified in the Act, the rules of these regulations shall be thirty days from the date of the cause of action or the date of knowledge.(2) Subject to the provisions of the Act, the Consumer Forum may condone the delay in filing an application or a petition referred to in sub-regulation (1) if valid and sufficient reasons to its satisfaction are given.15. Review.-(1 ) It shall set out clearly the grounds for review.(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the National Commission, an application for review shall be disposed of by circulation without oral arguments, as far as practicable between the same members who had delivered the order sought to be reviewed.16. Appearance of Voluntary Consumer Organisations.-(1) Recognised Consumer Organisations have a right of audience before the Consumer Forum(2) An authorisation of a Voluntary Consumer Organisation may be by way of special power of attorney executed on a non-judicial paper or even on plain paper duly attested by a GazettedOfficer or a Notary Public.(3) The Power of Attorney holder shall be entitled to engage a counsel, if authorised to do so.(4) A Voluntary Consumer Organisation can engage a counsel or an advocate of its choice or it can itself represent through one of its office bearers as per the rules governing it.(5) In case of a complaint where the Voluntary Consumer Organisation is a complainant along with the consumer himself and the dispute affects the complainant individually, he can withdraw the complaint:Provided that if the issue involves unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice a Voluntary Consumer Organisation may continue to proceed with the complaint even if the complainant wishes to withdraw the same.(6) A Consumer Forum has to guard itself from touts and busybodies in the garb of power of attorney holders or authorised agents in the proceedings before it.(7) While a Consumer Forum may permit an authorised agent to appear before it, but authorised agent shall not be one who has used this as a profession:Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply in case of advocates.(8) An authorised agent may be debarred from appearing before a Consumer Forum if he is found guilty of misconduct or any other malpractice at any time.17. Ex-parte interim order.-Any ex-parte interim order issued by the Consumer Forum shall stand vacated after 45 days if in the meanwhile the objections to the interim order are not heard and disposed of.18. Final order.-(1) An order on the top right hand comer shall show as to when the complaint was filed and the date of the order.(2) The cause title of the order shall contain the names of all the parties with their addresses.(3) In the body of the order it is desirable that after mentioning the complainant or the opposite party, their names as shown in the title be mentioned and parties thereafter may not be mentioned as complainant or opposite party No.1 or opposite party No.2, etc.(4) The cause title shall also clearly show if the appellant or respondent was the complainant or opposite party.(5) The order of a Consumer Forum disposing of a matter shall be as short and precise as practicable and unnecessary long quotations from the judgments of the higher courts or otherwise shall be avoided.(6) When a copy of the order is sent to a party, the mode by which it is sent and the date on which it is sent shall be stamped on the last page of the order.(7) The Consumer Forum shall pass final order invariably within fifteen days of the conclusion of the arguments.19. Return on institution and disposal of cases.-( 1) A Consumer Forum is expected to dispose of at least 75 to 100 matters every month.(2) A periodic monthly return of institution and disposal of cases shall be sent by the District Forums to the State Commission.(3) The State Commission shall submit a periodic monthly return of institution and disposal of cases to the National Commission.(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this regulation, the President of the National Commission may, at any time, call for any return or information relating to its functioning from a State Commission or District Forums.20. Preservation of records. -( 1 ) In the case of complaint, the record containing main files with original order sheet shall be preserved for a period five years.(2) In the case of records of first appeal and revision petitions, it shall be preserved for three years from the date of disposal of the appeal or revision as the case may be.(3) Immediately after the consumer complaint, first appeal or revision petition, as the case may be, is disposed of, extra sets shall be given to the parties who may use the same for filing of appeal or revision petition and in that case the necessity to summon the record from the forums below can be dispensed with.(4) The Registrar shall inform the parties while forwarding the certified copy of the final order, where they do not appear in person at the time of finally disposing of the matter to arrange to collect the extra sets.(5) A period of at least one month shall be given for the purpose of collection of records by the party and in case of default the ex1ra sets shall be weeded out.21. Certified copy.-(l) A copy of the order is to be given to the parties free of cost as required under the Act and the rules made thereunder.(2) In case a party requires an extra copy, it shall be issued to him duly certified by the Registry on a payment of Rs.20/- irrespective of number of pages.(3) A certified copy of an order shall clearly specify the date when free copy was issued, date of application, date when the copy was made ready and the date when it was so delivered to him.(4) A fee of Rs.20/- shall be paid for obtaining another certified copy.(5) Any party desiring to get a certified copy of any document on the file of the Consumer Forum, may get the same on payment of certification fee of twenty rupees per copy. Provided that if any such document of which certified copy is sought, is over and above 5 pages, an extra amount of one rupee per page shall be charged over and above the fee of twenty rupees.(6) Certified copy of any miscellaneous order passed by the Consumer Forum shall be supplied on payment of Rs.5 per copy.22. Inspection of records.-Parties or their agents can inspect the records of any matter by filing an application on payment often rupees as fee.23. Filing of criminal complaint.-Wherever a complaint is required to be filed by the Consumer Forum under sub-section (5) of section 13, the Consumer Forum may authorise its Registrar to file the complaint.24. Practice Directions.- The National Commission shall be entitled to issue practice directions from time to time as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the cases before Consumer Forum including prescribing forms for complaints, notices, returns, certificate to be issued to the collector and the like.25. Parcsha Yad-dast.- Where a party appears in person and is illiterate, the Court Master or Bench Clerk shall give to that party the next date of hearing in writing.26. Miscellaneous.-(1 ) In all proceedings before the Consumer Forum, endeavour shall be made by the parties and their counsel to avoid the use of provisions of Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908):Provided that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 may be applied which have been referred to in the Act or in the rules made thereunder.(2) Every State Commission and every District Forum shall take steps for its computerisation and networking.(3) The Consumer Forum shall give proper respect and courtesy to the parties who appear in person and shall provide separate accommodation in the Hall for the convenience of the parties.(4) The Consumer Forum shall not insist upon the parties to engage advocates.(5) The Fees collected for inspection of the documents and supply of certified copies shall be deposited in the account maintained for the purpose of depositing fee for filing a complaint as prescribed by the Central Government by rules.(6) The cases filed by or against the senior citizens, physically challenged, widows and persons suffering from serious ailments shall be listed and disposed of on a priority basis.[ http://F.No.A-105/NCDRC/2005 ]( B.V. SHARMA )Joint RegistrarThe Above was taken From http://ncdrc.nic.in/Regulations2005.html

Introduction to the U.S. & French Prisoner of War Camps On July 27, 1929, the Allies extended the Protective Regulations of the Geneva Convention for Wounded Soldiers to include prisoners of war (POWs). These regulations state: “All accommodations should be equal to the standard of their troops. The Red Cross supervises. After the end of the hostilities the POWs should be released immediately.” On March 10, 1945, Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, disregarded these regulations by classifying German prisoners captured on German territory as “Disarmed Enemy Forces” (DEFs). The German prisoners were therefore at the mercy of the Allies and were not protected by international law.2 The Western Allies deliberately murdered approximately 1 million d(more)