How Beavers Are Bolstering Climate Change
Who doesn’t love a beaver after all, with their bucky teeth (remember Bucky, Bucky Beaver) and big flat tails. After all we were just trying to help but as it turns out the efforts of humankind to save beavers from extinction over the past century have had an eco-unfriendly side effect: The animals, whose population has rebounded, are contributing to climate change, researchers say at EurekAlert.
Those cool looking beaver dams create shallow ponds, which can host growing levels of carbon as biological material accumulates on the floor. The end result is methane, a greenhouse gas that doesn’t dissolve in the ponds; instead, it travels into the atmosphere. These days, beaver ponds release 200 times more methane than they did in 1900, when centuries of hunting threatened the animals with extinction.
Today, the animals are definitely doing better; in fact, there are about 10 million of them, researchers in Canada figured in a new study. One result of that is some 16,000 square miles of dammed ponds, which has led to the release of some 882,000 tons of methane, or 15% of what deer, antelope, and other cud-chewing wild creatures produce. Unfortunately that figure could grow, says a researcher.
Beavers, however, aren’t the only rodents to blame for climate change, the Independent reports: Arctic squirrels are doing their share, too, say US scientists. They dig burrows, which warms the ground and helps melt permafrost, where carbon has been building up “for tens of thousands of years,” an expert explains. (Meanwhile, swamp rats are shrinking Louisiana.
About Post Author
Professor Mike
More Stories
What in the World Happened to the Ginger Kitten?
The abrupt sound of multiple barks pierced the stillness of the night. It was an unsettling deviation from their customary...
Warning: Be Careful When Walking Your Dog In Alligator Country
Mike McCoy has read up a bit on alligator attacks and he knew what to do if you find yourself in one—and good thing too.
MadMikesAmerica To Remain Open For Business
We are staying open. MMA may not be as active as it once was, but why close this one, with all those articles still available to read, and maybe more to come?
Fox News Guest: Ghoulish Trump Has Blood On His Hands
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) told Fox News on Sunday that former President Donald Trump is guilty of a “ghoulish” attempt to undermine the economy by downplaying the need for Covid-19 vaccinations.
Disgusting Ted Cruz Forgets History of Conservatives Like Elvis Promoting Vaccines
Recently, the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird went on television and social media to promote COVID-19 vaccines. For anyone who has been conscious for at least a few years, celebrities—especially ones with larger fanbases amongst the youth of the country—promoting public health initiatives is not surprising. It has been going on forever and ever.
Crazy Louie Gohmert: Climate Action Would Force Us To Brush Our Teeth With Bark
[caption id="attachment_187456" align="aligncenter" width="615"] Getty images[/caption] by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become...
I can’t imagine the little beaver can seriously contribute to global warming. That’s just silly and the allegation could start widespread killing of beavers.