Moose are loose with their climate manners

Plus, the EPA's downwind pollution plan, and the carbon footprint of the reusable grocery bag you thought was helping the environment

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Prime suspect, caught in the act.

Moose. Every so often I see videos of them on Facebook, Instagram and such — gangly creatures with huge antlers crossing roads with their even more awkward offspring following them. They’re adorable.

Well, not so much, it seems. Turns out that the iconic animals, which roam in the northern reaches of Scandinavia and Russia as well as in North America, are climate menaces! Why? Because of their eating and pooping habits.

Yup, a group of Norwegian researchers, reports The Washington Post, wanted to understand how their grazing affects forests at high latitudes that make up nearly 30% of the Earth’ forest area, and are important because they capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in plants and soil.

It turns out moose disrupt that storage in a big way.