Grass-fed Beef: Climate Destroyer
George Wuerthner March 20, 2025 For many years, I’ve been a critic of cattle production. I have mainly focused on public land grazing because that is one area where citizens can have a voice in management. More recently, concern about livestock’s contribution to climate warming has garnered more attention. The punch line is that any kind of beef is bad for our climate, and one should avoid red meat whenever possible. The average cow produces about 220 pounds of methane per year, or about half the emissions of an average car! Many [...]
1,100 Communities at Risk of Urban Wildfire
George Wuerthner March 19, 2025 A new report from Headwaters Economics concludes that 1,100 communities scattered across the country are vulnerable to urban wildfires, such as the recent Altadena and Pacific Palisades blazes in California. While the origins of these blazes were on public lands, wind-tossed embers soon ignited homes, setting up an uncontrollable chain reaction in which one burning home ignited adjacent homes, which overwhelmed firefighting capabilities. While most people tend to believe wildfire risk is greatest in the West, the new analysis concluded that 52% of the communities vulnerable to such [...]
The “Energy Transition” Delusion
Jonathan Ratner March 18, 2025 From our friends at Population Balance, comes their latest podcast with historian and author Jean-Baptiste Fressor. To get all the ways to listen, click here. There is no energy transition – only ongoing and symbiotic energy addition. Historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, author of More and More and More: An All-Consuming History of Energy, joins us. Highlights include: How the symbiotic relationships between wood, coal, and oil have led to increased use of all of them; Why decoupling economic growth from energy and materials use is a delusional myth; [...]
The Demise of the Northwest Forest Plan
Andy Kerr March 17, 2025 Top Line: Like bankruptcy, the death of the Northwest Forest Plan has proceeded slowly and might end quickly. Figure 1. An old-growth forest of Douglas-fir and western redcedar. Source: Sandy Lonsdale (first appeared in Oregon Wild: Endangered Forest Wilderness). Note: I wrote the following without considering President Trump’s recent executive order pertaining to federal forestlands. I didn’t want the Trumpian chaos to interfere with an examination of the demise of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), which was under way well before Trump 2.0. Fear not, I will examine what the second [...]
Wild Bison, Victim of Politics and Political Correctness
George Wuerthner March 16, 2025 I watched Ghost Bull grazing just outside of Yellowstone National Park’s northern border. Ghost Bull is a name given to the bison by wildlife advocates because he seems to come and go, eluding tribal shooters who sought to kill him. The big bull continued to graze contently near some private homes, which created a “no-shooting” zone, and afforded Ghost Bull protection from the tribal members who sought to end his life. After a while, I noticed a pickup down the road and learned what it contained from [...]
Alligators
Alligator removal should always be left to the experts at Wildernex Wildlife Control. American alligators were once very common in water bodies across East and South Texas. Unregulated hunting and habitat destruction heavily depleted the population in Texas in the 1950’s. The protection of alligators, habitat management, and new water impound projects have aided in rapid population expansion across Texas in recent years. These factors combined with rapid urban sprawl continues to contribute to increased nuisance alligator conflicts. Many Texas residents live in close proximity to these native alligators with no conflicts; however, there are often alligators that can become [...]
Armadillos
Armadillos are a small mammal with a leathery armored shell for protection. The nine-banded armadillo ranges across the southern United States, Central America, and much of South America. They continue to spread further north across the U.S. Armadillos cause major damage to structures and lawns every year. If you are losing the battle over your lawn to armadillos, Wildernex can provide the armadillo removal and long term armadillo control solutions you need. Armadillos overturn flowerbeds and lawns in search of grubs and worms in the soil. The damage they leave behind can be very costly to repair and replace damaged [...]
Bats
Houston Bat Removal Austin Bat Removal Dallas Fort Worth Bat Removal San Antonio Bat Removal Bat removal in urban settings should always be left to the professionals at Wildernex Wildlife Control. Bats are considered to be one of nature’s most beneficial creatures; however, they can become a serious threat in or near human spaces. Bats are carriers of numerous diseases that can cause respiratory ailments, viral infections, and fungal infections. With every bat colony, you will find the presence of bat droppings, commonly known as guano, which act as a food source for cockroaches and various [...]
Beavers
Wildernex Wildlife Control offers beaver control and beaver trapping solutions to fit your property needs. Beavers are the largest rodent in North America and while their behaviors can be very interesting and beneficial in some ecosystems, they can create significant damage to your property. Beavers use their sharp incisors to take down trees and are capable of taking down large adult trees in a matter of minutes. Beavers use their fallen trees to feed on the new growth that is out of their reach from the ground. Because of this, they often take down a large number of trees that [...]
Bees
Houston Bee Removal Austin Bee Removal Dallas Fort Worth Bee Removal San Antonio Bee Removal & Relocation Services We Offer Live Bee Removal!!! Although honeybees are very beneficial to the ecosystem and valuable for pollination; their population numbers are so high across most of the southern U.S. that they are often a pest problem, especially when found in or near the home or workplace. Many people are highly allergic to bees and can be hospitalized after just one bee sting due to anaphylactic shock that follows a sting. When bees Bee Removalsting they emit a chemical pheromone to signal the [...]
Birds
Bird Control Wildernex Wildlife Control offers all aspects of bird control. Bird control problems are all unique and typically require careful evaluation and planning to determine which solutions are best suited to solve your specific problems on your property. Problems are common in or around residential and commercial properties. Common nuisance birds include pigeons, sparrows, starlings, grackles, blackbirds, and seagulls just to name a few. Property damage from birds can come in many different forms. Birds can directly damage property by pecking or pulling at building materials when collecting resources to add to their nests. That’s why bird control is [...]
Bobcats
Bobcats are medium size cats of North America that are generally solitary and illusive but commonly become very bold when they are hunting and easily become top predators and often a nuisance. Bobcats commonly feed on wildlife ranging in size from wood rats to fully grown deer. However, when bobcats are living in close range to urban areas, they may be deprived of their natural wildlife food sources, which in turn leads to predation of livestock and pets. These opportunistic predators commonly feed on poultry, sheep, goats, house cats, dogs, exotic birds and game animals, and occasionally even calves. Bobcats [...]
