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”
Tag Archives: Environmentalism
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?”
Forest Owners to EPA: Massachusetts made wrong choice
The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) recommended to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they defer the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from biomass for three years. the EPA is considering regulating biomass energy the same as fossil fuels. David P. Tenny, President and CEO of NAFO, underscored NAFO’s desire for theContinue reading “Forest Owners to EPA: Massachusetts made wrong choice”
Trees ain’t thermometers
I used to work on Mountain Home State Forest in the southern Sierra. MHSF has about 3000 specimen-sized sequoia within its boundaries. Dendrochronolgists often visited to see the stumps from logging in the mid to late 1800s. These were often over 2000 years old when they had been cut. The Dendrochronolgists were interested in theContinue reading “Trees ain’t thermometers”
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”
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”
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?”
Science Isn’t Enough: A Forester’s Search for Truth
A presentation on 10 February 2010, by William W. Keye (of the California Licensed Foresters Association) given at the UC/USFS Pre- and Post Wildfire Conference. You may get the PDF version (with the visuals) of his talk here: http://ucanr.org/sites/Prepostwildfire/files/3765.pdf _____ In looking over the agenda preparing for this talk I must tell you thatContinue reading “Science Isn’t Enough: A Forester’s Search for Truth”
Sounding the alarmed, are the world’s forests 80% fragmented?
Ignorance is the parent of fear” – Herman Melville Willful Sturm und Drang A statement crafted to alarm you: “…80 percent of the world’s intact forests are already gone.” – Tzeporah Berman, co-founder of ForestEthics. But it could have come from any number of environmental organizations—in competition for your wallet. You need to act nowContinue reading “Sounding the alarmed, are the world’s forests 80% fragmented?”
Nullius in Verba 