"The main culprit is fire prevention.... the lack of fires has led to a sharp rise in big conifer trees, which crowd out aspens. And livestock and wild animal grazing has killed some.... most vulnerable trees grow on sunny, south-facing lower elevations - where warmer temperatures wear down the trees’ resistance"
So if you are on the north side?
Nevertheless, look what the MSM blames for every environmental problem now:
"Changing climate blamed for massive decline of aspens; As insects thrive, thousands of trees are wiped out" by Nicholas Riccardi, Los Angeles Times | November 1, 2009
PAONIA, Colo. - From the hillsides of extinct volcanoes in Arizona to the jagged peaks of Idaho, aspen trees are falling by the tens of thousands, the latest example of how climate change is dramatically altering the American West.
Starting seven years ago, foresters noticed massive aspen losses caused by parasitical insects, one of which is so rare it is hardly even written about in the scientific literature. But with warming temperatures and the aftereffects of a brutal drought lingering, the parasites are flourishing at the expense of the tree.... The most vulnerable trees grow on sunny, south-facing lower elevations - where warmer temperatures wear down the trees’ resistance to pests....
Even before aspen trees began their abrupt depletion, the tree was under duress in the West. Scientists estimate that the trees covered 10 million acres in the 19th century; now there are 4 million left. The main culprit is fire prevention.
Or OVER-LOGGING by BIG TIMBER!
Aspen trees regenerate from their roots. Regular wildfires that would knock down old aspens’ trunks - and free up new stems to emerge from the roots - have been snuffed out by human intervention. Additionally, the lack of fires has led to a sharp rise in big conifer trees, which crowd out aspens. And livestock and wild animal grazing has killed some of the younger aspens trying to survive.
Researchers concluded that warmer temperatures stressed trees, especially older ones that hadn’t been replaced by fire. They identified four parasites and one wasting disease that are now flourishing in the stands. One of the parasites, the aspen bark beetle, is so rare that it had only been mentioned once before in an academic paper....
They always think of SOMETHING to SHOVEL at you!
"ABCs of energy efficiency
We all know by now that energy efficiency is important. It’s going to help stabilize greenhouse gases, slow the building of power plants, save us money. But let’s face it. Getting - and keeping - people’s attention about the big EE is, at best, a challenge. It makes the eyes glaze over. People walk away from me at parties when I start talking weatherstripping. Really....
Sounds like a real fun girl! Even I would rather talk Red Sox.
When I was... young, everything was fun to learn.
Then I GREW UP and realized I'd been LIED TO MY WHOLE LIFE!
And we all know it stays with you....
--more--"
AHEM!!!!!!!
"Prof. Zelikow’s area of academic expertise is the creation and maintenance of, in his words, 'public myths’ or 'public presumptions’ which he defines as 'beliefs (1) thought to be true ( although not necessarily known with certainty) and (2) shared in common within the relevant political community.’ In his academic work and elsewhere he has taken a special interest in what he has called 'searing’ or 'molding’ events (that) take on transcendent’ importance and therefore retain their power even as the experiencing generation passes from the scene….He has noted that 'a history’s narrative power is typically linked to how readers relate to the actions of individuals in the history; if readers cannot make the connection to their own lives, then a history may fail to engage them at all." ("Thinking about Political History" Miller center Report, winter 1999, p 5-7)
Isn’t that the same as saying there is neither history nor truth; that what is really important is the manipulation of epochal events so they serve the interests of society’s managers? Thus, it follows that if the government can create their own "galvanizing events", then they can write history any way they choose."
