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Description
This is my entry for the #CoolClimate contest …

It is also dedicated to the water bomber pilots and to those who fight forest fires around the world. In particular to those who have lost their lives in pursuit of this challenging and dangerous career.

All images used are either my own photography and or digitally created/painted by me.

The Burden

My little wood swallow carries a heavy Burden … a single tear … a tear for the devastation caused by climate change ... a single tear shed for millions of acres of dead trees.

Adding to his Burden is the smoke ... the sky is thick with it. From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean hundreds of kilometers’ of forest are burning; a pervasive pall of smoke clings to the mountains and seeps into the valleys of British Columbia. Over 300,000 hectares of flames this year; one of the worst years in over a decade! The summers of 2009 and 2010 were two of the hottest, driest on record; from January 2010 to date (September 1st) it averaged 3.5 degrees warmer than normal.

A Deeper Problem

While the fires have worsened in the last decade there is an underlying and greater problem caused by Global Warming. It lies hidden beneath the bark ... the Northern Pine Beetle. Millions of pine trees have been destroyed by this ravenous insect's infestation! The home of my youth; my beautiful pine forests are almost gone!

Mountainsides, once blanketed in green trees are now covered in towering gray matchsticks. Dead trees, killed by the beetle, wait for their cremation; millions of hectares waiting to burn!

The Science

According to scientists these large-scale forest deaths from beetle infestations are likely a symptom of a bigger problem; warming temperatures and increased stress, due to a changing climate.

The cumulative area in B.C. affected by the Northern Pine Beetle (to some degree) is estimated at 16.3 million hectares or 130,000 square kilometers (approximately the size of England). At this rate of infestation 80% of mature pine trees in B.C. will be dead by 2013!

In a vicious cycle, the results of the dead trees brings about further problems: "The beetle's devastation will release into the atmosphere (by 2020) almost a billion megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases . That's almost equal to five years of emissions from Canada's transportation sector." (NRCan's senior research scientist, Werner Kurz).

After more than a decade, B.C.'s Forestry Minister says the plague of the Pine Beetle may finally be over. The irony is that the beetle is on the decline only because it is running out of food!

The Solution

So what can I do ... I have no secret elixir that will kill the pine beetle or a magic spell to stop the forest fires. Yet there is something I can do... we all can do!

As individuals we can each take on some of the Burden; learn something from the pine beetle ...learn that in large numbers even tiny things can have enormous powers of change.

Each tree planted, each piece of paper recycled, each rotary mower pushed by human power, each leave-blower replace by a rake ... all makes a difference. Walking to the corner store instead of driving, replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescence, demanding less packaging from manufacturer and stores, carrying your own reusable grocery bags ... these make a difference.

Being aware of government policies on climate change (both local and national), letting them know we want to see policies that work toward a solution, now! And, when they drag their feet and play politics, when their actions threaten the delicate balance or they ignore the risks to our home (Earth)...demand they make a change or change the government.

And possibly the most important thing we can do is to never, ever become discouraged ... we had the means and power to create the problem ... let us take up the Burden and fix it!

For more info on the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation:

[link]

THIS IMAGE IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
Please, no reproduction, copying or duplication; in part or in whole of my photography and/or artwork.
If you really want to use one of my images (in any medium) please note me and I will seriously consider your request.
Thank you.

Description
This is my entry for the #CoolClimate contest …

It is also dedicated to the water bomber pilots and to those who fight forest fires around the world. In particular to those who have lost their lives in pursuit of this challenging and dangerous career.

All images used are either my own photography and or digitally created/painted by me.

The Burden

My little wood swallow carries a heavy Burden … a single tear … a tear for the devastation caused by climate change ... a single tear shed for millions of acres of dead trees.

Adding to his Burden is the smoke ... the sky is thick with it. From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean hundreds of kilometers’ of forest are burning; a pervasive pall of smoke clings to the mountains and seeps into the valleys of British Columbia. Over 300,000 hectares of flames this year; one of the worst years in over a decade! The summers of 2009 and 2010 were two of the hottest, driest on record; from January 2010 to date (September 1st) it averaged 3.5 degrees warmer than normal.

A Deeper Problem

While the fires have worsened in the last decade there is an underlying and greater problem caused by Global Warming. It lies hidden beneath the bark ... the Northern Pine Beetle. Millions of pine trees have been destroyed by this ravenous insect's infestation! The home of my youth; my beautiful pine forests are almost gone!

Mountainsides, once blanketed in green trees are now covered in towering gray matchsticks. Dead trees, killed by the beetle, wait for their cremation; millions of hectares waiting to burn!

The Science

According to scientists these large-scale forest deaths from beetle infestations are likely a symptom of a bigger problem; warming temperatures and increased stress, due to a changing climate.

The cumulative area in B.C. affected by the Northern Pine Beetle (to some degree) is estimated at 16.3 million hectares or 130,000 square kilometers (approximately the size of England). At this rate of infestation 80% of mature pine trees in B.C. will be dead by 2013!

In a vicious cycle, the results of the dead trees brings about further problems: "The beetle's devastation will release into the atmosphere (by 2020) almost a billion megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases . That's almost equal to five years of emissions from Canada's transportation sector." (NRCan's senior research scientist, Werner Kurz).

After more than a decade, B.C.'s Forestry Minister says the plague of the Pine Beetle may finally be over. The irony is that the beetle is on the decline only because it is running out of food!

The Solution

So what can I do ... I have no secret elixir that will kill the pine beetle or a magic spell to stop the forest fires. Yet there is something I can do... we all can do!

As individuals we can each take on some of the Burden; learn something from the pine beetle ...learn that in large numbers even tiny things can have enormous powers of change.

Each tree planted, each piece of paper recycled, each rotary mower pushed by human power, each leave-blower replace by a rake ... all makes a difference. Walking to the corner store instead of driving, replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescence, demanding less packaging from manufacturer and stores, carrying your own reusable grocery bags ... these make a difference.

Being aware of government policies on climate change (both local and national), letting them know we want to see policies that work toward a solution, now! And, when they drag their feet and play politics, when their actions threaten the delicate balance or they ignore the risks to our home (Earth)...demand they make a change or change the government.

And possibly the most important thing we can do is to never, ever become discouraged ... we had the means and power to create the problem ... let us take up the Burden and fix it!

For more info on the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation:

[link]

THIS IMAGE IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED
Please, no reproduction, copying or duplication; in part or in whole of my photography and/or artwork.
If you really want to use one of my images (in any medium) please note me and I will seriously consider your request.
Thank you.