Interesting 60-Second Science about how the “Old Energy Source Wood Be New Alternative.” The money quote: “If chopping down forests for fuel doesn’t sound like the greenest solution to our energy needs, the scientists note that we’d have to figure out how to manage our woodsheds sustainably, to avoid slashing and burning our way toContinue reading “Wood Energy?”
Author Archives: Norm Benson
Timber's term of the Week: Green Chain
Green Chain n The assembly line where (primarily) men pull green lumber off the conveyor and stack into piles for drying. Each puller will have a given size and quality assigned to him for removal from the green chain. The work is physically demanding because green lumber weighs much more than the dried version. AccordingContinue reading “Timber's term of the Week: Green Chain”
Timber’s term of the Week: Green Chain
Green Chain n The assembly line where (primarily) men pull green lumber off the conveyor and stack into piles for drying. Each puller will have a given size and quality assigned to him for removal from the green chain. The work is physically demanding because green lumber weighs much more than the dried version. AccordingContinue reading “Timber’s term of the Week: Green Chain”
Barkophile
People have used the properties of wood for music for plenty of millennia: percussion, acoustic, wind. Now electronic has merged with organic. Joel Scilley, the owner of Audiowood has a goal “to sell products with eco-credentials including low-power and efficient amplifiers, and products made from sustainable and recycled materials.” The turntables “usually use the OriginContinue reading “Barkophile”
Ten Million
That’s the number of jobs the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that investing in sustainable forest management could create worldwide. According to a recent study by the International Labour Organization, unemployment worldwide could increase from 179 million in 2007 to 198 million in 2009, it could go as high as 230 million.Continue reading “Ten Million”
Compete, Collaborate, Innovate
…and see the sausage being made. California Uses Internet ‘Wiki’ to Develop California’s Green Chemistry Regulations At the end of January, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) launched a “wiki” to gather comment for development of ‘Green Chemistry’ regulations. Wikis, such as Wikipedia.org, allow anyone to contribute or modify content using simple on-line tools.Continue reading “Compete, Collaborate, Innovate”
Timber’s Term of the Week: Busheler
Busheler n A pieceworker paid at a rate per thousand board feet. Now a bushel is an outmoded unit of grain equal to four pecks or thirty-two dry quarts. It’s measured in a cylindrical vessel, eighteen and a half inches in diameter, and eight inches deep. According to one source the term bushel dates backContinue reading “Timber’s Term of the Week: Busheler”
Timber's Term of the Week: Busheler
Busheler n A pieceworker paid at a rate per thousand board feet. Now a bushel is an outmoded unit of grain equal to four pecks or thirty-two dry quarts. It’s measured in a cylindrical vessel, eighteen and a half inches in diameter, and eight inches deep. According to one source the term bushel dates backContinue reading “Timber's Term of the Week: Busheler”
Hypocrisy Merit Badge
A month ago I wrote here about Stephen Colbert and his Alpha Dog of the Week award to the Boy Scouts of America for Chain Saw Scouting. He finished the award with, “… [the Boy Scouts] will have to start a fire using the apparent friction between what they say and what they do.” IContinue reading “Hypocrisy Merit Badge”
Trash Talk – Why I Won’t Buy a Kindle Anytime Soon
As a forester, I’d wondered about the claims that ebook readers such as the Amazon Kindle or the Sony PRS-700 would save trees and therefore, be better for our environment than a physical book made from like…trees. I concluded that the question, “Do ereaders save trees?” is not the right question to ask. First question,Continue reading “Trash Talk – Why I Won’t Buy a Kindle Anytime Soon”
Nullius in Verba 