SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY
Beetle Trouble and a Biofuel Mistake
In an ironic turn of events, the Mexican government is felling fir trees to protect monarch butterfly habitat. Late rains left the trees vulnerable to deadly bark beetle attack, and officials—who usually work to stop illegal logging—are themselves cutting and disposing of infested trees in an effort to slow the beetles' spread.
A different beetle is causing problems in the United States—the invasive Asian longhorn beetle, which was introduced from China and which kills a number of North American hardwoods. Smithsonian magazine chronicled the fight against the insect in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government is getting more serious about protecting polar bears, and just proposed protecting more than 200,000 square miles of critical habitat for the species. The designation won't stop the bears' most serious problem, the melting of sea ice, but conservationists say it's a step in the right direction.
Amphibians have also been declining around the world, in part because of a pandemic fungal disease. New research published in Science magazine revealed how the fungus ultimately causes heart failure, even though it only infects the animals' skin.
Another article in Science pointed to a key flaw in the Kyoto Protocol and in international climate legislation, including some versions of the still-pending U.S. climate bill. The problem, the scientists say, is that biofuels are counted as carbon-neutral, regardless of whether forests were cut in order to produce the fuels. The resulting laws could encourage deforestation and ultimately worsen climate change.
Meanwhile, despite mounting evidence, Americans are becoming increasingly skeptical of climate change. The Pew Research Center polled 1,500 adults and found that only 57 percent believe the climate is warming—down from 71 percent last April. Analysts say a distracting economy, temporarily cooler weather and politics may have diverted people from the evidence for climate change.
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