Forests

"The fire danger in many parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties is 'about as high as it can be,' a meteorologist warned Tuesday."

"Scientists who gathered decades of measurements from hundreds of thousands of trees all over the world are punching a hole in the common assumption that large, old trees are biologically pretty much over the hill.

"The record cold U.S. temperatures may have a silver lining - killing off some tree-eating forest pests that have spread dangerously as the general climate warms up, scientists said."

"BLUE ANCHOR, N.J. — 'Heads up!' Deep in the woods, the whine of chain saws pierced the fall air, and Steve Garcia shouted a warning to fellow loggers as a 40-foot pitch pine crashed to the ground. He was chopping down trees to save the forest as part of New Jersey’s effort to beat back an invasion of beetles."

"A conservation group is calling a bill proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) a 'nightmare for Oregon's forests.'"

"The first fine-scale mapping of global forest cover shows the rate of forest loss in the tropics has increased over the past 12 years. The use of remote sensing satellite data to chronicle changes in global land cover is not new. But in a paper published online this week in the journal Science, researchers provide an exceptionally detailed accounting of gains and loses in global forest cover from 2000 to 2012."

"LOS ANGELES -- Wildfire smoke poses a growing health risk to millions of Americans, even for those who live hundreds of miles from the flames, a new report by an environmental group says."

"The Amazon rain forest's dry season lasts three weeks longer than it did 30 years ago, and the likely culprit is global warming, a new study finds."

"Across Minnesota, a determined counterattack is emerging against a looming threat to the northern forest — climate change."

"MOUNT VICTORIA -- Firefighters were battling an enormous blaze in southeastern Australia Monday, with officials warning it could merge with another to create a 'mega-fire' if weather conditions worsen."