The U.S. Forest Service discovered that a sprinkle of flakes that contain the pheromone verbenone over lodgepole pine forests will diminish the number of trees that are attacked by bark beetles by two thirds. Verbone is and ingredient of rosemary and walnut husks and is approved as for use in herbal teas. It is also similar to a pheromone that beetle emit to tell other beetles that their tree is getting crowded and they should pick another tree. The search was on for an expensive method to distribute the flakes and it turns out that sprinkling from helicopters is the best. This costs $110 an acre, as opposed to $1,000 an acre or more for forest thinning or the use of insecticide which are expensive and kill beneficial insects.
This intelligent method differs from the old school of the machine age which was to find a chemical that kills a pest then blanket the area with it, only to discover the dreadful side effects afterwards. The use of more natural and efficient treatments is a signpost to the next two centuries during which the Cycles will reverse from a previous Physical High with Intellectual Low, to our newly developing Physical Low with Intellectual High.[1. Source: New.Yahoo.com posting of AP article by Jeff Barnard, AP writer.]