Werner Kurz is a Canadian research scientist at Canada's Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, British Columbia.
[2] One subject of Kurz's research is the effect of mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) on forest ecosystems.
[3] Due to the warmer climate of recent years, the beetles have been able to get to higher latitudes and have less die off during the winter.
[3] First, trees that are destroyed release carbon dioxide when they decompose which increases the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
[3] Research done by Kurz and his team show that if a solution is not found by 2020 the beetles will have killed enough forest to equal five years of carbon dioxide emissions from all the automobiles in Canada.