We Could Have Contained California's Oak Tree Epidemic

The effects of sudden oak death are clearly visible above Mescal Ridge in Monterey County. (Credit: California Oak Mortality Task Force) There's a deadly disease ripping through Northern California right now, leaving millions of dead trees in its wake. There's nothing we can do to stop it now, but we could have. So-called "sudden oak death" is a disease caused by the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, which is related to the menace that caused the Irish potato famine. The scale of destruction stemming from the disease seems to have surpassed what lawmakers in the region expected, and the time to fight back has long since passed: According to a new study, 2002 was our last chance to turn the tide.