Category Archives: Environmentalism

If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?

Lands owned by state and federal government lands contribute little to California’s wood supply (see the graphic below). Private landowners (the green area) now carry nearly all burden for California’s timber harvesting and its wood demand. (Source: California Forestry Association  CA Timber Harvest Statistics 1978-2009.)   As previously noted on this site: Our California forestsContinue reading “If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?”

Leaving on a jet plane

According to PR Newswire there is an “initiative to promote aviation biofuel development in the Pacific Northwest” that “will include an analysis of potential biomass sources that are indigenous to the Pacific Northwest, including algae, agriculturally based oilseeds such as camelina [wildflax], wood byproducts and others.” Because biomass sources absorb carbon dioxide while growing andContinue reading “Leaving on a jet plane”

CAL Fire seasonal firefighter applications (2011)

The filing period for the 2011 season is November 1, 2010 through January 31, 2011. Fire Fighter I is a seasonal, temporary classification used by CAL FIRE. The Fire Fighter I application period usually occurs between November and January and hiring usually occurs between April and June, depending upon the year’s fire and weather conditions.Continue reading “CAL Fire seasonal firefighter applications (2011)”

Deforestation changes climate not the other way around

3-year Project for One Million Trees to be Planted in Africa’s Mt Elgon Region Begun A three-year project to increase forest cover and help local communities in eastern Uganda reverse the effects of deforestation has begun. While the project is billed as one to help reverse the effects of climate change (A UK Department forContinue reading “Deforestation changes climate not the other way around”

Weekend Postcard: Boggs Mountain State Forest

Winter is on its way in the northern hemisphere. Make sure to clear all those things that are meant to channel water: culverts, ditches, eaves, and the like. An ounce of prevention saves a ton of rock fill. If memory serves, this damage happened on Boggs Road 400 above Spikenard Creek near John’s Trail. (seeContinue reading “Weekend Postcard: Boggs Mountain State Forest”

A regulated forest

What makes for a regulated forest? A “regulated forest” consists of tree sizes in approximately equal parts (and age classes that correspond to the size classes). As the trees in a stand grow into the harvestable age class, equal volumes may be harvested at roughly equal intervals. Meyer (1961) says, it is “the organization andContinue reading “A regulated forest”

Deforestation diminishing the Snows of Kilimanjaro

Last year a Huffington Post post conjectured that the loss of snow on Mount Kilimanjaro was another sign of global warming. A team observed that Kilimanjaro’s glaciers were receding and “The increase of Earth’s near surface temperatures, coupled with even greater increases in the mid- to upper-tropical troposphere, as documented in recent decades, would atContinue reading “Deforestation diminishing the Snows of Kilimanjaro”

iPads and Kindles are better for the environment than books? Come again?

Brian Palmer (aka Slate’s Green Lantern) writes that “iPads and Kindles are better for the environment than books.” If the Lantern has taught you anything, it’s that most consumer products make their biggest scar on the Earth during manufacture and transport, before they ever get into your greedy little hands. He then papers glosses overContinue reading “iPads and Kindles are better for the environment than books? Come again?”