Pine beetle Turning Forests Into Greenhouse Gas Gushers

Nature has it's ways, and pine beetles have been around for a long time, enjoying their lifestyle, caring little what they are doing to the planet. They also don't seem to care a wit about Canada's CO2 budget.

VANCOUVER -- The tiny mountain pine beetle has transformed British Columbia's vast pine forests into a major source of greenhouse gases, federal scientists say.

By the time the unprecedented infestation ends, the rice-sized beetles will have killed so many trees an extra billion tonnes of carbon dioxide will be wafting through the atmosphere, researchers from the Canadian Forest Service report in the journal Nature on Thursday.

That is five times the annual emissions from all the cars, trucks, trains and planes in Canada, says lead author Werner Kurz, who warns the beetle's impact goes far beyond the B.C. border.

Of course, CO2 is a minor greenhouse gas, and not a major contributor of anything except photosynthesis. Photosynthesis, in case you don't know, is the process by which plants take in CO2 and water add sunlight they then produce growth and give off oxygen. Mmmmm oxygen, animals love oxygen, plants love CO2. The cycle of life for carbon lifeforms.

You can read the rest here, but I caution you it is full of global warming drivel.