#5SmartReads - August 3, 2021

On bark beetles, backbends, and how the pandemic ends

Beetles, drought, and fires are a ticking time bomb in the West (Vox)

Bark beetles sound innocent - like a character from a children’s book, and seemingly innocent.

In reality, they are anything but. And both climate change and forest mismanagement has caused their population to swell in the western forests in the United States, with disastrous consequences.

For as much as we look at slowing down climate change, we also look at near term solutions - like controlled burns and forest thinning - to proactively manage our forests and minimize the spread of wildfires.

And, you know, get the bark beetle population under control.

A big thanks to Abra for sharing this article first on her Stories.