In the Rockies today, beetle-killed trees are changing the climate change calculations on forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
Beetles have killed trees on thousands of square miles of forests in British Columbia, and those dead trees are now emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere rather than absorbing the greenhouse gas.
A similar process is occurring in Colorado, where beetles have killed pine trees on more than 100,000 acres.
A new study released by federal scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder said that greenhouse gas emissions increased by 0.6 percent in 2007, and scientists said the increase was likely due to melting Arctic ice and increased industrialization in Asia.
Today in our "A Look Ahead," column, we provide a preview of the Natural Resources Law Center's annual conference, "Shifting Baselines & New Meridians--Water, Resources, Landscapes and the Transformation of the American West," scheduled June 4-6, 2008, at University of Colorado at Boulder Law School.
Register before May 9 to take advantage of the early registration discount.
Rockies today
Beetle infestation turns B.C. forests into carbon emitters
Pine-bark beetles have infested 144,000 square miles of forests in British Columbia, leaving dead and dying trees that emit more carbon dioxide than the forests absorb, and turning climate calculations about forests' role in capturing carbon emissions on their head.
Christian Science Monitor; April 24
Beetle-killed trees in Colorado could affect CO2 absorption
Trees on tens of thousands of acres of Colorado's forests have been killed by beetles, limiting forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide and the dead trees also emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Grand Junction Sentinel; April 24
Study: Greenhouse gas emissions increased sharply in 2007
A study conducted by scientists at the Boulder-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that greenhouse gas emissions increased by 0.6 percent in 2007, or 19 billion tons.
Denver Post; April 24
Proposed federal rules could let coal-fired plants into parks' airsheds
The Environmental Protection Agency is forging ahead on changes to the Clean Air Act that air-quality standards in Class-1 areas, which provides 156 national parks, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges the toughest protection from air pollution, despite criticism from parks advocates, air-quality experts and the agency's own staff experts.
Christian Science Monitor; April 24
Gold mining at highest level in decades in Colorado
The price of gold hit an all-time high last month of $1,003 an ounce, breathing new life into the gold mining industry in Colorado, where there are at least five mines open or preparing to open.
Denver Post; April 24
Federal, state, local agencies work to restore N.M. waterways
Over the past couple of years, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has spent close to $15 million on river restoration projects in New Mexico; the U.S. Forest Service spent $500,000 on watershed restoration in New Mexico and Arizona last year and plans to spend a like amount this year.
Santa Fe New Mexican; April 24
Utah governor pledges to keep foreign n-waste out of state
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Wednesday that he will use the state's vote on a regional nuclear waste council to keep nuclear waste from Italy from being disposed of in Utah.
Salt Lake Tribune; April 24
Opinion
Better to toss entire Farm Bill rather than to try to render the lard out
Too much lard, much of which has been injected by Montana Sen. Max Baucus and his cohorts from Iowa and North Dakota, have kept the massive $280-billion, five-year Farm Bill from lumbering through Congress, and it may be better for lawmakers to simply extend the current bill for another year and let Congress start over next session than pass the truly awful legislation currently under debate.
Washington Post; April 24
Montana's young voters can make their mark in 2008 election
Since Congress lowered the voting age to 18 in 1971, the turnout for voters aged 18 to 24 has never exceeded 50 percent, but recent rallies in Montana suggest that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has invigorated that sector of the voting public, which could have considerable effect this election. A column by Bob Brown, senior fellow at the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West at the University of Montana, of which Headwaters News is a project.
Bob Brown, O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West; April 24
There's still plenty of room for improvement on Utah wilderness bill
While the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2008 is markedly better than the one submitted Utah Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson in 2006, the legislation could be made better by removing the provision that would auction off 9,052 acres of federal land and use some of the proceeds of that sale to fund public projects, such as the controversial Lake Powell pipeline.
Salt Lake Tribune; April 24
Beyond the region
Hundreds of EPA scientists report politics interfered with work
Of the 1,586 Environmental Protection Agency scientists who responded to a survey of the Union of Concerned Scientists, 889 reported that they had experienced some political interference on the job.
Washington Post; April 24
DOE official lays out cleanup priorities at Hanford nuclear complex
Jim Rispoli, the U.S. Department of Energy's assistant secretary for environmental management, laid out the department's cleanup priorities for the Hanford nuclear campus in Washington state on Wednesday, and plans a tour of the site today.
Tri-City Herald; April 24
In depth
Greenpeace founder touts nuclear power at Idaho speech
At a speech before the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore said that nuclear power is the only viable solution to wean the globe off fossil fuels.
Idaho Statesman; April 24
Debate about paying to offset carbon footprint chugs along
Supporters of funds to offset carbon emissions say those funds pump up contributions for renewable energy projects, but critics call them schemes developed to assuage guilt about our energy-consuming ways.
Santa Fe New Mexican; April 24
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