8. Emerald Ash Borers Destroying America’s Forests
Who could have known that beautiful jade-green iridescent beetles would be responsible for causing millions of dollars in damage to US forestry operations while destroying landscaping trees in millions of Americans’ yards. Sadly, this is now the case ever since the introduction of the Emerald Ash Borer to the United States from Asia in the 20th century.
Every North American ash species is susceptible to the damage from the ash borer, which bores into ash trees and kills them, as their name implies. When the Emerald Ash Borer reaches a new region of the United States, all ash trees within that region are expected to survive for no longer than 10 years. Eventually, the entire United States will lose their ash tree population if no permanent solution is found to the invasive beetle.
While it is not certain, it is widely believed that the Emerald Ash Borer was first introduced to the United States in shipping crates coming from overseas. It highlights one of the dangers of international commerce, particularly in an era seeing increasing climatological and biological changes due to climate change.