The Wood Wide Web is in the news. A New York Times article tells of a German forester, Peter Wohlleben, who believes that trees communicate intimately. That they have social networks. What? Barkbook? Twigger? SapChat? Pineterest? Wohlleben wrote a best-selling book in Germany, “Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate — DiscoveriesContinue reading “Barkbook & Twigger? German Forester Claims Trees Have Social Networks”
Category Archives: Environmentalism
Cold Soup. Campbell Announces GMO Labeling
WARNING: This product contains deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). DNA is linked to a variety of diseases that affect both animals and humans. It is a risk factor for cancer and heart disease. Pregnant women are at very high risk of passing on DNA to their children. Yesterday, January 7, 2015, the Campbell’s Soup Company announced thatContinue reading “Cold Soup. Campbell Announces GMO Labeling”
The Cost of Coal
A recent tweet trumpeted a report that 250,000 Chinese died in 2013 due to smog from coal (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/12/china-coal-emissions-smog-deaths). The report on the deaths came partly from Greenpeace, of course. There is little question that coal is dangerous. It is dangerous to mine. Its emissions are a problem; coal ash is more radioactive than nuclear waste.Continue reading “The Cost of Coal”
Burned Policy
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves….” Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Act 1, scene 2. Still Playing With Fire It is summer so wildfires are in the news, and this year’s Yarnell Hill and Rim Fires are partially used to hype man-caused global warming. Our fire problem has been a longContinue reading “Burned Policy”
The True Cost of Lumber Substitutes
Lumber and building material can be replaced with look-alikes made from non-renewable materials but it may not be wise. One example, a U.S. National Science Foundation panel analyzed the amount of energy necessary to extract, transport, and convert various raw materials into finished products found that substituting other materials for wood products comes at aContinue reading “The True Cost of Lumber Substitutes”
Writer, Travis a PhD candidate in Meat Science, says that 1,500,000 additional cattle will need to be raised to meet the shortfall due to the closure of these BPI plants.
New Forests Company announces suspension of tree planting in Uganda
British New Forests Company (NFC) has announced that it has suspended tree planting in Uganda for 2012. The company says that will “result in 560 job losses in the Mubende, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi and Bugiri districts.” The decision to suspend planting and lay off workers follows the outcry caused by an Oxfam report released September 2011Continue reading “New Forests Company announces suspension of tree planting in Uganda”
Preserving California’s old growth
On Wednesday you read that private landowners conduct the majority of timber harvesting in California. This is due to the de facto moratorium placed on timber harvesting within national forests (state and national parks do not allow harvesting except for reasons of public safety). And, perhaps you wondered if old-growth timber could be removed. Well,Continue reading “Preserving California’s old growth”
If California’s timber industry falls, will anyone hear it?
Lands owned by state and federal government now contribute little to California’s wood supply (see the graphic below). Private landowners (the green area) now carry nearly all the 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?”
Ugly Duckling In The Woods By William Keye
This is an op-ed piece that William Wade Keye* submitted to the Sacramento Bee at the beginning of July, in response to two articles (“State to assess Battle Creek logging activity and effect on salmon” and “Troubled waters of Battle Creek“) and an editorial (“Governor needs to keep pledge at Battle Creek”) they published highlightingContinue reading “Ugly Duckling In The Woods By William Keye”