{"id":294352,"date":"2024-01-09T12:47:33","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T11:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294352"},"modified":"2024-01-09T12:47:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T11:47:36","slug":"the-anti-carbon-crowds-newest-villain-is-castor-canadensis-otherwise-known-as-the-north-american-beaver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294352","title":{"rendered":"The anti-carbon crowd\u2019s newest villain is Castor canadensis, otherwise known as the North American beaver…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is viewed by environmental extremists as one of the greatest dangers to planet Earth. The anti-carbon-dioxide crowd has long targeted humans and cows. Today, even biodiversity-enhancing beavers are also labeled as illegal immigrant planet killers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Desir\u00e9e Plata, Director of the MIT Methane Network, \u201cIf methane emissions from natural gas are on the high end of current estimates, natural gas may be no improvement over coal at all\u201d even though<\/a> the switch from coal to natural gas is typically credited for lowering U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fear of carbon dioxide \u2013 vital to plant growth and thus to human life \u2013 stems from the curious desire to stop all future changes to the Earth\u2019s climate. A worldwide campaign demands that \u201cNet Zero by 2050\u201d be (as Al Gore says) \u201cthe central organizing principle of civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humans have for millennia used coal, and now oil and natural gas, for heating and cooking \u2013 and for many other purposes (including transportation). But fossil fuels are the chief villain to those clamoring for an all-electric society, reliant primarily on wind turbines and solar arrays, that cannot provide fuel and electricity equitably for eight billion people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anti-carbon crowd\u2019s newest villain is Castor canadensis<\/em>,<\/em> otherwise known as the North American beaver. This methane producer, we are told, must be stopped from destroying Alaska. And, we are told, \u201cbeavers are on the move in northern Canada too.\u201d Imagine if Russia began reintroducing<\/a> European beavers (Castor fiber<\/em>) to Siberia! [Oops! They are.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the beavers\u2019 crime? The ecofreaks tell us they are causing MORE climate change simply by building dams in areas formerly too bleak for occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As chronicled in a study<\/a> from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, beavers are taking advantage of shorter winters in the Arctic to move north. Over the past 40 years, beavers have built dams that created 11,000 new ponds. These ponds cause releases of methane, as flooded vegetation rots and spreading water thaws the surrounding permafrost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study\u2019s principals admit they have no idea of the long-term impacts from this beaver \u201cinvasion\u201d but agree it must be stopped to save the planet. Without drastic action (not including a revival of trapping), lead author Ken Tape says, \u201cthis entire area, the north slope of Alaska, will be colonized by beavers by 2100.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To accomplish this mammoth task \u2013 the removal of beavers from the Arctic \u2013 there will have to be a massive campaign to denigrate an animal long cherished in story and song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In C.S. Lewis\u2019 classic tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe<\/em>, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver rescue and advise the four children who have unwittingly entered Narnia and face death from the evil witch. Their very arrival brings about a warming of the Narnian permafrost. Even here, beavers partnered with humans to \u201cwarm\u201d the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other beavers, too, can now be seen as villains. That old cavity fighter<\/a>, Bucky Beaver, who for years did battle with D. K. Germ as a shill for Ipana toothpaste, has long been retired, and even Beaver Cleaver<\/a> reruns are rarely seen today. But there is a new evil<\/a> Buc-ee Beaver selling gasoline at stations with dozens of pumps each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Leave It to Beaver<\/em> has been accused (or, rather, touted) as a \u201cmedieval morality play\u201d and a response to Communism\u2019s disdain for the nuclear family. The writers, says author Michael De Sapio, delivered a message that \u201cfamily is a refuge from the corruption of the world.\u201d And as David Brooks tells us<\/a>, the very concept of the nuclear family \u201cwas a mistake\u201d that must not, and cannot, be repeated. Bad Beaver!]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But hold on a minute. Even these Arctic researchers admit that the \u201chumble beaver\u201d is a highly skilled \u201cenvironmental engineer\u201d who, in the face of increasing wildfires and droughts, is an ally<\/strong> in the \u201cfight against climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As environmental science professor Emily Fairfax explains<\/a>, \u201cThey build these dams, which slow the water down, they dig canals that spread the water out, and ultimately they just give it time to sink into the earth like a big old sponge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United Kingdom, beavers were hunted to near-extinction 400 years ago for their fur, meat, and castoreum but have been reintroduced in recent years. Robin McKie, science editor at The Guardian<\/em>, reports that<\/a> \u201cfew animals could beat the beaver as a restorer of blighted landscapes.\u201d Matt Holden of the Devon Wildlife Trust says, \u201cIn the UK, we have lost more than 75 percent of our wetlands, and beavers can bring some of that back \u2013 by building dams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKie says the humble rodents\u2019 ecological prowess means they have a \u201ccrucial role to play in helping the nation revitalize its biodiversity and find solutions to the impacts of climate change.\u201d And University of Exeter professor Richard Brazier adds, \u201cBeavers can play a major role in restoring landscapes, cleaning up polluted waterways and helping the fortunes of other threatened species.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Brazier, there\u2019s just one problem. The UK\u2019s Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) \u201chas been sitting on an agreed scheme to introduce [beavers] across England and seems to be refusing to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worse, says Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics, \u201cUnfortunately, the environment secretary [Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Coffey] \u2026 even seems to be considering a potentially disastrous removal of beavers\u2019 protected status, a further sign that this government is weak on environmental issues.\u201d [The anti-beaver Coffey was replaced in November.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the northern climates of Russia, Alaska, and Canada, growing seasons<\/a> are getting longer, increasing plant (and tree) productivity and providing new planting opportunities. Beavers play a role in extending growing seasons. The Trudeau government<\/a>, however, warns that \u201crelated changes in pest species, fire regimes, droughts, and other climate extremes may limit the extent to which these gains are realized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the World Economic Forum says that<\/a>, \u201cBeavers are showing that their impacts can offer added levels of ecosystem resilience to a changing climate that we would be wise to embrace.\u201d The WEF also says that natural disturbance caused by beavers can create floodplain woodlands that are wilder and wetter, allowing greater biodiversity \u2013 and can even improve water quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what if their activities cause minor releases of methane gas from permafrost? [Were beavers responsible for melting the glaciers that once covered much of North America? Would Earth be better off with those lands still covered in ice? Or is \u201cclimate change\u201d only bad today?]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps we should just trust that beavers broadening biodiversity in Alaska and other northern climes are in fact doing \u201cthe Lord\u2019s work.\u201d Maybe we should continue to celebrate the beaver as the environmental superstar the WEF even applauds \u2013 and not as \u201cclimate destroyers,\u201d as some want to brand them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe the world would be a better place if we would all just brush our teeth along with Bucky, gas up at Buc-ee\u2019s (which today even has EV charging stations at some locations), and find some old reruns of \u201cLeave It to Beaver\u201d or even curl up with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver to defeat the wicked witch and put an end to endless winter with no Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post\u00a0<\/a>appeared first on\u00a0CFACT<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is viewed by environmental extremists as one of the greatest dangers to planet Earth. The anti-carbon-dioxide crowd has long targeted humans and cows. Today, even biodiversity-enhancing beavers are also labeled as illegal immigrant planet killers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":294354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is viewed by environmental extremists as one of the greatest dangers to planet Earth. The anti-carbon-dioxide crowd has long targeted humans and cows. 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The European Union enacted new rules to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector in May. Agriculture is also being targeted regarding methane. But methane regulations, even if established worldwide, won\u2019t have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"European Union\"","block_context":{"text":"European Union","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=european-union"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0METHANE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0METHANE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0METHANE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0METHANE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0METHANE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":336026,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=336026","url_meta":{"origin":294352,"position":2},"title":"New US-EU Methane Rules Won\u2019t Affect Temperatures","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBecause of greenhouse gas saturation in the atmosphere, methane regulations across the world will have no measurable effect on global temperatures.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"European Union\"","block_context":{"text":"European Union","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=european-union"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00tpQfQLZwKSxympyfVx3SpA.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00tpQfQLZwKSxympyfVx3SpA.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00tpQfQLZwKSxympyfVx3SpA.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00tpQfQLZwKSxympyfVx3SpA.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/00tpQfQLZwKSxympyfVx3SpA.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":425186,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=425186","url_meta":{"origin":294352,"position":3},"title":"A BRILLIANT take on cows, methane, and climate","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The biogenic carbon cycle (also called the biogenic methane cycle in the context of ruminant livestock) is a natural, relatively short- loop process that recycles carbon through living organisms, the atmosphere, and back again- primarily involving plants, ruminant animals (like cows, sheep, and goats), and soil. 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(Though there is one in the picture): Prince Charles as backed a mask device for cows that would capture their burps to tackle carbon emissions. 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