Stress is pushing the koala to extinction

A virus brought on by loss of habitat is wiping out an Australian icon By Tanalee Smith in Cudlee Creek The koala, Australia’s star symbol, is dying of stress. The marsupial is found only along the coastal areas of eastern Australia where it feeds off the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. But, as more and […]

Bark beetle invasion: Wyoming and Colorado forests ‘will never look the same again’

Global warming. Dwindling water. Massive wildfires. All are implications of the invasion. By Shauna Stephenson, sstephenson@wyomingnews.com   Slash piles surround the parking area on Pelton Creek Road in the Medicine Bow National Forest, southwest of Laramie near the Colorado border. Grant Frost, a terrestrial habitat biologist for Wyoming Game and Fish, inspects a tree, looking for […]

Australia fire season 'may be our worst'

  RESIDENTS should ready themselves for possibly the worst bushfire season the state has seen, the NSW Premier, Nathan Rees, says. Hazard reduction burns continued across the greater Sydney area after more than 60 bushfires that broke out on September 13 threatened homes and scorched properties. Mr Rees declared yesterday that fire authorities were ready […]

Thousands blind to Australia bushfire threat, says campaigner

By MALCOLM BROWN, September 18, 2009 FREDDI MARTIN, who has often been a lone voice warning about fire catastrophe, looks out from her balcony across the East Killara bushland and despairs of the prospects of the Ku-ring-gai area getting through the next long, hot summer. For years Ms Martin has sat as the community representative […]

Dire prediction for Minnesota forests

By Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public RadioSeptember 15, 2009 St. Paul, Minn. — A new article by University of Minnesota ecologists says Minnesota’s forests could shrink more rapidly than expected, as droughts, fires, and growth of native and exotic species accelerate the changes caused by global warming. The authors argue that prairie lands could expand by […]

Experts warn of dangerous Australia fire season

By DEBORAH SMITH, SCIENCE EDITOR NSW faces a dangerous bushfire season, with hot, dry spring weather and abundant fuel predicted to result in a higher than average risk of major fires breaking out across the state, scientists have warned. Large swathes of the country, including all of Victoria, also have a greater than normal chance […]

Pollution from California wildfires spreads across U.S.

ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2009) — Beginning August 26, 2009, and continuing into September 2009, a large wildfire in the Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles known as the Station Fire burned more than 140,000 acres through September 3. Carbon monoxide in the smoke from this large fire was lofted as high as 8.3 kilometers […]

Winter fire behavior in Australia ‘not seen before’

By MALCOLM BROWN WINTER fires burning on the South Coast yesterday, threatening property and forcing residents to prepare for evacuation, sounded a grim warning for the summer, the Minister for Emergency Services, Steve Whan, said. ”People at the Fire Control Centre have told me that they have not seen this type of fire behaviour at […]

Beetles, wildfire: Double threat in warming world

Billions of beetles, wildfire spread imperil the northern forests of a warmer world By CHARLES J. HANLEY,  AP Special CorrespondentHAINES JUNCTION, Yukon Territory A veil of smoke settled over the forest in the shadow of the St. Elias Mountains, in a wilderness whose spruce trees stood tall and gray, a deathly gray even in the […]

Australia prepares for worst fire season ever

  By Mex Cooper The CFA chief heavily criticised for his handling of Black Saturday will be responsible for keeping Victoria safe as it faces its worst-ever fire season, Premier John Brumby has said. Mr Brumby warned Victorians that 13 years of drought will make the coming fire season, less than 10 weeks away, potentially […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial