Warming May Doom Olympic Peninsula

The Olympic Peninsula’s rain forest is probably doomed by global warming, says a new report from the World Wildlife Fund and the University of Toronto. As the Earth warms, ecosystems will migrate north, scientists say. If plants and animals can’t adapt to new conditions--which could include higher temperatures and less water, for example-- or migrate fast enough to keep up with their accustomed climate, they will die out.

But the Olympic Peninsula’s rain forest has nowhere to migrate to. The peninsula is likely to undergo a drastic change, the report said, although scientists say it’s difficult to determine how quickly that change will occur.

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports