Summary:
There has been a rise in invasive bugs all over the world that kills trees. The world has been shipping lumber all over the world. So, these bugs have been in the wood that is being shipped and is showing up in places that are not used to that kind of bug. These bugs have been feasting on wood. People say they and be disruptive, irritating, and really really expensive to clean up. In the biology journal PLoS One, they reveals that the invasive tree-killing insects are costing the US about one billion dollars a year. These insects cause the government to track them down and kill them. Since our trees have don't have any sort of protection, these insects will feast on a whole forest. Because of this many forests are close to gone and property value has gone down.
Opinion/Reflection:
I have known about this because my family goes camping a lot and the ask you not to bring any wood from other states because of the invasive insects. I believe that this is a huge deal and the government should do any means possible to end these insects. I also think that when companies export wood, they should check for these bugs so they do not go to other states or countries and cause big problems.
Questions:
1- Whos fault is it that these bugs are spreading?
2- What is the world going to be like with no forests? (If the bugs are not stopped)
3- How do the insects know to "catch a ride" and go to other types of wood?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time that I've heard of this and this is crazy! I didn't know that such small creatures could take down whole forests. The government should try to create laws and definentely have inspections of the wood before and after it is shipped to try to prevent this from happening in the best way possible. With all these bugs attacking our forests, we won't be able to use the wood anymore. My dad is a contracter and he uses a lot of lumber. If this porblem continues, it could affect him and a lot of other contracters. It would affect them because the price of lumber could go up because it will be more expensive to get wood if the bugs don't stop.
Answering the Questions
1.Although there isn't one person to blame, it is anyone who sees the bugs and doesn't do anything or people who don't take care of/inspect the wood.
2.We would have to find alternate ways of building houses, decks, paper, and everything else that we use with lumber. The CO2 levels would get really high and the oxygen levels would get really low because the trees wouldn't be able to take in the CO2 and realse oxygen.
3.The insects are probably just looking for food and obviously aren't intending to wipe out forests, although they possibly could.
Ask More Questions
What are these bugs specifically and is it possible to stop them?
How much would it cost to stop them? Would it be worth it?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI think it is insane that the little tiny bugs are wiping out our huge forests! I have never heard of this at all before and its unbelievable. We are already losing trees in different places from the lumberjacks who are cutting them down and we don't need even more harm to our trees because trees are what help us to live. I really hope that the government will do something soon to help stop the bugs.
Question Answers:
1. I don't think that it is any one person's fault. Mainly though it is the people who don't see them and try to get rid of them.
2. There are two reasons that I can think of. One, it will probably be harder to breathe because the oxygen level will go down because trees produce the oxygen we need to breathe and the air will get filled with carbon dioxide. Two, we won't be able to build wood houses or shelters.
3. I doubt that they are trying to harm us because they need food.
Questions:
1. Is there a way to stop the spread of these bugs? How? Will it cost more then it is to have them around?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this before and it is unbelievable! I never would've thought that bugs could be killing trees and ruining our forests! I don't like bugs to begin with and this makes me dislike them even more. We need our trees! We don't need any thing else to help destroy our trees and enviroment. The government really needs to do something about this and soon!
Question Answers:
1. There is not one persons fault for this, but there should be someone to inspect the wood and the government really needs to do something about it.
2.If there were no more forests, that would be really bad. We need trees to breathe and without that we won't be able to breathe good, if at all. We also need wood for houses, buildings, paper, and much more.
3.The insects obviously don't know what they are doing to our forests. They just want to satisfy their needs.
Questions:
1. Will anybody do anything to stop these bugs? What kind of bugs are they? Will they ever be gone?
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ReplyDeleteThis is going to be something we will talk about in the next week or two, invasive species are such a problem in ecosystems. Great topic, great preview for the next topic.
ReplyDeleteOPINION/REFLECTION:I thought; seriously? There are insects that can do this much damage to cost THAT much money to try and fix? Okay maybe a couple thousand, but DEFINITLY not billionds of dollars. To be honest this kind of scares me. Now I feel like I will be paranoid if I see any bug on a tree.Us humans are helping destroy the planet every day. The government should thimk of some other way to go about this probably because it obviuosly is not working.
ReplyDeleteANSWER TO QUESTIONS:
1. These Bugs are the ones actually eating up the trees, but I belive we are just as guilty.Workers that ship lumber should just check the trees for any sign of this insect. There are people who do not do anything about these insects when they spot them and they need to do something.The government also needs to warn more people about this problem.
2. THe prices for wood would shoot up to an astonishing number. No wood means no affordable furniture. Other than that, weneed to look for an alternative source for our homes, tools, paper, etc. No trees means hardly any oxygen. There is no abundant alternative source for oxygen.
3.These insects are just looking for food, not destroy a wide variety of species habitat's.I honestly do not believe an insect would understand how they are currrently affecting EVERYONE.
NEW QUESTIONS: 1.What kind of methods do you think the government is using to stop this? 2.Do you think the 3.5 billion a year is worth spending looking at how bad this situation still is? 3.Do you think there is some type of chemical to spray on trees to stop the bugs but not harm the trees?