For some activists, the recent fires in Southern California point to yet more evidence of global warming. But according to James Taylor of the Heartland Institute, making such a connection, from a scientific point of view, is quite a stretch. Comments Taylor: “Attempts by activists to make the ongoing California wildfires a global warming issue are patently ridiculous. According to the International Journal of Climatology, for example, the modest warming of the twentieth century has resulted in moister soil conditions and reduced drought frequency and severity. So in reality, arguing that global warming is causing more drought and wildfires is like arguing that increasing crop yields is causing more starvation. This simply doesn’t add up.”