i am reminded of the comment that david thoreau -- henry david thoreau said, which is what is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? his comment now seems very much ahead of the time in the context of the issue we are discussing tonight. then we have the insight from theodore roosevelt who said in terms of our responsibility -- quote -- "of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." but right now, we are failing that challenge. carbon pollution is a direct threat to our resources on this planet, a direct threat to our forests, to our fishing and to our farming. i want to take a little bit of time tonight to talk about those aspects, and i'd like to start by taking a look at our forests. indeed, if there is something that symbolizes some of the dramatic impacts that carbon pollution is making, it is the spread of the pine beetle. t