9 replies to this topic

[Shortpoet-GTD]

"A preliminary state estimate says as many as a half-billion trees died this year across
Texas from the drought persisting across much of the state.
The Texas Forest Service said in a statement Monday that its foresters estimated that
100 million to 500 million trees died in the 2011 drought."

http://www.huffingto..._n_1159637.html

So the old adage of breathe free-plant a tree just doesn't work in these drought
stricken areas.

[mariaandrea]

That's so awful. How can there be even one person in Texas who doesn't "believe" in climate change and global warming? Entire large lakes are completely dried up. The groundwater is almost gone. The trees are dead and livestock is dying everywhere. Sure, there are places in the state not so badly affected, but huge swaths seem like they're going to be uninhabitable in just a few years.

[artistry]

In one year half a billion trees died. Good grief. What a devastating.situation.  There are states in the southeast that are going through some of this as well, especially the drying up of the lakes and rivers. Some of the states there were fighting in court over water rights. This is going to spread as time goes on, sad to say. I wonder if they thought about cutting the trees down, before they completely died, to al least have the wood. Very, very bad. Thanks for the information.

[Pushhyarag2000]

That's an awful lot of trees lost! People living in tropical countries and arid zones will know how bad it all means. In fact, the drought stricken & dry areas on earth just continue to go from bad to worse and overall, it means pretty bad for the climate on the planet. Wonder if there are genuine afforestation efforts exist in Texas because elsewhere, like in some states in India there is precious little that either the government or the community contribute to.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

mariaandrea, on 20 December 2011 - 05:30 PM, said:

How can there be even one person in Texas who doesn't "believe" in climate change and global warming?

It's been an oil and gas state for decades, they're not about to slap the hand that feeds them and
admit the emissions from their "precious commodity" is slowing killing us from climate change.

Just last summer, I lost 30-40% of my trees. Several years ago, I was on my way to 300+ in my yard.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Pushhyarag2000, on 21 December 2011 - 03:50 AM, said:

Wonder if there are genuine afforestation efforts exist in Texas because elsewhere, like in some states in India
there is precious little that either the government or the community contribute to.

Short answer? Nope.
They haven't even restricted water use here.
And guess who, just last year-in the middle of this historic drought, installed a new car wash?
You guessed it. wal-mart.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Boswellia, the tree that is tapped for frankincense is in decline too. This time from beetles.

"Trees that produce frankincense, a fragrant resin used in incense and perfumes and a central part of the Christmas story, are declining so fast that production could be halved over the next 15 years, scientists said on Wednesday.

In a study published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, ecologists from the Netherlands and
Ethiopia looked at large-scale field studies and predicted that tree numbers could decline
by 90 percent in the next 50 years.
If fire, grazing and insect attack, the most likely causes of decline, remain unchecked, then frankincense production could be doomed altogether, they warned."
http://www.msnbc.msn...cience-science/

Pine beetles have killed millions of trees too.
http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all
http://www.msnbc.msn...sts-us-reports/

[SpiroFlo]

Just used this image in a recent blog:



*AG = agriculture

I think it says what needs to be said.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Maybe I'll install some mosquito netting over the yard next spring. It may not look that good, but maybe
it will shade some of my smaller trees, so they can live a bit longer.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

This is related to tree deaths, so I'm posting it here.

"Triangular, purple kite-like contraptions placed in trees across the country are helping state and
federal agriculture officials learn more about a deadly beetle that has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the United States
and Canada and threatens countless more.

The 61,500 traps installed in 48 states are part of a survey led and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
track the emerald ash borer, a species native to China and eastern Asia that was first detected in the U.S. in 2002.

The invasive pest likely arrived inside wood packing material from Asia and has since been detected in 15 states through the national survey using the purple traps that has been done annually since 2008.

Currently the USDA has quarantined West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and the lower peninsula of
Michigan.
Certain areas of other states, like Virginia, also have quarantines, which means that ash trees, logs or nursery trees
cannot be transported out of that specific area."


http://www.huffingto....html?ref=green