Page 12 - AHATA

A2 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 24 March 2026

How the humble beaver is becoming America’s weapon against

climate change

ings lies in what happens scale of the carbon they seasons, "beaver-modified"
behind the dam. When bea- are locking underground, areas remained vibrant
vers obstruct a stream, they they are effectively turning green oases amidst charred
create expansive wetlands thousands of miles of Ameri- landscapes. The saturated
and ponds. These still waters can waterways into massive, soil and lush vegetation
allow sediment and organic natural carbon sinks." created by the dams act
matter—leaves, wood, and as natural firebreaks, provid-
aquatic plants—to settle at Drought defense and wild- ing critical refuges for local
the bottom. In a fast-moving fire buffers wildlife when the surround-
stream, this organic mate- Beyond carbon sequestra- ing forest is ablaze.
rial would wash away and tion, the study highlights how
Two North American beavers check out a man-made beaver eventually decompose, beavers are helping the U.S. The "beaver believer"
dam in the new beaver enclosure during a sneak peak of the releasing carbon dioxide adapt to the increasingly movement
new American Trail at the Smithsonian National Zoo August 29, or methane into the atmo- volatile weather patterns The success of the study has
2012 in Washington, D.C.
sphere. caused by climate change. energized a growing move-
BOZEMAN, MT — In the high- The research, conducted However, in the oxygen- In the American West, where ment of "Beaver Believers"—
stakes battle against global over five years across the poor environment of a bea- "megadroughts" have be- landowners, ranchers, and
warming, the world’s most river basins of the American ver pond’s floor, that carbon come a recurring threat, conservationists who are ac-
advanced laboratories West, reveals that beaver is buried and preserved. Re- beaver ponds act as natural tively working to reintroduce
are often outshone by a dams are far more than searchers have found that reservoirs. They hold water the animals to degraded
creature that has been qui- just bundles of sticks; they these "beaver-engineered" on the landscape longer, lands.
etly working in the mud for are sophisticated, carbon- wetlands can sequester sig- recharging groundwater In California and Idaho,
millennia. According to a trapping machines that of- nificantly more carbon per and keeping streams flow- some ranchers who once
groundbreaking study pub- fer a low-cost, high-impact square meter than the sur- ing even during the hottest trapped beavers to pre-
lished today in Communica- solution to some of the most rounding dry forests. summer months. vent flooded pastures are
tions Earth & Environment, pressing environmental chal- "We used to view beavers as Perhaps most visually strik- now installing "Beaver Dam
the American beaver (Cas- lenges of the 21st century. a minor part of the ecosys- ing is the role beavers play Analogues" (BDAs)—man-
tor canadensis) has been tem," said Dr. Helena Vance, in wildfire prevention. Satel- made structures designed
officially upgraded from The carbon sink beneath the the study’s lead author and lite imagery analyzed in the to mimic the effects of a
a "nuisance" to a "climate surface a professor of hydrology. "But report shows that during real dam and encourage
hero." The core of the study’s find- when you look at the sheer recent record-breaking fire beavers to move in. q

White House urges U.S. Congress to act on AI

Washington, United States "Congress should preempt legislation California and
The Trump administration on state AI laws that impose New York backed by pro-big
Friday unveiled a sweeping undue burdens to ensure a tech governors as a good
legislative blueprint for regu- minimally burdensome na- example to follow.
lating artificial intelligence, tional standard consistent On child protection, the
pressing Congress to establish with these recommenda- White House calls for age-
a uniform federal standard tions, not fifty discordant verification requirements for
and override a potential ones," the framework states. AI platforms likely to be ac-
patchwork of state-level In a major shift, the difficulty cessed by minors, parental
laws. in passing laws at the fed- controls over privacy settings
The four-page framework, eral level has seen major AI and screen time, and man-
billed by the White House companies pivot to support- datory features to combat
as a "commonsense national ing state laws they can get sexual exploitation and self-
policy framework," lays out behind. harm risks.
broad priorities, including On intellectual property, the The Center for Tomorrow Founder and President Dex Hunter-Tor-
provisions on child protec- OpenAI said this week that Trump administration believes ricke speaks on stage during the Mobile World Congress (MWC),
tion, energy costs, intellectual in the absence of a national that the training of AI mod- the world's biggest mobile technology showcase and fair in Bar-
celona on March 3, 2026.
property and free speech. framework, states "should els on copyrighted material
The White House is also seek- align around the emerging "does not violate copyright attempts at tech regulation have failed.
ing federal preemption of model in California and New laws," but acknowledging ar- in the United States, the leg- The administration has also
state AI rules, after states York." guments to the contrary, it islation faces a tough road threatened to impose broad-
moved to pass their own laws Google president of global "supports allowing the Courts to become law in Congress. band and internet funding
amid political gridlock that affairs Kent Walker told Axios to resolve this issue." Two previous attempts by the restrictions on states whose
has blocked federal legisla- that state coordination on AI Despite the White House's White House to enshrine fed- AI legislation is judged as too
tion in Washington. laws is welcome and flagged push for swift action, like most eral preemption in Congress cumbersome.q