Will current West Coast weather finally be a trigger on #climatechange?

So wonders James Wilt at DeSmog(Blog) Canada. The wildfires, primarily in Washington state, but also Oregon and British Columbia on the Canadian side, would seem to say yes.

And, let's not forget Alaska. Even as ongoing, year-to-year temperature increases show climate change getting baked in there, President Obama is going to be the first U.S. leader to visit the Arctic portions of Alaska; he's going there in large part because of climate change issues, as that story notes.

But, not so fast.

First, this is the same Dear Leader who green-lighted Shell's Arctic oil drilling rig. The oil itself will add to climate change. So will the energy costs of running it in such conditions. And, the work involved with cleaning up an Arctic oil spill we already know will dwarf that of Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound.

On the Canadian side, B.C. has long tilted Conservative; 20 of its 36 members in the Canadian Commons are Conservative, although Conservatives are whitewashed in a Liberal-majority provincial assembly.