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News archives

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Making biomass a reality (MN)
The cities of Virginia and Hibbing are just weeks away from a new era in energy production. The grand opening for the $80 million biomass energy project was held Monday with the promise of employment and steam rate stability. Numerous local, county and state officials attended the event in Virgi... Continued...

Bring on Biomass
Nearly 100 eyes looked to the skies near the steam plant of Hibbing Public Utilities (HPU) on Monday morning. The plant wasn’t the intended point of view, but rather the wood intake and storage areas of the Biomass project, a joint renewable energy venture between HPU and Virginia Public Utiliti... Continued...

Farmers urged to enroll in carbon emissions trading program
The 10,000 black walnut trees planted on Sen. Richard Lugar's family farm might someday bring in extra cash, not by being sent to a sawmill, but by simply staying rooted in the soil. Two years ago, the Indiana Republican enrolled his 604-acre farm in the Chicago Climate Exchange, North America's... Continued...

Crackdown drives illegal logging to neighboring nations (China)
Upon determining that deforestation was to blame for devastating flooding by the Yangtze River in 1998, which killed 2,500 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, China promptly enacted an aggressive package of measures aimed at protecting its existing forest growth, rehabilitating distress... Continued...

Blazing addles: What climate scientists have learned from Western wildfires
Many wildland firefighters carry an instrument called a sling psychrometer. It consists of two encased thermometers, and is swung above the head on a short rope -- making the firefighters appear not unlike David readying to slay Goliath. The instrument gives a quick field reading of relative humidit... Continued...

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Can the free market slow deforestation?
Tropical forests' ability to store carbon dioxide and mitigate climate change makes them more valuable than alternative uses like pasture or lumber, and rich countries ought to pay tropical countries to preserve their forests, the World Bank says. However, some environmentalists caution that whi... Continued...

Surveys find no sign of tree-killing beetle in Wisconsin state parks
Researchers looking for the emerald ash borer in Wisconsin State Parks have found no evidence of the dreaded insect that’s responsible for the demise of nearly 20 million ash trees in three Midwest states and one Canadian province. Workers cut down and stripped the bark from 53 ash trees in 21 pa... Continued...

States battle Weyerhaeuser argument
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next month about a ruling that Oregon and seven other states say is critical in stopping big companies from getting away with illegal monopolies in forest products, agriculture and high-tech goods. Attorneys general from Oregon, California, Arizona, Iow... Continued...

The hidden life of paper and its impact on the environment
Media companies have published numerous articles on global warming and greenhouse emissions in recent years. Now, a couple of large publishers are starting to think about their own impact on the environment. Time Inc. participated in a study published this year by the Heinz Center that calculate... Continued...

Forester: Fire faces stiff competition (MT)
It's not just the unexpected windstorm or unusually steep terrain or even the woods choked with way too much fuel that challenges the men and women manning the fire lines each summer. Bob Harrington, Montana's state forester, said future firefighters' main challenge may be competing against other... Continued...

Soot from wood stoves in developing world impacts global warming more than expected
New measurements of soot produced by traditional cook stoves used in developing countries suggest that these stoves emit more harmful smoke particles and could have a much greater impact on global climate change than previously thought, according to a study scheduled to appear in the Nov. 1 issue of... Continued...

Lebanon sees revival of pre-Islamic environmentalism
It was born in the Arabian desert more than 1,500 years ago and is now being revived in the battle-scarred greenery of Lebanon. Already its success is heralding a regional renaissance. The pre-Islamic system of environmental protection known as "hima" - Arabic for protected area - means that the ... Continued...

A backlog of tree stumps (MN)
The spread of Dutch elm disease in Minneapolis has left behind so many stumps that the city's stump-grinding crews cannot keep up. The backlog of stumps awaiting removal poses enough of a fiscal challenge that the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board staff last month listed it among its long-ter... Continued...

Forest expert says big plantations disrupt societies (Australia)
A leading forest ecologist says large-scale tree plantations are driving people off the land. David Lindenmayer from the Australian National University was the keynote speaker at the opening of the Australian Forest Growers conference in Launceston this morning. Professor Lindenmayer has calle... Continued...

Study: People think trees need more protections (TN)
Knox County residents value their trees and would like to see more of them saved from the developer's ax, but they don't want regulations on private landscaping, according to a new University of Tennessee study. But the report also shows that county residents by and large aren't aware of the reg... Continued...

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Forests can be saved for a pittance: World Bank
Global warming caused by rapid deforestation could be curbed if developing countries were paid the proper rewards for maintaining their woodland, a World Bank study has said. The report noted that the world's forests are disappearing at a rate of 5% a decade as woodland is cleared for timber and... Continued...

Monday, October 23, 2006

Majestic pine used to build green home (MN)
Towering white pines are a common image of the Northwoods. Majestic pine forests provide diverse and essential wildlife habitat and watershed protection in Northern Minnesota. Responsibly managed white pine is also a valuable building material. Snowy Pines Reforestation in Todd County is a family... Continued...

Google plans largest US solar-powered office (CA)
Google Inc. plans a solar-powered electricity system at its Silicon Valley headquarters that will rank as the largest US solar-powered corporate office complex, the company said Wednesday. The Web search leader said it is set to begin building a rooftop solar-powered generation system at its ... Continued...

Brazil to call for global fund to save rainforests and cut climate change
Plans for a global fund to help contain rainforest destruction and slash carbon emissions will be unveiled next month by the Brazilian government. The project, by which rich nations would offer financial incentives to developing countries that combat deforestation, will be announced at a November c... Continued...

Illegal logging on the rise in Peru
Along the road from the airport to the sweltering Peruvian jungle town of Puerto Maldonado, high walls guard a precious commodity: wood, in the form of raw logs, finished planks and parquet squares. Increasingly, much of this wood is illegally logged, said representatives of the Peruvian government ... Continued...