Friday, December 1, 2006

The Insect Wars

An Entomologist's plea: Governor, save that tree!

Grrr! A scientist figures out an ecologically friendly way to battle an insect invasion, yet a Republican Governor does everything he can to screw things up. Why am I not surprised?

"A species of moth is destroying trees in the Northeast US. Joseph Elkinton, professor of entomology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, says he has the solution but no money. Elkinton breeds the moth's nemesis, Cyzenis albicans, a parasitic fly that has quelled similar infestations in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Cyzenis eats the caterpillars from the inside out. In June, the Legislature passed a $150,000 initiative to fund a large-scale release of the flies. Governor Mitt Romney vetoed the measure, but the Legislature overrode his veto. Then earlier this month Romney used his emergency spending powers to again slash the funding as part of a $425 million budget cut..."

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