Much has been said here in Colorado about the pine beetle outbreak in the beautiful mountains west of Denver.  Anyone who travels in the high country has seen and most likely taken note of the patches of dead, brown pine trees. 

More than one news story has reported that the beetles were a harbinger of things to come as a result of global warming and manmade climate change. 

Interestingly enough, that isn’t necessarily the case.  As reported in the Climate Change Examiner, man may be partially responsible but it isn’t CO2 emissions that are to blame.  Mismanagement of forests and a ‘perfect storm’ of other items can be fingered as well.

From the Climate Change Examiner:

A tiny little bug about the size of a grain of rice has become a focal point in the debate about manmade climate change. Over the last 12 years, the mountain pine beetle has spread quickly through the Mountain West and Canada killing millions of acres of pine trees.

The beetle thrives when conditions are drier and warmer than average and some experts have blamed its spread on manmade climate change and a warming environment. From Canada south to Colorado, images of acres of dead, brown trees amongst their healthy neighbors make for a stark picture of what may be forests in decline.

Global warming activists have been quick to seize on the pine beetle ‘epidemic’ as a sign of things to come and an impending ecological disaster. In truth, drawing the line between manmade climate change and the pine beetle outbreak is a stretch that few experts make. Rather, most see the outbreak as a natural function of forests and in many ways it is Mother Nature correcting man’s previous mistakes.

Get the complete story on Examiner.com and find out why even state foresters aren’t blaming man entirely.