Posted on 09/24/2008 2:41:57 PM PDT by rdl6989
The current scourge of the Rocky Mountain region — the mountain pine beetle — has been decimating lodgepole pine populations, leaving millions of acres of dead trees in its wake throughout western North America.
Now, researchers are predicting that on top of disrupting the timber industry and crafting the depressing vistas of dead trees that now welcome tourists, the infestation may alter the weather and affect the region's air quality.
"With this unprecedented bark beetle outbreak, there really is the potential for large-scale changes to the forest with respect to weather and air quality," said Alex Guenther, the leader of ongoing research at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.
"Modeling shows that the extent of the outbreak already is enough to change the temperature,"
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Ping.
The Beatles are killing the planet.
Somehow ‘The Beetle Effect’ just doesn’t have the same cachet as ‘The Butterfly Effect’...
It’s Lennon’s fault.
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
From the link:
"It's really valuable stuff," said Steven Seybold of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service in Davis, Calif. Understanding the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from widespread tree loss is another important aspect of the research, he added, pointing to a study earlier this year estimating almost 300 megatons of climate-warming CO2 will be released by beetle-killed trees in British Columbia between 2000 and 2020."
and Marx?
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