Word: forests
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...across large swaths of the South, strangling and killing trees and all other plant life in its wake. Benign-looking cheatgrass carpets the shrub-steppes of the West and feeds some grazing species and birds. But it's also explosive kindling that increases the frequency and intensity of wild forest fires. Drive along any U.S. highway and you'll likely catch sight of purple loosestrife's telltale slender stalks and magenta flowers. Brought over from Europe in the 19th century as an ornamental plant, it flourishes in ditches and marshes in 48 states and costs the American government $45 million...
...only tree capable of growing in the shade of a Norway maple is another Norway maple," Smith says. It tends to crowd other plants out of their natural habitats and the result is a monoculture forest - only one kind of tree as far as the eye can see. The result is a sicker, less beautiful forest (the leaves of the Norway maple, for example, don't turn brilliant colors in the fall, like other types of native maples) that alters the diversity of the natural food chain and harms local wildlife...
...every critic is convinced. Jutta Kill of the forest advocacy group FERN worries that rich countries will use forestry credits as an excuse to avoid reducing industrial emissions. What's certain is that avoided deforestation gives tropical nations a vital stake in the efforts to slow climate change by not forcing them to choose between development and the environment. Indonesia is already pushing for deforestation to be included in any post-Kyoto deal at the climate- change talks this winter. Let's hope it succeeds. It's time to save the trees, so they can save...
...theater director. But instead of working on Broadway, he wound up creating glittering theatrical magic for the soirée set. Baloun invented a life-size Hungarian town square for financier George Soros' 70th birthday. For a New York City welcome for Prince Charles, Baloun conjured up a forest of trees in a towering tent at Lincoln Center, complete with painted stars on the ceiling. The price tag for such rarefied celebration could reach $10 million. Baloun, 61, died from pancreatic cancer...
...summit will host prominent scientists, business executives and government officials from around the world and focus on topics like emissions, forest conservation and alternative fuels. (Crist is also mandating that state-owned vehicles use biofuels like corn ethanol when possible.) But Crist, who made a point of inviting Kennedy, also hopes it will promote what he says is a sorely needed bipartisan approach on global warming, as well as provide a nudge to recalcitrant conservatives who still consider the global warming science murky or are simply opposed to the kind of measures states like California and now Florida are promulgating...