The California fires were caused by ... (wait for it ...)

That's right, the California fires were caused by ... global warming, 60 minutes tells us.

Hmm, what's that you say? Some were caused by Arson?

Um, well, that's fine because ... arson is caused by global warming.

(Okay, 60 minutes didn't make that second claim.)

60 Minutes' description of its segment "Mega-Fires":

They're forest fires ten times bigger than the blazes we're used to seeing. To find out why these infernos are happening, Correspondent Scott Pelley went out on the fire line to witness the burning of the American West. What he found were overmatched firefighters and evidence that a big reason for the fires is global warming.

Help me out on this one. Human intervention has actually resulted in less forest fires around the globe, because human beings are the one species that is able to and tries to put them out. I guess this is our fault as well, because young growth trees actually remove more CO2 from the air than old-growth forests. Deforestation - when it is followed by reforestation, I'm told results in a net decrease in atmospheric CO2 levels.

... anyway, I truly hope 60 minutes' position is a bit more sophisticated than "fire is hot, global warming is hot, ergo global warming causes fire." I'm sure it is, but eventually I hope to find some physical disaster that isn't directly caused or heavily exacerbated by global warming.

I dunno - heavy snowfall? Nope. Maybe tsunamis? Nope. Okay, what about Earthquakes? Nope!

Sorry California, it's not looking too good.

(And before some folks get too worked up because I'm putting unreasonable words into the collective mouths of man-made global warming proponents, let me clarify that I'm just trying to make the point that in situations where absurd claims are being tossed around, folks with legitimate science - and specifically reporters who related that science - should demonstrate a bit more restraint before blaming current, tragic natural disasters on remote, disputable human agency. It's been done with Katrina, and is now being done with the California wild fires.)