Published on April 5th, 2010 | by Susan Kraemer1
Forests Killed From Bark Beetle Infestation – What Can We Do?
Because a wide swathe of the US and Canadian pine forest is currently dying prematurely due to ever increasing Mountain Pine Bark Beetle infestation – all this dead wood will need to be harvested or it will become fuel for wildfire.
At this point, our pine forest is an innocent-bystander victim of 20th century climate change. By warming the beetle’s habitat just those first few degrees, we humans have already unleashed an unstoppable force that kills pine forests, munching through whole states from Colorado to Montana, and on through British Columbia in Canada.
Adaptation to this disaster is pretty much our only choice at this point. So. What to do with so many square miles of ruined planet? Biofuels was our first thought, of course. Gotta keep driving!
1. So first we found a way to make biofuel out of the pine bark beetle ruined wood.
2. Make them into cardboard boxes, (lots of them) was another idea.
3. Here’s a third idea. Keep this ruined wood as a reminder: Make furniture from it. Cut out the bad bits.
As the 21st century keeps on warming and warming – each decade another degree – in the regions involved, there will be more and more of this Anthropocene-murdered pine forest.
Lucky that we are such an innovative species. We’ll think of something…