Our Legacy

...destroying most of the pine forest in N America...

Lodgepole pine I am guessing. Your broad brush is way too broad for my taste. The pine forest in the SE and mid South is just fine. Although we do have instances of beetle and fungal attacks, they are very much a minor note in the overall health of Southern pine forests.

Yes, Philip, Lodgepole has taken the brunt. But it's also Spruce, other pines (since there are numerous beetles involved, not just the pine beetle) and extends to deciduous as well (Sudden Aspen Decline--beetles and drought/warmer winters as well) I'm glad to hear the SE forests are doing well--they are not in most of the West, from Mexico to Alaska. If you think I am broad brushing you need to take a trip out here and get a "taste" of the devastation for yourself. Oh, and speaking of the SE, I just mentioned the Wooly Adelgid epidemic that wiped out a good chunk of the Smoky Mountains--surely you are aware of this (invasive species).

Great issue, and a good photo to illustrate just one of the many consequences of human-influenced climate change.
I think the muted colors -- even in the sky -- help establish the mood here. Unfortunately, I wonder how many people will recognize how serious the issue is simply by seeing a few dead trees in a single photograph. Keep working on this, and come up with an image that will really shock people.

I hope anyone interested in this topic also looks at your post in the discussion forum.

Thanks Wayne--it's depressing photography, which is why ive turned a blind eye to it myself for so long. But since oddly many people are unaware of the scope of this phenomena, i'm gonna start documenting. I'm not sure what it would take to get people's attention though--this is a society that assumes everything is fantasy and only affects the other guy. If you have any ideas--send them my way!

It's depressing, for sure. In the Big Horns, where I live, it's Charmanga Rust that's behind most the die off (although pine beetles do their share as well) . A winter with two solid weeks of severe cold (20 below at least) would be most welcome.

I wonder how much if any the tracts of dead pines and other trees contributed to the recent fires in Colorado? I was very and sadly shocked to see how much of the pine forests were dead on my last visit in 2010. Your photo illustrates the problem well.

John--the High park fire which burned a couple hundred homes in the Poudre Canyon area west of Ft Collins was fueled by the beetle killed trees. The biggest fire is yet to come. A big burn may or may not be a good thing...

Stan, I think your broader scale images posted in the RMNP forum have more impact. I wouldn't get your hopes up about cold killing beetles. Alaska has plenty of Spruce Bark beetles and you must remember that a key attribute of an invasive species is that it can adapt and evolve quickly.

media feeds on and the public thrives on drama, fires yes, dead forest, no. The human race has become immune to to sight of violence and despair. I really don't know what needs to happen to get people to change their lifestyle, it is possibly the hardest thing people have trouble doing, many would kill before changing what they eat, wear and drive.

We also must always keep or short and rather insignificant existence in perspective, the earth will continue on and new creatures will emerge, long after our species goes extinct.