Fall colors fade in U.S. West as aspen trees die
By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – The American West is losing its autumn colors as global warming begins to bite and there is far more at stake than iconic scenery. Aspen, the white-barked trees with golden leaves that gave their name to the famed Colorado ski resort, have been dying off across the Rocky Mountain states. The die-off is puzzling but some foresters point to climate change. This disaster coincides with beetle outbreaks that have laid waste to millions of acres of pine and spruce forest in the American and Canadian west. They too have been linked to warmer winters since extremely cold temperatures are needed to kill the insects. Recent droughts and other factors linked to global warming are seen as likely causes for “sudden aspen decline,” or SAD, so named because it can strike a forest so quickly. “Assuming climate predictions are true, it probably is a sign of things to come,” said Jim Worrall, forest pathologist with the U.S. Forest Service. … “A large die-off could be devastating,” said Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland. Colorado acreage ravaged by SAD quadrupled from 2006 to 2008 to more than 850 square miles (2,200 square km). The syndrome has also struck in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, where researchers suggest a warmer, dryer West may all but eliminate aspen from the Rocky Mountains by the end of the century. … “Things are happening pretty quickly and that’s what’s scary,” said Forest Service plant pathologist John Guyon.
The bark beetle is destroying the forests in the west. It is less well known, in fact almost completely unacknowledged, that the Eastern seaboard is losing trees and other vegetation at a truly alarming rate. Ozone from gasoline and particularly acetaldehyde from ethanol are known to be toxic to vegetation, yet we produce invisible poisonous gasses with abandon, as though there will never be any adverse consequences. Every species of tree and plant is in decline and it is frankly astonishing to me that sirens aren't screaming about it. If we don't stop burning fossil fuels and particularly ethanol, we are going to swiftly confront a situation where things like nuts, fruits, wood, shade, birds and butterflies only exist in books. I might add such volatile organic compounds cause cancer in humans and animals as well! If anyone has information about ozone or ethanol, please leave a comment on witsendnj.blogspot.com