Trees of Life

“Out of sight, out of mind.”

Have you ever heard somebody utter that phrase?  It’s a phrase that seems to be relative to a person’s current thought-process: If I don’t have to see it, then it’s nothing I really care about.

But that’s the kind of ignorance that many settle with; they care only about what it is they can reach.  And they only care about what affects their current situation.  Knowing this, would you care if somebody said our mountain forests are dying?  Would you believe it even if you didn’t see it?  I hope so.

For more than a decade, a pine/bark beetle infestation has obliterated the forests in the Rocky Mountains – from Arizona to the Provinces of Upper Canada.  Essentially, the beetle burrows and infests a tree until it dies from the inside out.  The effects are actually quite sad: It turns many Lodgepole Pines from a brilliant green to a rusty color.  Imagine a mountain full of these dead trees – as pictured.  It’s tragic.

Some are willing to say that this is the result of global warming – combined with other airborne pollutants – which I tend to agree with.  Others say it’s cyclical, concluding that the pine beetle kills off our precious trees once every 100 years (I’m unsure of an exact time frame).  So does that mean global warming is cyclical?  Either way, the pine beetle is loose.  A drought – coupled with warm winters – has allowed the pine beetle to propagate and kill more than 1.5 million acres of treed land.

If you haven’t put this together in your head yet, this all equals a major problem for our country, the North American continent and the world.  As more and more trees die, the threat of a MAJOR wildfire looms.

If you remember the Hayman fire in Colorado back in 2002, the devastation was immense.  It was the largest fire in the state’s history.  Another problem that seemed to creep up on the peoples of Colorado was the terrible effect it had on the South Platte River.

This AWESOME tubing and fishing river was overrun with soot from the fire.  It turned the river Armageddon black (note my use of the word Armageddon as an adjective).  When it rained, all the runoff would make its way to the river and then overwhelm it with pollutants and then subsequently destroy the area with floods.

Let’s pretend for a moment that we have a major fire among the dead, beetle-infested Lodgepole Pines.  Like the Hayman fire, this will cause extreme devastation to the land and will hurt the surrounding habitats and economies.  Colorado (and other affected states and provinces) has already suffered from a lull in tourism.  The mountains aren’t as beautiful when the trees are dead.  And they certainly won’t be as beautiful covered in black soot from a wildfire.

But, as we learned from the Yellowstone National Park fires of 1988, the vegetation returned and the cycle of life continued despite the devastation.  It actually proved to be beneficial for the Park.

So, back to the problem at hand, here’s where our dying forests becomes a national problem.  Here’s where it becomes your problem!  If a major fire were to happen among the 1.5 million acres (and growing) of dead trees, it will have catastrophic effects on the surrounding rivers and lakes.  If you can deduce what happens next, it should certainly shiver your spine.  Yes, our drinking water will be affected.

There’s nobody better to explain the sincerity of the situation than Dr. Monica B. Emelko, Associate Professor from the University of Waterloo’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering based in Ontario, Canada.  Dr. Emelko was kind enough to answer my rudimentary questions about how and why our water resources would deteriorate if such an event were to occur (and it will, eventually).

“Disturbances such as wildfire can significantly impact both water quality in headwater streams and produce cascading effects in downstream environments and for drinking water treatment processes,” said Dr. Emelko.  “Most of the impacts on water quality come from added sediments and debris to surface water.  In general, fires change vegetation canopies as well as ground material and soil properties, thereby changing how water from rain and snow gets into our water supplies. One key change is that erosion from rainfall greatly increases.”

Thankfully, Dr. Emelko is an expert in drinking water treatment and design.  She is actively involved in studying the impacts of wildfire and climate change in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada as a member of the Southern Rockies Watershed Project team with colleagues from the University of Alberta, the University of Waterloo and the University of Lethbridge.  So that means she’s the quintessential subject matter expert on this issue.

“Soil properties can be altered when the loss of surface materials (litter and duff layers) causes the soil to be heated, which can result in the formation of a water repellent layer of soil,” Dr. Emelko explains further.  “For high severity wildfires, peak streamflow discharges can be up to 60 times higher than what would be expected under prefire conditions. The loss of vegetation and the increase in water flowing through the watershed also affect various water quality parameters.”

If you’re really smart, you’ll also understand that Colorado supplies the drinking water for many surrounding states.  And if you’re a genius, you can immediately deduce that the costs of purifying the affected water will skyrocket.

“Not surprisingly, increased suspended solids/turbidity result in increased dependency on solids removal processes such as coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation, production of wastes, treatment chemical demand, and water treatment plant operating costs,” said Dr. Emelko.  “Increases in water organic material can also have the same impacts on treatment; as well, elevated levels can result in increased production of potentially carcinogenic disinfection by-products, such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids when residual organics react with chlorine and other disinfectants that are used to remove harmful pathogens from water.”

As you can see, this problem needs to be addressed quickly.  Whatever that solution is, I’m sure it will take money and our government’s support.  But, wait!  It seems our government is too busy bailing out large corporations because of the mortgage crisis and a handful of other problems (i.e., the $500 billion U.S. deficit, corporate greed, the oncoming Baby Boomer retirements, rising unemployment, Hurricanes that ravaged our coasts, and a defunct health care system).  Need I say more?

As Dr. Emelko opines: “We have to make informed choices and manage resources (forests, water, etc.) in an integrated manner.  Access to safe drinking water may be a right, but water itself is a resource. And contrary to what many people believe, safe drinking water comes at a price; a vast majority of the time ‘pristine’ water does not meet safe drinking water requirements.

“When we get into the social issues and costs, the associated group of stakeholders becomes very diverse, often with competing interests and unfortunately little vision or sense of social responsibility and good corporate citizenship. It is certain that these issues cannot be wished away; moreover, because of the scale of watersheds, these issues have to be addressed in a concerted organized manner, which necessitates government leadership.”

Government leadership?  Oh yeah, that’s what we lack in the United States.

To get back on the subject, essentially, America is broke.  I’m sure there won’t be enough money to help a natural disaster such as this, whenever that should happen (and it’s not a matter of if, but when).  Because it’s already a natural disaster, right?  What happens when the fires come?  I guess we’ll call it a worldwide catastrophe at that point.

But what to do?  If you haven’t concluded this already, this is neither a Democrat nor a Republican problem (like most of the problems we face in this country).  This is everybody’s problem.  Of course, do your part and vote during this next election.  (It’s going to an exciting one, too!).  But also do your part and try to be a bit more Earth-friendly.

It’s also important that you do your part to support the states and provinces that are experiencing this problem.  Write your Congressperson about this situation.  Because it IS everybody’s problem at this point.  It would also be nice if you planned a visit to the Rocky Mountain states and provinces of North America.  The tourism industry really needs help.

I recently watched the movie, “V for Vendetta.”  The lead character poignantly said, “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”

Let’s do our part and be sure our government hears this loud and clear.  Out of sight, out of mind should no longer apply.  I would also like to continue enjoying our mountain forests, as pictured, with my son and daughter.  Wouldn’t it be great if they could come back to this same place and experience it with their children?  Preserving the natural habitats and lands of this Earth should be our first priority: For the sake of our present situation and future generations.

Note: The middle two photos were provided by Dr. Emelko.  You can e-mail Dr. Emelko as well: mbemelko@uwaterloo.ca.

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