Hillary Rosner has written for The New York Times, Mother Jones, Men’s Journal, Popular Science, Seed, Audubon, High Country News, Slate, Grist, and many other publications, and she is the coauthor of the book Go Green, Live Rich. She also contributed to Al Gore’s book An Inconvenient Truth. She holds a master of science in environmental studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she studied on a National Science Foundation fellowship.

She wrote an essay for the book (which also appeared in expanded version in High Country News) about the impact of extensive pine forest beetle kill on the human population  of Grand County, Colorado.  Widespread beetle kill throughout forests in the rocky mountain west has been attributed, in part, to global warming, as the prolonged winter freezes that have kept beetle larvae populations in check in the past have not taken place in recent years.

Excerpt:

“… Not all the beetles have wrought is bad. Allergy sufferers are breathing easier thanks to less pine pollen in the air. Sales of chain saws and related
merchandise—chains, chaps, hard hats—are up. Free firewood is everywhere. People have learned to revere healthy forests in a way they didn’t
before—and are figuring out how to better manage them. But then there are the daily nuisances: fallen trees blocking roads, basements
flooding from increased soil moisture, finger-pointing among neighbors over whose property lines the beetles crossed. Concern is rising over
impacts on the recreation industry that’s an integral part of the county’s economy. “If you have a choice between a green forest and a dead forest,
where would you build your million-dollar resort?” mused Ron Cousineau, district forester for the Colorado State Forest Service’s Granby district.
“Things are going to become a lot more difficult to do out in the woods,” said Nelson, whose town economy could be hit if hikers, bikers, and hunters
choose greener pastures for their outings. Property owners like Charles Henry have been wondering about this too. “Are people going to want to
come hike when all the trails are blocked or there’s danger of getting killed by a falling tree?” Henry asked. …”