Procrastination will only result in more ecological losses like this:
Climate change accelerating death of Western forests
by Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY -- September 10, 2014
DENVER — The iconic pine and aspen forests of the Rocky Mountains are dying off at an alarming rate thanks to conditions exacerbated by climate change — drought, insect infestations and wildfires — a new report says.
Colorado alone could lose 45% of its aspen stands over the next 45 years, says the report released Thursday by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. Pine bark beetles alone have killed 46 million acres of trees across the west, an area nearly the size of Colorado.
"The wildfires, infestations and heat and drought stress are the symptoms; climate change is the underlying disease," Jason Funk, the report's co-author and a senior climate scientist at Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement.
[...]
And we and a future-based national energy policy could one day be the cure ...
[ Image Source: ashcreekimages.com/Rockies_Fall_Aspens ]
[ Image Source: celsias.com/article/aspen-tree-death-american-west ]
[ Image Source: friedmanphoto.com ]
[ Image Source: fineartamerica.com/featured/aspens-on-monarch-pass ]
[ Image Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspen ]
Here are some more stunning photos of these remarkable Aspen forest ecosystems.
If we don't find a way to seriously cut back on carbon fuels -- one day these photos may be all that we have left of these once commonplace and wondrous places.