The Insatiable Bark Beetle

"In our ever-warming world, trillions of indigenous bark beetles are killing billions of mature conifers throughout the forests of western North America and around the world, as they embark on their largest and most destructive feeding frenzy in modern times. In areas where cold temperatures traditionally prevented these insects from thriving, our once-healthy but now water-starved trees are becoming more and more vulnerable to the voracious appetites of these destructive pests. With aspects of both our environment and the economy at stake, Dr. Reese Halter's second RMB Manifesto provides information on the various types of beetles negatively impacting trees, descriptions of the ecosystems they currently inhabit, and an accessible look at the future humanity may face if we do not find ways to control greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, which are contributing factors to the ongoing spread of bark beetles." -- Publisher.

Provocative, passionate and populist, RMB Manifestos are short and concise non-fiction books of literary, critical, and cultural studies. In our ever-warming world, trillions of indigenous bark beetles are killing billions of mature conifers throughout the forests of western North America and around the world, as they embark on their largest and most destructive feeding frenzy in modern times. In areas where cold temperatures traditionally prevented these insects from thriving, our once-healthy but now water-starved trees are becoming more and more vulnerable to the voracious appetites of these destructive pests. With aspects of both our environment and the economy at stake, Dr. Reese Halter’s second RMB Manifesto provides information on the various types of beetles negatively impacting trees, descriptions of the ecosystems they currently inhabit, and an accessible look at the future humanity may face if we do not find ways to control greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, which are contributing factors to the ongoing spread of bark beetles.

A loving look at one of the world’s most maligned, misunderstood, and fascinating insects Famous foe of forestry professionals and despised spreader of Dutch elm disease, bark beetles have a bad reputation: the World’s Worst Forest Pests. They chew through timber profits and kill healthy trees, turning forests from carbon sinks into carbon sources. But entomologist Jiri Hulcr sees more to these evil weevils than meets the eye, and offers you a closer look—literally. With science journalist Marc Abrahams, Hulcr offers a funny and informative introduction to these under-studied and underappreciated insects.  This lively book turns cutting-edge research into an enjoyable tour through the miniature world of a charming critter. Vivid macrophotography captures every aspect of bark beetle life in stunning detail, from their dramatic family stories and curiously endearing looks to their mating strategies, and the secret fungus farms where they cultivate their own “ambrosia.” You’ll learn how much we don’t know about bark beetles—and what that means for science’s attempts to control them as climate change alters their habitats. Whether you’re a scientist seeking up-to-date pest management strategies or you’re just wondering if your backyard trees are at risk, this book will help you better understand the latest discoveries in beetle symbioses, molecular biology, and ecology. But be warned: at the end of this read you may be filled with affection for these adorable and astonishing beetles.

Beavers are the great comeback story--a keystone species that survived ice ages, major droughts, the fur trade, urbanization and near extinction. Their ability to create and maintain aquatic habitats has endeared them to conservationists, but puts the beavers at odds with urban and industrial expansion. These conflicts reflect a dichotomy within our national identity. We place environment and our concept of wilderness as a key touchstone for promotion and celebration, while devoting significant financial and personal resources to combating "the beaver problem." We need to rethink our approach to environmental conflict in general, and our approach to species-specific conflicts in particular. Our history often celebrates our integration of environment into our identity, but our actions often reveal an exploitation of environment and celebration of its subjugation. Why the conflict with the beaver? It is one of the few species that refuses to play by our rules and continues to modify environments to meet its own needs and the betterment of so many other species, while at the same time showing humans that complete dominion over nature is not necessarily achievable.

Becoming Water takes the reader on a tour of Canada's glaciers, describing the stories they tell and educating the reader about how glaciers came to be, how they work and what their future holds in our warming world. By visiting Canada's high and low Arctic and the mountain West, the reader will learn how varied and complex our glaciers really are, how they are measured and how they figure into the national and global story of inevitable change. The reader will learn to think like a scientist, in particular how to look at climate-related data that contains cycles, trends and shifts, and then ponder what questions to ask in the face of our dramatically changing environment. This book encourages Canadians to explore upstream from ourselves, learning about our origins and how climate change and encroaching human settlement are drastically affecting our glaciers and therefore the natural and human landscapes that lie below--and are dependent upon--them.