Climate change is accelerating the death rate of trees in western U.S. forests, according to a disturbing new study released by the U.S. Geological Survey today.  Now that I live on the West coast I am much more aware of the terrible droughts that plant life suffers out here, and these long, hot summers are killing off trees faster than new ones can replace them.  Add excessive wildfires and vicious bark beetles to the droughts, and the poor trees hardly stand a chance.

If these conditions continue to worsen, climate scientists are concerned that U.S. forests could go from being carbon sink that removes greenhouse gases  from the air, to being major contributors to the release of carbon dioxide.  We’re going to need more help than just Smokey the Bear to tackle this problem.  The loss of trees from drought and other conditions should be a major consideration in the upcoming climate talks.

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Related: Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Photo: jaydoubleyougee’s flickr photostream (CC)