The Austrian authorities has spoken as much as right U.S. President Donald Trump’s declare that individuals in its nation reside in “forest cities.”
Trump not too long ago cited Austria and different European international locations as fashions of excellent forest administration that U.S. states like California, which has seen devastating wildfires recently, ought to be taught from.
Calling in to Fox Information on Tuesday, Trump mentioned that “you have a look at international locations, Austria, you have a look at so many international locations. They reside within the forest, they’re thought-about forest cities. So lots of them. They usually don’t have fires like this. They usually have extra explosive timber.”
In an article Thursday for the London-based Impartial, Austria’s agriculture minister sought to set the file straight.
“There have been each severe and humorous conversations on social media in regards to the `exploding timber’ (Trump) talked about, in addition to the truth that he claimed we reside inside `forest cities’ which by no means catch hearth,” Elisabeth Koestinger wrote. “As Austrians, happily blessed with a wholesome sense of humour, we usually take such cliches about our nation in our stride.”
“Nevertheless, the gravity of present occasions make Trump’s phrases rather more worrying — in spite of everything, proper at this second, 1000’s of persons are combating horrendous wildfires in life-or-death conditions,” she mentioned.
“In actuality, Austria is a rustic located within the coronary heart of Europe, the place folks don’t reside within the forest, however relatively with the forest and in an in depth, sustainable relationship with the pure atmosphere,” Koestinger wrote.
Sustainable administration of forests, which cowl virtually half the nation’s territory, is necessary, she added, however not as a result of they’re extra flamable.
“To make clear: No, we don’t have any exploding timber in Austria,” Koestinger mentioned, although she did affirm Trump’s assertion that “now we have discovered a method to give our timber the area they want.”
“This doesn’t make us `forest folks,’ however reveals how necessary understanding the environment and our pure assets is,” she mentioned, including that “taking local weather change severely and mitigating its results is a big a part of this.”
Trump prompted mirth in Finland two years in the past, when he claimed the Nordic nation spends “ loads of time on raking and cleansing and doing issues” to clear forest flooring to forestall fires.
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