Guest guest Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 Today for you 34 new articles about earth's trees! (267th edition) Subscribe / send blank email to: earthtreenews- Weblog: http://olyecology.livejournal.com --British Columbia: 1) Pine logging of park complete, 2) Queen Charlotte logging, --Washington: 3) Storm creates mass blow down, 4) Colville Salvage logging madness, --Oregon: 5) Give a phone call for roadlessness, --California: 6) A fight against salvage logging on the Klamath --Wyoming: 7) More money for fires and logs, less for trails and facilities --Michigan: 8) Upper peninsula landbase shifting --New York: 9) Magdalen island, 10) City leaders to log as if they never logged before, --New Hampshire: 11) Giant oaks trunks stolen --Massachusetts: 12) Gas leaks killing trees? --Kentucky: 13) Garret Graddy says: save Robinson forest --Maine: 14) Alternative forest resources, --USA: 15) Wal-Mart sells illegal forest products, 16) US scuttles Bali talks, 17) Support ESA warriors, 18) Banning photos of US forests' decline, 19) US-China on illegal logs, --Peru: 20) Medicine forests --Bangladesh: 21) History of forest degradation --Papua New Guinea: 22) Despite promises more logging is approved --Borneo: 23) We can make money for carbon credits? 24) Secret filming of logging, --Indonesia: 25) Protecting timber industry is the priority, 26) Glenn Barry, 27) Nature conservancy donates $5mill, 28) Worth more standing, 29) Navaho and Mohawks speak, --New Zealand: 30) Hypocritical and hollow statements --Australia: 31) 8000 hectares of pine logged after fire, 32) Native forest ban in 6 years? --World-wide: 33) A soccer field every two seconds, 34) New online carbon calculator British Columbia: 1) You may have a lot of snow to trudge through, but the trails at Moore's Meadow are open, now that the mountain pine beetle trees have been removed, and the fire threat clean up is complete. The first phase saw TDB Consultants removing mountain pine beetle killed trees on the western side of the park, followed by the south side and finally the eastern side, where the highest density of pine was found. The second phase of the project involved fire fuel management treatments along trail areas most susceptible to ignition from human-related sources. The Ministry of Forests and Range, Protection Branch Fire Crews worked in a partnership with the City to remove fire fuels from the trails on the west side of the park in the late summer and early fall. Later, crews from the Job Creation Partnership Program between the City of Prince George and Service Canada which is managed by Industrial Forestry Services completed the fire fuel management treatments in the southern portion of the park. Also see: http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/7681/3/moore's+meadow+trails+finally+open 2) Nearly half of the land base of Haida Gwaii will rest within protected areas as a result of a strategic land-use agreement announced today by Premier Gordon Campbell and Guujaaw, President of the Council of the Haida Nation. Highlights of the final strategic land-use agreement (SLUA), which is consistent with the framework established for the Central Coast and North Coast agreement, include: 1) A commitment to an economic timber opportunity of at least 800,000 cubic metres per year, to ensure continuation of sustainable forestry operations, and an agreement to develop a process that will inform the determination of the long-term timber supply for Haida Gwaii. 2) New protected areas to reflect ecological, cultural conservation, spiritual and recreation purposes, totalling 254,000 hectares to be managed collaboratively with the Province. The new areas equal 25.3 per cent of the total land base and, with the Gwaii Haanas, Naikoon and other existing protected areas, bring the total protected area on the Islands to about 50 per cent, which is more than 1,200 times the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park and nearly equivalent to the size of Prince Edward Island. 3) Identification of special value areas comprised of areas of critical nesting habitat for QC goshawk, saw-whet owl and great blue heron, to be designated as 100 per cent timber retention areas. The total area is approximately 2,750 ha, or 0.3 per cent of the land planning area. 4) An operating area covering the remaining 501,436 ha or half of the land planning area. Forestry operations will be subject to an ecosystem-based management regime in these areas. 5) A set of initial ecosystem-based management (EBM) objectives for forestry to be further tested and refined through detailed strategic planning before being legally established as requirements for timber harvesting. These will ensure the vital balance between healthy ecosystems and vibrant communities. 6) The agreement provides for a number of key implementation steps within the next 24 months, including more detailed forest planning to address cultural cedar values, coastal zone planning and protected area management planning. http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/lup Washington: 3) Some tore out by the roots while others snapped like matchsticks. In terms of board feet and dollars — millions and millions on both counts — vast stands of timber were toppled in last week's storm. Timber plantation owners and government offices are trying to tally the damage. With many roads impassable, they're taking to the air. Some are sending out workers on mountain bikes. Though the Columbus Day storm of 1962 blew down billions of board feet, many are saying the Dec. 2-3 storm hit harder. Hoquiam's veteran forester estimates the city has at least " $2 million worth of timber lying down. " Montesano's forester said the damage isn't as bad as he feared, but having to log in a depressed market will add up to revenue losses. Rayonier Inc. says it was " very fortunate " to weather the storm with manageable damage to its holdings. Weyerhaeuser spokesman Frank Mendizabal said crews are working to check 500,000 acres of timberland on foot and by helicopter. The Department of Natural Resources reports a rough estimate of 2,000 acres of blowdown damage on state lands throughout Grays Harbor, Pacific and Lewis counties. DNR's regional manager, Eric Schroff, said surveyors have had a difficult time reaching wind-damaged areas to determine costs. " Some of the areas are completely flattened, " he said. The department is assessing about 550,000 acres of state land and more than 5 million acres of non-federal forest for damage, Schroff said. Road damage throughout the area already tops $1 million, mostly in Thurston and Pacific counties, with $650,000 and $220,000 in damage, respectively, according to initial estimates. A DNR team surveyed the damage by helicopter last weekend, and another flight is planned this week to collect more pictures of the damage, Schroff said. On the ground, it's often been tough going. " We've been opening roads, " Schroff said. " We've got about 30 miles of road that we haven't assessed. " A thousand to 5,000 acres of the Olympic National Forest received moderate to heavy blowdown, according to Karl Denison, a National Forest Service spokesman. Helicopter flights are beign scheduled to evaluate damage throughout the more than 630,000 acres. http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/12/13/local_news/01news.txt 4) A giant logging operation to recover some 29 million-30 million board feet of lumber is currently under way on the Colville Indian Reservation. The logging is on some 9,000 acres burned this fall in a fire that covered nearly 26,000 acres before it came under control. Darrell Dick, assistant forest manager, said Wednesday that the logged trees are being taken to the Tribe's two mills - Colville Indian Power & Veneer, and Colville Indian Precision Pine - both near Omak. A limited amount of Douglas fir is also in the area and those logs will be transported to a mill in Colville. Three helicopters, dozers and cable operations are now going on. Helicopters are being used in the rugged areas. Survey crews have marked many of the trees. " We are going to try to salvage as many trees as we can, " said Ike Cawston, a spokesman. Dick said, there were about 200 loggers operating in the burned area. In addition to the Tribe's 9,000 acres, an additional 1,000 acres is held by Forest Capital, and that area is also being logged. Time is critical. If the Tribe were to wait until the weather warms, then there is a chance that the lumber would become blue-stained. Geri Gabriel, who is active with the Colville Indian Environmental Protection Alliance, took a tour Nov. 15 with 30 others including one Colville Business Council member, of the forests burned in last summer's fire. She acknowledged that foresters must be mindful of waiting too long on a burned stand of pine because because the wood can " blue. " When blue mildew infects a log, the wood becomes largely unstainable and greatly devalued. But Gabriel said her group is wary about other practices she says violate federal sustainable forestry standards. She spoke of 100-acre clearcuts and replanting policies that don't replant varied species, instead rendering what had been a forest into a tree farm. And the use of machines that tear up all the ground in a stand, leaving it useless to all the wildlife that had made it home. She compared such stands to a construction site totally levelled. Moreover, Gabriel wonders about the economic impact of cutting forests when prices are down. " We're sacrificing our trees to keep the two mills going, " she said, at a time when the cost of processing the logs is greater than the price of the timber. " If they're mismanaging our forests, it's quite a sacrifice. " http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19108566 & BRD=1013 & PAG=461 & dept_id=3877\ 07 & rfi=6 Oregon: 5) If you are one of the millions of Americans who believe some wild areas in our country just shouldn't have roads, there is a phone call with your name all over it. Today, you can join with people across the country to call and urge Congress to act to protect the last unroaded areas in our National Forests. Throughout the year, we have seen increasing support for the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007 in both the House and Senate. The House version, led by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA), and Oregon Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Darlene Hooley and David Wu, now enjoys almost 150 bipartisan cosponsors (we still need Representative Walden's support)! The Senate version, led by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Warner (R-VA), has 20 bipartisan cosponsors. Oregon Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden need to hear from you. The continued preservation of 2 million acres of roadless areas in Oregon depend on them (including Hardesty Mountain on the left and Brice Creek [photo by Jeremy Hall] on the right). Members of Congress will be heading home soon for the holidays and we think it is only right to ask them for a gift this year - a gift that will cost them nothing, but will give so much to us and to future generations. Ask your member of Congress for the gift of roadless. Call now, before time runs out on roadless protections! Take 5 minutes right now to call your Representative and Senators and ask them to make a holiday gift to our national forests by cosponsoring the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2007 (look at the links below to see if your representatives are already sponsors or not). You can reach your Members of Congress by calling the US Capitol Switchboard at: 202-224-3121 The Bush administration has consistently attacked the Roadless Rule and--in a new trick--has allowed states to draft their own plans for roadless areas. Currently, Idaho and Colorado are reviewing plans that could remove millions of acres from the national network of roadless areas. Until the 2001 Roadless Rule becomes federal law, these pristine areas will always face the risk of being left out of new state plans. That's why we need to tell Congress to stand up to the logging and mining interests and secure permanent legislative protection for all roadless areas across the country. http://www.oregonwild.org/ California: 6) Located along the Klamath River near the renowned Marble Mountain and High Siskiyou Wilderness Areas, the Happy Camp Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest boasts some of the most spectacular backcountry on Earth. The mixed conifer old-growth forests around Happy Camp evolved with fire for centuries. In the summer of 2007, ecological balance was not at the forefront of the Forest Service's thinking when fire suppression crews " fought " smoldering lighting-started fires by punching in over thirty miles of bulldozer fire line and then " firing off " burnout operations from those lines. Following these fires, at the behest of the timber industry, the Forest Service immediately started planning " salvage " timber sales on steep slopes above salmon-bearing streams. Intent on avoiding public scrutiny, the agency intends to circumvent the public planning process by preparing " Categorical Exclusions " to authorize logging activity without site-specific studies. For years fire ecologists have been telling all who will listen that the patches dead trees (snags) created by the fires and other natural disturbance events are a vital ecosystem component for forest health. The snags provide crucial habitat for a number of at-risk terrestrial species such as the Northern Spotted Owl, the Pacific Fisher and the Pileated Woodpecker. Further, the snags (and down wood) provide stability for the soils, shelter for the seedlings, and the primary source of wood for in-stream fish habitat. Recently, peer-reviewed studies have confirmed that post-fire logging inevitably harms natural recovery. In 2006 forest researcher Dan Donato found that salvage logging at the Biscuit fire had killed tree seedlings and increased fuel loads. Similarly, in 2007 researchers from the Corvallis Forestry Sciences lab found that forest stands that had been logging and replanted following the 1987 Silver Fire burned more severely in the 2002 Biscuit fire than stands which had not been subjected to salvage logging. http://www.kswild.org/KSNews/hcsalvagesales Wyoming: 7) Along with other U.S. Forests, Bridger-Teton National Forest officials will spend more on wildfires and timber and less on trails and facilities. The anticipated budget for fiscal year 2008 for the Bridger-Teton is down about four percent from 2007 with significant declines in funding for trails. The Bridger-Teton also would rely more on grants and public-private partnerships for recreation and infrastructure. The changes follow a nationwide Forest Service trend that has seen spending on fires increase from 13% to 45% since 1991. Nationally, law enforcement and timber have also shown a small increases since 2006. Meantime, the Bush administration has reduced funding for recreation, wildlife and fish management, vegetation and watershed management, and other sections of the budget. Critics of this trend in Forest Service budgets say the public service and conservation aspects of the Forest Service mission are being neglected in favor of fire suppression, timber and other corporate interests. http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=7488010 Michigan: 8) The Upper Peninsula's unique identity could be changing as commercial forest ownership changes signal a break with the past, according to a report released today by university researchers and conservation groups in Michigan. For more than a century, timber companies and forest products firms have been key owners of large-scale tracts of UP land. They actively managed their lands and enrolled them in a program that gives them tax incentives for allowing public access to their forests and waters. Coming decades could see changes in that pattern as real estate trusts and timber investment management organizations continue to acquire land. All told, more than 1 million acres of land changed hands in the UP during 2005 and 2006 alone – more than ten times the amount of land in the city of Detroit. In states where this large-scale shift has already occurred, people have seen restrictions on public access; physical fragmentation of the landscape by roads, buildings and other infrastructure; reductions in wildlife habitat; and a loss of public access to high-value natural features like lakeshores and streams. " Our research shows that the sprawling forest tracts that have long been part of the UP's allure are already getting smaller and more fragmented, " said Robert Froese, of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University. " Lands along Great Lakes shoreline and along streams and rivers are increasingly owned by small private interests and therefore less accessible to the public. " Additionally, the forest products industry and tourism economy that is the backbone of the UP economy may change without better education and forward-looking public policy adaptations, the report concludes. " This analysis shows that both forest industry and tourism are critical to the UP, and that policies need to support those industries. Otherwise, the UP and Michigan will suffer a loss. " The report offers 22 recommendations, grouped under four strategies, to maintain sustainable ownership and management of the UP's forests while encouraging economic, recreational and conservation opportunities. The recommendations range from policy initiatives and education at the local and state levels to economic stimuli for forest products and industries. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/536190/ New York: 9) Strangers still come to Magdalen, but now they arrive with shovel in hand to dig up arrowheads and other prehistoric artifacts illegally. Because Magdalen is half a mile from the Dutchess County shore, they work undetected and largely undisturbed, shoveling up great chunks of earth, even chopping through the roots of huge oaks and hickory trees, hoping they topple in a strong wind to reveal a new trove of treasure. The quarter-mile-long island is so pockmarked with looters' holes that parts look more like a bombing range than a state-owned parcel of land listed on the national and state registers of historic places. Magdalen's defenses now consist of about a dozen white signs warning " Don't Dig. " They are routinely ignored. There are holes at the bases of some trees to which the signs have been nailed. Months and months go by, and the only watchful eyes are those of Mary Gregorie Burns, a 58-year-old resident of nearby Rhinebeck, N.Y., who admits that she has grown obsessed with the island, its history and the need to protect it from looters. It is a site that was used on and off by different Indian groups from the Late Archaic period dating from 3,000 to 6,000 years ago. Archaeologists believe that after the natives made contact with arriving Europeans, Magdalen was primarily used as a seasonal camp and a tool-making workshop. " There are little clues to the subsistence strategy of people who lived here thousands of years ago, and that's something we don't know a whole lot about, " said Ms. Burns, who first set foot on the island in 1994 as she began work on a master's thesis in environmental studies at Bard College, which is a few minutes away in Annandale-on-Hudson. Hudsonia, a research institute at Bard's field station in Annandale, has supported Ms. Burns's work. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/nyregion/12magdalen.html?em & ex=1197608400 & en=5\ abcad630d3ba5f5 & ei=5087%0A 10) It has cost Tompkins County almost nothing to manage more than 550 acres of forest, and under a newly approved management plan, the county hopes that will continue in a much more responsible and sustainable way. The Tompkins County Legislature on Nov. 7 unanimously voted to approve a forest management plan that will take steps to certify and run the only county-owned, Forest Stewardship Council-certified forests in the state. Katie Borgella, a principal planner for the county, said the county has not paid to manage the land — one forest is in Newfield, the other in Caroline —and the new plan would put the forests to use, harvesting timber and other forestry products commercially. The FSC certification would ensure that harvesting practices are responsible, Borgella said. When harvesting begins, the certification plan is expected to pay for itself. Borgella said once the county's forest land is certified, the hope is that its process can become a model for other municipalities and private land-owners who are thinking green. " The overarching purpose of the plan is to provide for the sustainable management for the county forest lands but really also to provide a model available for public review and sharing that info with the public, " Borgella said. County Planning Director Ed Marx said major suppliers such as Home Depot are committed to buying sustainable forest products. Home Depot began using FSC certified products in 1999 and according to the company's Web site, Home Depot is trying to raise awareness of available products that are environmentally friendly.http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/NEW\ S01/712130315/1002 As with most government programs, this one came too late. The acreage located in the Town of Newfield was mostly decimated by an unsupervised / poorly executed pulp wood harvest a few years ago and it will be decades before any worthwhile timber can be taken off that acreage. This is probably one of the worst cases of forestry stewardship that can be witnessed anywhere. It is pretty amazing that out of an approximate 550 acres, " The county forest management plan accounts for 75 acres of forest with potential to become growth forests " . http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/NEWS01/71213\ 0315/1002 New Hampshire: 11) In a remote stretch of woods in the town's southwest corner, under the shadow of power lines, a potential crime scene is being covered up by winter. Like huge heads of broccoli, canopies of freshly cut oak trees are on the forest floor, their stalks pointing toward fresh-cut stumps 30 feet away. Missing are the trunks, valuable pieces of timber that were cut from town conservation land. That makes it a crime, and Town Hall is abuzz over the whodunit. " It's 10 or 15 real nice trees that have been taken. These are valuable trees, " said Selectman Kirk Scamman, whose family owns property in the area. " I walked the site recently with another landowner there, and we determined it was town conservation property. " Scamman announced the discovery at the October selectmen's meeting, and town planner Chuck Grassie said he has since taken a look and plans on returning to find out more. Recent snows made it hard to discern exactly what happened there, Grassie said, but it was clearly " an illegal operation. " Pat Elwell, the town's conservation commission chairwoman, said she, too, plans to investigate. " At this point we don't even know what's going on out there, " Elwell said. " But if trees are being cut and taken away, that's also theft of town property. " http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/13/thieves_damaging_forest_for\ _the_trees/ Massachusetts: 12) When Quincy residents complained that they smelled gas near their homes, no one took much notice. But when the smells were traced to areas with dying trees, it was clear to them that, as City Councilor Kevin Coughlin put it, " there's something going on here. " Just what is going on is a matter of disagreement. Municipal officials in Quincy and other local communities fear that leaks in underground gas lines are killing trees - including shade trees that have stood for decades - by displacing oxygen in the soil. But gas companies are reluctant to assume responsibility, stating that there is no proven connection between low-level leaks and the death of trees. To Coughlin, the problem is not only clear but urgent. " You can't replace a . . . shade tree that is 60 or 70 years old, " he said. They're simply lost, he said, at a value of " hundreds of thousands of dollars. " " All of us ought to be concerned. " After noticing old trees dying on the comely residential streets of his district in Montclair and Wollaston, and reading about gas leaks in other communities, Coughlin contacted the Massachusetts Public Shade Tree Trust. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/13/gas_leaks_killing_trees/ Kentucky: 13) Garrett Graddy, a geography graduate student who has been a leader in trying to stop the logging, said her group hopes to get trustees to tour the Eastern Kentucky forest with a " concerned conservationist. " She also wants to arrange a flyover so the trustees can see the extent of mining that makes the forest's 10,000-acre core appear to be an island of green. She said the group was heartened by word Monday that a delay in hiring loggers, coupled with winter weather, means the logging is unlikely to begin until April. Graddy was one of several people who met with most trustees Monday, asking for a moratorium on the research project when the full board met Tuesday. Trustee Pamela Robinette May gave the board a two-minute summary of the Monday meeting, which had included the environmentalists' arguments against logging as well as responses by the university administration. " I don't think anybody is treating this lightly, and everybody is very convinced of the rightness of their position, " May said. The board took no action after her summary. About 30 students, many holding signs, gathered on the first floor of the Patterson Office Tower at 9:30 a.m., hoping to make an impression on 8 trustees as they made their way to the 10 a.m. meeting on the 18th floor. Only one trustee walked by. http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/255985.html Maine: 14) Many forest landowners have a growing interest in ways to diversify income from their lands without resorting to the now traditional clearcut even-aged model of forestry. The decades that are required to convert damaged stands to their Acadian Forest roots may mean a long period between paydays. Here are a few possibilities for producing income that do not require significant timber harvesting. The options available to generate income can be divided into two categories: goods and services. Goods are the more traditional items and generally have established markets and pricing. They also will likely have more competition in the marketplace. These include fir brush for Christmas wreaths , swags, etc., and of course maple products if your holdings have suitable stands. Rustic furniture made from excess young growth is in growing demand and really is only limited by one's imagination and talents. Stout walking sticks for hikers and gardeners as well as the traditional rustic canes also have some market. An unusual forest " product " that has enjoyed some past success is the sale of chanterelle mushrooms which grow abundantly in some forest types in wet seasons like 2007. For those more agriculturally inclined, there are several types of fungi that cannot be grown domestically. They must be grown on decaying hardwood stumps or logs. I suspect this would be both an interesting and challenging way to market low-grade poplar logs being remove from regenerating sites. Finally, if you live near an urban center, there is some market for tree and shrub seedlings. These may be transplanted to containers as wildlings or they may be grown from seed. The increasing awareness of climate change and all things natural bodes well for the future of this market. The sale of services by landowners is certainly less well established and yet may now offer more potential than the sale of goods. As our society becomes more urbanized and ever busier the peace and solitude that many of us treasure in our woodlands are becoming a marketable service. Possibilities here include the leasing of camp lots to other users or the construction and monthly rental of facilities. Facilities can range from the most rustic camps to elaborate chalets. Potential clients include snowmobilers, hikers, birdwatchers, hunters, cross country skiers, and people who just want to get away from it all. One can tailor their business to the nature of the property as well as the type of clientele they wish to do business with. http://nswooa.blogspot.com/2007/12/nswooa-update-december.html USA: 15) Is there a toy tiger in your baby's crib? If that crib came from Wal-Mart, an environmental group says the wood it's made from could be endangering real Siberian tigers. The Environmental Investigation Agency, a nonprofit group based in Washington D.C., said Wednesday that it found Chinese makers of Wal-Mart's wood products, including cribs, are using timber from a Russian region rife with illegal logging of protested forests. The EIA said Wal-Mart is not pressing manufacturers to show where their wood comes from. The group said that goes against Wal-Mart's public commitment to move toward using only wood harvested in environmentally friendly ways. The commitment is part of a broad environmental push by the world's largest retailer. The EIA said destructive logging is a global issue but singled out Wal-Mart as the largest U.S. importer of wood products and for the power the retailer wields to pressure suppliers to go greener. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. " is turning a blind eye to illegal timber sources in its supply chain which threatens some of the world's last great forests " , the EIA said. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart said it is encouraging its suppliers to use " sustainable and ethical sources " . " Sustainable wood sourcing is important to our business and our customers, " Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Raddohl said. Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott launched a major environmental push two years ago to cut energy use and solid waste, sell more environmentally friendly products and motivate its roughly 60,000 suppliers to follow suit. As part of that, an internal working group on wood and paper products produced guidelines aimed at moving suppliers to using only sustainably harvested wood by 2010 and giving preference now to those who already do so. " It is the intention of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club to sell only wood fiber products that come from legally logged sources, " the wood policy group said in a March update on its work, without providing a specific deadline. In September, Wal-Mart said it would stop selling Louisiana cypress mulch over concerns that the loss of cypress forests was endangering coast lands. The EIA said its investigators, who have received awards for other work from the United Nations and the EPA, found evidence that much of the wood used by Chinese manufacturers comes from the Russian Far East, where experts estimate 35 percent to 50 percent of logging is illegal. http://www.fool.com/news/associated-press/2007/12/12/group-wal-mart-blind-to-ill\ egal-logging.aspx 16) The United States again wrought havoc at UN Climate Change talks. In the early morning hours of talks, as diplomats faced exhaustion, the United States pulled the equivalent of a diplomatic nuclear option, scuttling frantic global efforts to save tropical forests. As the two weeks of talks draw to a dramatic close, the US stood alone and forced the rainforest resolution into a frenzy. India relinquished its demand to seek credits for already having had reversed rates of deforestation. Papua New Guinea was able to insert language that could allow billions of dollars to begin flowing to developing countries that move early to stop deforestation. At the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) the US introduced new text to water down the negotiations. All other countries objected to the last minute change, forcing the subject to the higher level negotiations of the Conference of the Parties (COP). Said Jeff Metcalfe, Director of the Tropical Forest Group, " We've seen this many times before. The US waits for other countries to grow weary and brings in some new confusing tactic at this last hour. Only this time they've gone too far - with UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon and other Heads of State scheduled to speak, the US will have no choice but to back down " . http://news.mongabay.com/2007/1211-tfg_forests.html 17) Thirty-five years after America enacted the Endangered Species Act, we find ourselves with a government that has clearly abandoned this principle of protecting our nation's wildlife and wild places. Earlier this year, the Bush Administration released the so-called " Draft Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl " which repeals protections for the ancient forests of the Pacific Northwest. We need your support to make sure these important protections stay in place. We have worked for the last 25 years to protect the mysterious owl and the magnificent ancient forest where it lives – and the fight is far from over. We need to let the Bush Administration know that we won't allow our heritage to be placed upon its chopping block. We have received a special challenge grant from Earth Friends Wildlife Foundation. Please help us raise $50,000 by December 31 to fund our work in 2008. The Bush Administration has been building a legacy of corruption and greed over the past seven years, exploiting our land and rewarding its friends in the timber, mining and oil industries. Its attack on the Northern Spotted Owl is par for the course, touting a plan based on politics, not science. The owls decline is evidence that we need to do more, not less, to protect this species and the old-growth forests where it lives. Please help us celebrate our silver anniversary by making a year-end tax-deductible gift. With your generosity, we can continue to protect our nation's endangered wildlife, fish and plants for future generations. https://www.kintera.org/site/c.epIQKXOBJsG/b.846531/k.AC24/Donate_to_the_ESC/app\ s/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=epIQKXOBJsG & b=846531 & en=5dKHLMOjG8LxFLNuG8LCJPMuHnKKKLPrEhII\ LOMuFbJFKWMEE 18) The Bush administration is trying to hide its mismanagement of federal lands by using new permit requirements and fees to limit filming and photography in national parks, forests and wildlife refuges, a congressional leader said Wednesday. " Maintenance in our national parks, listing of endangered species, fire preparedness and responsible energy development are just a few examples of serious policy failures by the Bush administration, " said Rep. Nick Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat and chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. " Any hint that this new permit and fee structure could limit the free flow of public information regarding the very real consequences of these failures is simply unacceptable. " The regulations would require a permit and payment of a fee by those engaging in commercial filming or photography on federal lands. The only exception would be for journalists covering " breaking news. " When the licenses would be required and fees imposed would be up to local land managers. But critics, including the Society of Environmental Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association and the Radio-Television News Directors Association, said the proposals are unworkable. They said the definition of news is " excessively broad " and the discretion given local officials is excessive. In addition, critics said the original 2000 law was simply aimed at large Hollywood production companies that were using federal lands. It was never intended to cover journalists working on longer-range projects, documentary filmmakers or freelancers, among others, they said. The Interior Department is in the midst of finalizing the rules. " The proposal, as drafted, would give Department of Interior employees excessively broad discretion to define what is and is not news, " said Tony Overman, a photographer with The Olympian and president of the National Press Photographers Association. " The result, of course, would be entirely inconsistent with the government's constitutional obligation to avoid defining or regulating the collection and reporting of the news and with our government's tradition of openness and fairness to the press. " http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/228406.html 19) The United States and China sealed their first deal to stop illegal logging in a bid to ease deforestation, fight climate change and preserve wildlife, the US State Department said Wednesday. The US and Chinese governments reached a memorandum of understanding on illegal logging and associated trade at a meeting this week of the US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, it said in a statement. " This is the first-ever commitment between the two countries to focus on addressing the devastating problem of illegal logging and the trade in illegally harvested timber, " the State Department said. " This joint understanding clearly demonstrates that we and China recognize our shared responsibilities as the world's largest timber producers, consumers and traders, " Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science Claudia McMurray said in the statement. The deal provides for steps that will " help conserve forests and their wildlife and reduce deforestation -- a major factor in the global effort to address climate change, " the statement said. " Nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions results from deforestation and other land use changes, " it added. Under the arrangement, the two countries will work together to promote " both sustainable forest management and trade in legally-sourced forest products, as well as encourage public-private partnerships. " http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hIEwzWonQpPjDlUa9n1zgyc0h5nQ Peru: 20) It is just after dawn and already the jungle is steaming. Mist hangs in the air, trailing the wild orchids up the tree trunks they cling to, into the emerald canopy 100 feet overhead. The air is thick with the mixed smells of fresh forest growth and pungent rotting vegetation. Ten yards ahead of us, almost invisible in the thick foliage, is my old friend Pablo, a Matses Indian headman dressed in an old madras shirt and Adidas shorts. He is looking for medicinal plants to give to a young Matses woman who is having problems with her menstruation. He moves in the peculiar style of the Indians of the area, half-walking, half-jogging, his head darting from side to side, scanning the plants along the narrow hunting trail. We continue for an hour, during which Pablo points out several other plants for Coi-ya's wife to use. When we reach the hilltop Pablo points at a natural clearing in the jungle surrounded by short trees. " Bastante remedios, " he says excitedly. " A lot of medicines here. " How many? I ask. Pablo sharpens his focus like a hunter who's heard an animal. He points to a vine. " Wangana remedio, " he says, wild boar medicine. And then he points to a small tree: " Short-tailed parrot medicine. " And then, suddenly he's flying, pointing around him at trees and vines and shrubs and flowers and crawlers and snapping out words like a soldier. " Macaw medicine! Dog medicine! Ocelot medicine! Wild turkey medicine! Crocodile medicine! Worm medicine! Large stinging ant medicine! Tarantula medicine! " We'd evidently come on a " Diablo Chacra, " a devil's garden, the name given to a jungle clearing filled with useful plants. Like a dervish, Pablo turns and points at the plants, naming animals he associates with the medicines he finds in them, and when a new vine or flower or fruit catches his eye he jumps up and down, points it out, names it, and acts out the illness it treats. He dances madly for those that treat nervousness and insanity; clutches his groin for venereal infections; mimes vomiting and stomach cramps for ulcer treatments; hobbles on one foot for snake-bite remedies. He keeps it up until he counts off more than three dozen of his plants and the problems they treat. When he finally stops he lets out a laugh. http://www.greatmystery.org/events/peru08.html Bangladesh: 21) The history of forestry in Bangladesh is a description of deforestation and degradation. The forests were exploited to supply raw materials for the ship and railway industries of the British colonial rulers (1757-1947) and generate revenue for the West Pakistan rulers (1947-71). In independent Bangladesh degradation continued. Only thousand years ago, eighty percent of the Indian Subcontinent was estimated to possess dense forest cover. Historians believe that much of the area comprising present-day Bangladesh and the Indian State of West Bengal was in wilderness till about 1000 BC. Human settlements started only after 1000 BC by Dravidian speaking people. Economic prosperity of Bengal attracted people from all other parts of India as well as from other countries during the Mughal period. The total population of the area now constituting Bangladesh was only 11.4 million in 1770 and 14.5 million in 1801. Rapid increase in population took place after 1930s, between 1940 and 2001 from 42 million to 129.25 million. Little is known about management of forest in ancient India.During the Mughal period emphasis on agriculture and revenue augmentation led to clearing of many forests for agricultural purpose. They paid little attention to preservation, propagation, protection and improvement of forests during their reign. Organised forest management activities in India were, in fact, started during the British rule in 1885. Subsequently, a separate forest department was created for Bengal in 1876 for the management and preservation of forests in Chittagong and the Sundarbans. The reservation process in Sylhet was started in 1914 and its first management plan came into operation in 1938. Dhaka-Mymensingh forests were owned by large landlords; the same was true for Dinajpur forests. http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=15365 Papua New Guinea: 22) Malaysian company Vitroplant has been granted the permit it needs to begin developing 70% of Woodlark Island into palm oil plantations. In an e-mail received by one of the opposition leaders to Vitroplant, Dr. Simon Piyuwes said that " the government granted the permit to the oil palm company despite a widespread campaign and pressure from NGOs " . In an earlier article Dr. Piyuwes stated that " we [the islanders] do not have money to fight the giant. We only hope for the support from the NGOs, and the mercy of the government to withdraw the project. " It seems the government has refused Dr. Piyuwes what he hoped for. The situation is complex. Woodlark Island is a small island in the Pacific under the government of Papua New Guinea. The island is 80,000 hectares, consisting mostly of forest and coastline. The population is small—6,000 residents in all—who live by gardening and hunting. Vitroplant's plan to convert 60,000 acres to palm oil plantations for biofuels would deforest the majority of the island, putting numerous species at risk of extinction and drastically changing the lifestyles of the populace. Dr. Piyuwes admits that there may be economic and infrastructure benefits from the Vitroplant plan, but he says the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Scientists agree. Woodlark Island is home to a large number of endemic species, including the Woodlark Cuscus, a speckled nocturnal marsupial. A total of nineteen other endemic species have been identified on the small island alone, from a gecko to a damselfly. Yet this is probably not the end of Woodlark Island's endemic species; Dr. Chris Norris, a zoologist and paleontologist who has studied the Woodlark Cuscus, states that " because of its relative remoteness, Woodlark Island's fauna and flora has been very poorly surveyed ... I would say that there is a strong probability of more endemic plants and animals that have still to be described. " http://news.mongabay.com/2007/1213-woodlark.html Borneo: 23) Tucked into the Borneo rainforest, there is not much debate about climate change here. No one reads about carbon stocks in the morning paper - there isn't one. But a few months ago, something happened on Setulang's doorstep that brought this village face to face with the cutting edge of carbon trading. A London-based company called Global Eco Rescue has begun setting up a project to offer companies carbon credits in return for protecting the forest. Until now, carbon trading schemes have focused on replanting trees, rather than protecting those that already exist. But it is an idea that makes a lot of sense to Setulang village head, Elisar Ipui. " At first we had no idea what carbon was, " he explained, " but we were told that there's carbon in the forest, and it can be sold, and the compensation given to the village. And that's how we're thinking right now. " Like many of the communities here, Setulang could use some extra money. Usually, the quickest way to get it is from plantation and logging companies. Making money from keeping the forest intact is a new idea, but Elisar says he has seen other villages hand over their forest to outside investors, and he likes the idea of a scheme that leaves the forest intact. Whether this works will depend on how much companies in the developed world are willing to pay for the carbon it holds - and also how much they are willing to invest in a remote, largely unpoliced patch of rainforest. Gabriel Eickhoff has been working on this problem for Global Eco Rescue. The organisation's project covers 325,000 hectares - much of it surrounded by logging concessions. " For the first time, " he said, " there's a very solid partnership between the regional government, the local government and an organisation, whereby we are able to implement a project on the ground using local people, and also watch it from the sky using satellites. " http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7136345.stm 24) Meanwhile, Team Brown has been in Borneo secretly filming companies destroying the rainforest to meet consumer demand for palm oil. The exposé, which comes as the United Nations conference on climate change meets in Bali, is to be broadcast on Sky. No, the undercover camerawork has not been done by Gordon Brown, the prime minister, but by his gutsy sister-in-law Clare Rewcastle. Ms Rewcastle, who is married to the prime minister's younger brother, Andrew, went to Borneo alone to find out the truth about claims that the rainforest is being torn up to make way for palm oil plantations. Born in Sarawak, in the Malaysian part of Borneo where her father was " in the colonial service, I'm afraid " , Clare lived there until she was eight and has always cared about the rainforest. She was horrified by what she found. " I drove for six hours through devastated countryside, " she tells me. " It was like a first world war battlefield. They were burning and draining peatland, despite a presidential decree banning both in March this year. And I filmed rows of bulldozers chewing up the forest. " She says that deforestation accounts for more greenhouse gases than all of the world's transport. Indonesia, which controls part of Borneo, is the world's worst deforester and a major contributor to climate change. For years mankind has been cutting down the rainforest to make paper. If areas long-since devastated were being replaced by palm oil plantations there would be less concern. What is actually happening is that new tracts of rainforest are being destroyed, the trees pulped for paper and the land then covered with plantations to feed the west's demand for palm oil. The oil is used in 10 per cent of all the products we buy in our supermarkets, including margarine, lipstick and shampoo. Some of our best-known companies are involved in producing or using palm oil. Many belong to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, chaired by Unilever, which is dedicated to stopping the destruction of the rainforest. Despite such good intentions, the devastation continues. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f66fc6ce-a855-11dc-9485-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check\ =1 Indonesia: 25) Indonesia must protect its forestry industry despite mounting world demands to stop logging and the rampant illegal logging problems here, legislators said Tuesday. Azis Sjamsuddin, chairman of the illegal logging committee at the House of Representatives, denounced such demands as more political and economic than environmental. " It's impossible for Indonesia to stop exploring its natural resources, including its forests, because it would (harm) the millions of people making their livelihoods from the forestry industry, " he said in a discussion on illegal logging. " The forest resources must be well-managed to improve the people's welfare and increase Indonesia's foreign exchange. " Ganjar Pranowo, a member of the House's forestry and agriculture commission, agreed while accusing other pulp and paper and palm oil producers such as China, Brazil and Malaysia of using the UN climate change conference in Bali as a forum to criticize Indonesia and weaken the pulp and palm oil industry here. He said China and Brazil were Indonesia's two main competitors in the world pulp and paper market and Malaysia was its only competitor in the palm oil industry. http://cempaka-nature.blogspot.com/2007/12/ri-must-protect-forestry-industry.htm\ l 26) I have been an obstinate supporter of the Kyoto process; whose weaknesses, including non-universal participation and inadequate emission targets, are well known. Short of revolution, I do not believe alternative international political processes exist at this late date to enable nations to cooperatively and successfully reduce emissions. Kyoto and a possible successor beginning to be negotiated now in Bali provide the basis and mechanisms for binding emission cuts that can be tightened. I do not see how emissions can be cut by the necessary amount (> 80%) in the requisite period of time (ASAP, for sure by 2050) other than through difficult international negotiations. If Kyoto were abandoned, any successor international negotiating process would be equally hobbled by competing political and economic interests, and decades more wasted. This assumes a certain level of goodwill and commitment to address the climate crisis through adequate solutions exists on the part of all parties. Sadly, this may be lacking, as there are serious deficiencies in policies being promoted at Bali. This essay discusses how increasingly the international climate focus has become financial trickery rather than achieving shared, binding and adequate commitments to reduce emissions. The climate conference in Bali appears to be mostly about money and growth and development and not about meeting the needs of the Earth, ecosystems and most vulnerable citizens. The Bali meetings seem far more interested in establishingmarkets for carbon and rainforests than committing to climate policy that is truthful and scientifically merited. Yes, there is some fine rhetoric from the United Nations, Europe and (gulp) Australia regarding the extent of the crisis and need for urgent actions as a solution. Yet a sad denial permeates the negotiations, as an emphasis upon growth -- including building new carbon reduction and rainforest protection markets -- shrouds the need to respect the biosphere's limits. http://earthmeanders.blogspot.com/ 27) The Nature Conservancy has pledged $5 million towards the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), an innovative new initiative launched today by the World Bank to address the largest overlooked contributor to climate change — the destruction of forests. The announcement was made at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia. " We'll never solve the climate challenge unless we address the loss of tropical forests, which puts out as much carbon dioxide as all the planes, trains and cars worldwide, " said Stephanie Meeks, acting CEO and President of The Nature Conservancy, at today's news conference. " Now, through this partnership, we will show how financial incentives for conserving and sustainably managing forests can be a win-win-win – good for the climate, good for biodiversity and good for local communities. " " We envision this broad-based partnership will catalyze support for developing countries as they work to combat deforestation and climate change, " continued Meeks. The Nature Conservancy is the only non-governmental organization to invest in this effort. By participating, the Conservancy can contribute credible, equitable and environmentally-sound approaches for including protection and sustainable management of tropical forests as part of the global solution to climate change. http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/press/press3248.html 28) Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says preserving the nation's rich rainforests is now potentially worth more economically than cutting down the trees for profit. He says Indonesia stands to gain potentially billions of dollars on an international carbon market by avoiding deforestation. Yudhoyono made the comments as he unveiled a comprehensive Indonesian action plan that aims to save the endangered orangutan by stabilising the population by 2017. " To save orangutans we must save the forests, " Yuhoyono said at the launch, on the sidelines of the key United Nations climate change conference in Bali. " By saving, regenerating and sustainably managing forests we are also doing our part in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, while contributing to sustainable economic development of Indonesia. " Deforestation accounts for a fifth of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Indonesia's tropical rainforests are disappearing at a rapid rate, sending its greenhouse gas emissions skyrocketing and making it the world's third biggest polluter, behind the United States and China. But President Yudhoyono said there was new hope for success of initiatives to halt deforestation, adding that the world was watching. " This is a time when all these initiatives have new hope for success, even for avoided deforestation, " he said. " Because the carbon market can for the first time provide an economic great competitive alternative to forest conversions. " The carbon market value of intact forest can outweigh the most profitable of industrial forest developments. " Yudhoyono said the orangutan conservation plan could help preserve 700,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in Indonesian forests and soils. " These matters of climate protection may be worth billions of dollars on the international carbon market, " he said. " Certainly the critical habitat of our orangutan forests deserve such an investment. " It came as wildlife conservationist Terri Irwin called on countries to act now on climate change, adding the world was at a critical turning point. http://redapes.org/news-updates/indonesia-treasures-rainforest-says-pres-yudhoyo\ no/ 29) Jihan Gearon, Dine' Navajo Nation, IEN energy & climate campaign organizer and Benjamin Powless, Mohawk, Six Nations, Ontario, Canada, IEN youth representative, are gathered with other Indigenous Peoples and taking on the world's super powers and carbon scam. Gearon, writing from Bali, said, " What I am saying is that Indigenous People need a much bigger and better seat at the table. Our communities and livelihoods are the first affected by climate change. We are also the most affected by the unsustainable solutions being proposed to solve climate change – nuclear power, clean coal, carbon sequestration, reforestation, carbon trading, etc, etc, etc. Yet, instead of having real input in the UNFCCC process, we have to spend our time picking through words. And while we're busy doing that, those people who want to sacrifice us to put some dollars in their pockets, make the decisions. " This past September 13th, the UN General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which protects the rights of Indigenous Peoples to their lands, territories and environment. Yet through the faulty process and false climate change solutions of the UNFCCC, it's these fundamental human rights that are being violated. " The Indigenous Peoples here in Bali are asking the UN to live up to their words, to listen to us, and to stop with the false solutions that devastate our lands, threaten our ways of life, and deny our human rights. " http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2007/12/navajo-and-mohawk-in-bali-challenge.html New Zealand: 30) Climate Change Minister David Parker's calls in Bali for an end to global deforestation ring hollow, when at home deforestation is at an all-time high, says National's Climate Change spokesman, Nick Smith. " Deforestation in New Zealand will top six million trees this year. This comes on top of losses of three million trees in 2004, 2005, and 2006. New Zealand planted more trees than it felled for every year from 1951, when records began, until 2003. " It defies belief that Mr Parker believes he can preach to the world the need to stop deforestation, when at home his policies are driving record forest losses. " The rush of deforestation in areas like Canterbury and the Central North Island is so bad that sawmills now have giant backlogs amounting to more than a years log production. This is occurring because forest owners are rushing to avoid carbon charges coming into effect on 1 January 2008, and shows how poor policy can backfire. " Deforestation is the key reason New Zealand will not meet its Kyoto target. Net emissions are up 23% on 1990 levels. In contrast, Australia, which has a strong afforestation policy, has had only a 4% net increase in emissions and is on target to meet Kyoto. " It is just not credible for Mr Parker to be the global champion for forests, when at home he has presided over the loss of 15 million trees. " Australia: 31) Forestry crews have almost finished harvesting more than 8000 hectares of pine trees burnt in a fire in southern New South Wales this time last year. More than $30 million worth of timber has been salvaged from the plantations near Tumut, and replanting is underway. Bob Germantse from Forests New South Wales says it has been a big job to bounce back. " A year on now we've salvaged about 850,000 cubic metres of products out of the forests, " he says. " A lot of the mills here switched totally over to burnt wood so that's one of the reasons it could be cleared out so quickly " . http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2007/s2117868.htm 32) The Greens say a south-west Western Australian-based environment group has misunderstood the party's plan to end native forest logging. Greens' MLC Paul Llewellyn says he will lobby for an end to native forest logging when Parliament resumes next year. However, Mark Sheehan from the Global Warming Forest Group says the MP has effectively provided the logging industry with a sunset clause. " Paul Llewellyn has given the go ahead for another six years of intensive logging, " he said. Mr Llewellyn says the 2013 deadline is there because that is when the current management plan expires. " A whole lot of wind-up provisions that need to be put in place in order to have an orderly transition and adjustment program, " he said. He hopes to get Government support next year to develop a transition plan to switch to plantation and farm logging. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/13/2117984.htm?site=southwestwa World-wide: 33) With the current deforestation rate, the world is losing a forest equivalent to a soccer field every two seconds. If Deforestation continues at this rate, there will be no forests left in the world for future generations. The shrinking forests are affecting our water reservoirs that are becoming unhealthy for human consumption and leaving our air unfit for breathing. It is also adversely affecting wildlife habitat, resulting in food and water shortages for animals and birds. That in turn is leading to their extinction. These changes are causing an increase in events of natural disasters such as growing number of violent storms, hurricanes, tornados, cyclones coupled with floods. The rising temperatures are adding to increased Global Warming. Experts opine that increased timber logging to meet growing wood demand across the globe. China has turned into a hub for mass production of cheap wood supplies for international market. It is attracting illegal timber from countries like Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Papa New Guineas and Cameroon. Reportedly, in addition to catering to growing domestic needs with 20 percent world's population China's exports of finished wood products to United States and Europe have increased by 1000 and 800 times respectively. These exports include flooring, furniture and timber used in house hold construction. As part of 'green earth' efforts many steps have been taken to control deforestation. To end illegal logging the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a United Nations organization has introduced a program known as Certified Foresting Trade Network (CFTN). This membership program allows countries to cut trees legally as per agreed protocol. The protocol demands proportionate logging in which for every tree that is cut three to five trees have to be planted. Similarly, cutting of young forests is prohibited and loggers are encouraged through education and assistance to grow and log special varieties for business purposes. That in turn will help preserve natural forests. http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=45587 34) A quick and cool way to help combat climate change is now available. Lively videos and stunning images are featured in Conservation International's (CI) new online carbon calculator, which helps people easily calculate how much they are adding to global greenhouse gases. The CI carbon calculator offers a way to offset those emissions by helping protect tropical forests from being burned and cleared. Tropical deforestation emits at least 20 percent of total greenhouse gases that cause climate change — more than all the world's cars, SUVs, trucks, trains and airplanes combined. Sporting a novel, upbeat design, CI's user friendly calculator determines personal or family carbon emissions from home energy, vehicle, travel and diet behaviours, or from an individual event or travel. 'Most people don't realise that the meat and food items they eat, the soaps and shampoos they use, even some of the biodiesel and ethanol biofuels powering their cars come from cleared tropical forests,' said Michael Totten, CI's Chief Adviser for Climate, Water and Ecosystem Services. 'This calculator shows them how big of an impact they are making, and how to offset the damage by protecting tropical forests that contain some of the world's richest biological diversity and life-sustaining benefits critical to the well being of local populations.' Most web-based carbon calculators focus on reducing a person's carbon footprint through energy solutions, mainly by the purchase of renewable 'green' power such as capturing land-fill methane gas, or wind power or energy efficiency options. While CI advocates those options as well, CI's calculator is a quick and easy way to calculate carbon footprints, learn about ways to reduce emissions, and contribute to one of the least addressed and most important ways to combat climate change — protecting existing tropical forests. http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/07121219.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.