Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Nation & World


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published April 17, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified April 17, 2007 at 9:18 AM

E-mail article     Print view

U.N. report warns warming will harm timber industry

Climate change will exact a major cost on North America's timber industry and could drive as much as 40 percent of its plant and animal...

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Climate change will exact a major cost on North America's timber industry and could drive as much as 40 percent of its plant and animal species extinct in a matter of decades, according to a new report from an international panel.

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which released its summary report on global warming's overall impact earlier this month, provided a more detailed assessment Monday of the effects on North America. The report, written and edited by dozens of scientists, looks at how global warming has begun to transform the continent and how it will likely affect it in the future.

The 67-page report, which examines everything from freshwater ecosystems to tourism, said North America has suffered severe environmental and economic damage because of extreme weather events including hurricanes, heat waves and forest fires. Without "increased investments in countermeasures," the authors wrote that they are at least 90 percent sure that "hot temperatures and extreme weather are likely to cause increased adverse health impacts from heat-related mortality, pollution, storm-related fatalities and injuries, and infectious diseases."

Kristi Ebi, a public-health and global-warming consultant who worked on a different chapter of the IPCC report, said at a news conference that "human health is already being affected by climate change, and the impacts will only increase."

North American forests also will suffer from a warming climate, the report states, and increases in wildfires, insect infestations and disease could cost wood and timber producers $1 billion to $2 billion by the end of the century.

The report also suggests that skiing and snowmobiling will suffer. The $27 billion snowmobiling industry is especially vulnerable because it is dependent on natural snowfall.

By midcentury, the authors write, "a reliable snowmobile season disappears from most regions of eastern North America that currently have developed trail networks."

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

More Nation & World headlines...

E-mail article Print view      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

advertising

Obama seeks equal partnership in Asia

NYC trial for 9/11 suspects poses risks

Madoff employees arrested

Fort Hood gunman contacted Pakistan, lawmaker says

Immigration on White House agenda

Advertising

Video

Opening day at Crystal Mountain
Skiers crowded the slopes at Crystal Mountain for one of the resort's earliest openings.

Video shows violent arrest by SPD
Fort Lewis Memorial
Highlights: Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Seattle International Cabaret Festival
Ken Auletta talks about "Googled"
Medal of Honor
Pelosi answers questions at Swedish Medical Center
Pelosi speaks at Swedish Medical Center
"Pistol" Pete Ryan

Marketplace

nwautos

2009's most fuel-efficient sedansnew
Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising