It appears that the only way to reduce the emission threat is to process the dead pine before the decay becomes too advanced, but there is no financial incentive. We have but 700 days to take the responsibility that this little beetle has presented to us, and even then, we have to consider the possible negative impacts associated with such large scale logging as we process this massive volume of wood into various wood products.
The challenge is expensive and considered by many to be impossible, however for the most part, to do nothing will be expensive as well.
In a report released this month, the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition called on the federal and provincial governments to help the area head off a total economic collapse in which mills could close, 4,000 jobs could be lost and entire communities could face depopulation as people leave in search of work.
Donna Barnett, 100 Mile House mayor and coalition chair, told Mark Hume of the Globe and Mail, that with government help the area hopes it can avoid the worst-case scenario.
"What we're looking at is getting beyond that," she said of predictions of what could happen if the forest industry has a meltdown and there is no plan to mitigate damage.
"We know we'll have a forest industry, we just don't know what it will look like," Ms. Barnett said. "With this blueprint, we believe we can soften the blow quite a bit."
Ms. Barnett said the Cariboo-Chilcotin "is in unknown territory" in trying to figure out how to deal with the pine-beetle epidemic.
But she believes that with proper planning the region can survive.
She said Community Development Minister Blair Lekstrom accepted the executive summary of the 3,000-page report and promised a response within 30 to 60 days.
"The mountain pine beetle epidemic in British Columbia is a large-scale natural disaster that has largely been created by global climate change," the report states. "As governments throughout the world discuss and debate climate change policies and initiatives - the people of the Cariboo-Chilcotin region are living on the front lines of the socio-economic challenges created by climate change."
The report describes the mountain pine beetle epidemic as "a slow-moving natural disaster," but says there is time to plan how to handle the economic fallout.
It predicts that "severe and complex" environmental, economic and social challenges will be created as the vast forest in the region dies off. It states that although logging operations are busy now, by 2012 the annual timber harvest will have fallen from 14 million cubic metres of wood to 4.4 million cubic metres.
It adds that there is potential for "social chaos" if there is massive unemployment, coupled with a collapse in housing prices and workers' exodus.
To deal with the pending crisis, the report calls for the government to provide $51-million over 10 years for planning and restructuring the economy, $323-million for economic development and creation of a $176-million fund, "which would be drawn upon in the event the economic situation in the region deteriorates more dramatically than envisioned."
The amount pales in comparison to recent discoveries made in the US where the economic impacts of climate change are just now beginning to surface and will carry a price tag of billions of dollars for a number of U.S. states according to a new series of reports from the University of Maryland's Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER). The researchers conclude that the costs have already begun to accrue and are likely to endure.
"We don't have a crystal ball and can't predict specific bottom lines, but the trend is very clear for the eight states studied and the nation as a whole: climate change will cost billions in the long run and the bottom line will be red," says Matthias Ruth, who coordinated the research, he added, "Inaction or delayed action will make the ink run redder."
Last year, Ruth conducted a similar nationwide analysis and concluded that the total economic cost of climate change in the United States will be major and affect all regions, though the cost remains uncounted, unplanned for and largely hidden in public debate.
"These new state snapshots can help underscore the extent of damage already experienced in various parts of the country," Ruth adds. "We hope the data and the trends can help state and local policy-makers plan for additional changes ahead."
The eight new studies were released the same day as the Cariboo Chilcotin report and include the following state summaries that consider economic impacts based on climate changes already in motion. Unabated climate change would likely increase these economic effects:
Colorado: More than $1 billion in losses due to impacts on tourism, forestry, water resources and human health from a predicted drier, warmer climate.
Georgia: Multi-million dollar losses from predicted higher seas along Georgia's coast.
Kansas: Losses exceeding $1 billion from impact on agriculture of predicted warmer temperatures and reduced water supply in much of the state.
Illinois: Billions of dollars in losses from impact on shipping, trade and water resources. Warmer temperatures and lower water levels predicted for much of the state.
Michigan: Billions of dollars in losses from damage to the state's shipping and water resources. Warmer temperatures and lower water levels predicted for much of the state.
Nevada: Billions of dollars in losses from a much drier climate and pressure on scarce water resources. Water limitations could affect tourism, real estate, development and human health. Many western states may confront similar challenges.
New Jersey: Billions of dollars in losses from higher sea levels and the impact on tourism, transportation, real estate and human health.
Ohio: Billions of dollars in losses from warmer temperatures and lower water levels and the resulting impact on shipping and water supplies.
"If there's a single bottom line in all of this research, it's that delaying action on climate change carries a significant cost," says Ruth. "State, local and national leaders will save money in the long-run by adopting a proactive approach."
It really appears that for now the challenge is more than combating the impacts of climate change; our greatest challenge is to recognize that it’s really happening and that time itself is of the essence.
For the next fifty years the costs associated with climate change will certainly change our economy, taxation, and banking and even the way we govern ourselves. If there was ever a time where we collectively shift our priorities, that time should be now.
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Don Elzer writes and comments about the future, current affairs, lifestyle and the natural world. He is a director of the Watershed Intelligence Network publishers of The Monster Guide, which can be found at www.themonsterguide.com
He can also be reached by email at: treks@uniserve.com
