AF&PA Applauds EPA’s Important First Step to Reaffirm the Carbon Neutrality of BiomassWASHINGTON, USA, Jan 12, 2011 – American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman today issued the following statement regarding EPA’s decision to delay regulation of CO2 emissions from biomass under the Clean Air Act pending further study.
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Koch Industries: The 100-Million Ton Carbon Gorilla
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The US REDD Strategy - geographically
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DNR achieves recertification of nearly 5 million acres
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Weyco Earnings and Timberland Sale
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ANDRITZ to supply biomass boiler for Graphic Packaging International, USA
Graz, Austria, Feb 3, 2011 - International technology Group ANDRITZ has been awarded an order by Graphic Packaging International to supply a 350,000 lb/h (160 t/h) steam boiler using woody biomass and primary clarifier sludge as fuels for the company’s mill in Macon, USA. Start-up of the boiler is scheduled for summer 2013.
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Californian court tentatively rules AB 32 implementation unlawful
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The Nature Conservancy purchases property
The Nature Conservancy in Missouri announced last week it purchased 175 acres near Hartshorn, including nearly 1.5 miles of land along the Current River - the largest stretch of private frontage remaining in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
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BIOMESS: Burning Trees for Energy!
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Softwood logs and lumber exported from North America to China at record hight
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Turning Forests into Fuel: New Report Outlines Promise and Limits of Biomass Energy in the Northeast
MILLBROOK, N.Y., USA, Feb 17, 2011 - Forest biomass could replace as much as one quarter of the liquid fossil fuel now being used for industrial and commercial heating in the Northeastern United States. That's according to a new report released today by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
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Report Outlines Promise and Limits of Biomass Energy in the Northeast
Millbrook, NY—Forest biomass could replace as much as one quarter of the liquid fossil fuel now being used for industrial and commercial heating in the Northeastern United States. That’s according to a new report released today by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
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US Timber REITs has returned 24.10% year to date
Timber REIT (FTR) Index of public timber REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)
has returned 24.10% year-to-date compared with 5.69% for the S&P 500 (as of February 11, 2011) reports Forisk consulting at their blog.
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Full list of companies accepting new wood supply in Ontario
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Company |
Jobs |
Allocation
(cubic metres per year) |
AbiBow Canada Inc., Thunder Bay
will produce stud lumber at their sawmill. |
Creating 50
Sustaining 160 |
221,000 conifer |
Capital Power Income L.P., Calstock
will use sawmill wood waste to produce electricity. |
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Colleges Turn to Biomass to Cut Emissions
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Budget for rainforests puts Obama’s $1 billion pledge at risk
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U.S. REDD+ Fast Track in peril with DC budget debate
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Study Compares Carbon Benefits of Forest Management Practices in Oregon
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Court Affirms Forestry’s Positive Role in Addressing Climate Change Decision
Judge Patrick Riley in El Dorado County presided over a consolidated case in which environmental activists challenged 19 Timber Harvesting Plans (THPs) submitted to the state by Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) in eight counties. Plaintiffs argued that the plans did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they did not properly or adequately address greenhouse gas emissions from timber harvesting. In his 25-page opinion Judge Riley disagreed, saying:
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Georgia-Pacific Increases Forest Protection and Expands Sustainable Forestry Practices
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Biomass plays part in sustainable forestry
People called them bulls of the woods -- the logging company bosses who could out-chop, out-saw, out-spit, out-cuss and out-brawl any man in the camp.
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U.S. lumber prices expected to spike
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IFC and NCASI Release Enhanced Version of the Forest Industry Carbon Assessment Tool (FICAT)
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Pine Pulpwood Prices Driven by Bioenergy and OSB
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2010 Delivered Pulpwood prices at historic highs in south, according to Forest2Market
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Weyerhaeuser Top Forest Products Company on FORTUNE List
FEDERAL WAY, Wash., USA, Mar 7, 2011 — Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced it was named the world’s most admired forest and paper products company according to a study published in the March 21 edition of FORTUNE magazine, currently available online and at newsstands.
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Home Continuing Resolution in the US impacts Forest Service programs
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First commerical US biofuels plant planned this year
Recently, the banned alcoholic drink Four Loko was being recycled into car fuel, and today, it’s non-food waste from crops and wood scraps. Cellulosic ethanol is by no means a new idea, but no one has been producing it in bulk amounts.
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There has been good news recently for America’s national forests, and some that could have been better.
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The American Carbon Registry (ACR): REDD Methodology Modules
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IETA Launches Publication Series and Two New Papers on REDD+
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More Thoughts on Foreign Investments in Timberland
My last post generated a couple of comments that referenced FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) and the likely impact that the law would “keep Asian demand in U.S. timberland muted”. The law has been around since 1981 so I thought that I would take a look at what the impact of foreign investment on timberland has been to date.
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Fortune 500 Companies Drop Misleading Eco-Label
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New studies sully reputation of biomass as clean and green
WASHINGTON -- Simpson Tacoma Kraft would seem like one of the greener power plants. It boils water by burning sawdust, bark and wood shavings from saw mills and pulp mills, funneling the resulting high-pressure steam into a turbine to generate electricity.
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Forestry Group Aims to Boost Sustainability Practices
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Like robins, Sun Belt baseball and daffodils poking their heads up from the soil, it seems to be a rite of spring for advocates of the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative to go after each other about the relative credibility of each other’s forestry standards.
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Petrochemicals from biomass without using excess water from the start-up Anellotech. An early-stage company spun out of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, plans to commercialize a catalytic process for converting cellulosic biomass into five of the chemicals found in gasolin.
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The Fight Over International Climate Investments
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Obama’s Radical Climate Change Agenda Driving U.S. Foreign Aid Policy
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Collapsing lumber prices portend a weaker economy
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Energy Task Force explores wood pellets as coal alternative
In meetings last year, the Energy Task Force extolled the virtues of biomass as a coal alternative — but not without voicing concerns.
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What to Do When Forest Ethics Comes Knocking?
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Forest biomass pilot plant funding in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
The Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE) has announced a $923,261 investment to expand Elementa Group’s Pre-Commercial Demonstration Plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
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How Two 15-Year-Old Girl Scouts Are Changing a Giant Food Conglomerate
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Forest Service: Increasing Fragmentation a Concern
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Federal report shows improved natural resources
LITCHFIELD — A report released by the U.S. Department of Forestry, in part with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, shows resource conservation has improved, but work remains to be done.
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Rockefellers' 1Sky Unveils the New 350.org: More $ -- More Delusion
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USAID Administrator Shah Commemorates Earth Day
Washington, DC – Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), released the following statement on the occasion of Earth Day.
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U.S. announces funding for biomass R&D
To support President Obama’s goal of reducing America’s oil imports by one-third by 2025, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) jointly announced up to US$30 million over three to four years that will support research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy and high-value bio-based products.
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Study Finds 11-Year Gap Between Announced Wood Biofuel Production and Commercial Viability
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Sawlog prices in Western US were up about 20 percent in 2010
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New Ruling Puts California’s Cap and Trade on Permanent Hold
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Timber and Paper Industries Have Fueled Growth of Southern Forests, Government Study Says
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Joint Fact Sheet: The U.S.-UK Partnership for Global Development
Prime Minister Cameron and President Obama reaffirm our commitment to changing the lives of the 1.2 billion poor people in the world today. Recent success and new technologies provide hope and opportunities to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
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UPM agrees on sustainable forestry in Minnesota
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SFI Grant helps Audubon New York link forest management to bird conservation
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The Nature Conservancy and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Explore Responsible Sourcing for Bioenergy Feedstocks
WASHINGTON, USA, June 21, 2011 -- The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) launched a pilot project today to help bioenergy companies in the United States support responsible forest management through their procurement of woody biomass.
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PG&E carbon offsets come from protected forests
California's largest utility promises its customers green salvation through its ClimateSmart program.
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WWF and Kimberly-Clark Corporation Announce New Global Commitment to Responsible Forestry
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MWV to Improve Power Infrastructure at Covington, Virginia Mill
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Delaware environment: Seeing trees as sustainable
he Great Cypress Swamp once covered as much as 60,000 acres in Delaware and nearby Maryland.
Today the great swamp totals about 12,000 acres.
But even at its diminished size, it remains among the largest contiguous forests left on the Delmarva Peninsula.
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How Manomet Got It Backwards: Challenging the ‘Debt-Then-Dividend’ Axiom
Wood-to-energy from sustainably managed forests can provide net-zero carbon emission or even positive carbon sequestration if the woody biomass stock is not depleted or grows over time.
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NASF responds to national report on sustainable forests
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Southern Pine Beetle Outbreak in New Jersey: Another Example of Why Forests Should be Managed
A large faction of the American public has become convinced that the only way to
conserve our prized forests on public lands is to stop harvesting, prevent wildfires, and restrict or
exclude forest management. Too often this “lock it up and let it go” mentality can have
unintended, disastrous consequences, as demonstrated across the nation in recent years. The
extensive mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks in lodgepole pine (Pinus
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USA - GFP puts forests on marketGlobal Forest Partners LP (GFP) has put up for sale the plantation forests, freehold land and carbon assets held jointly by two of its New Zealand-based timber funds.
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Building Firewise communitiesThe National Fire Protection Association in the United States, has a Firewise Communities program that encourages local solutions for wildfire safety by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, firefighters, and others in the effort to protect people and pro
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EPA Emissions Decision Puts Climate and Human Health at RiskDogwood Alliance, an organization focused on protecting Southern forests, called on utility companies, investors, and federal, state, and local governments to halt the further expansion of large-scale bioenergy projects, including burning whole trees in existing coal-fired power plants whil
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The Nebraska Forest Service - funds available for woody biomass conversionThe Nebraska Forest Service has funds available to help interested institutions determine whether they are candidates for conversion to woody biomass energy.
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EPA’s Decision Not to Regulate Biomass Carbon Emissions is a Big MistakeAsheville, NC, USA, Jul 19, 2011 – Today, Dogwood Alliance, an organization focused on protecting Southern forests, called on utility companies, investors, and federal, state, and local governments to halt the further expansion of large-scale
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Blandin's tax battle stuns Iron Range
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This U.N. Program Should Have Taxpayers Seeing REDDWhile the Obama administration’s push to regulate domestic greenhouse gas emissions has mostly stalled, the worldwide fight for carbon suppression continues.
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FRA Welcomes Sustainable Forestry Initiative Pilot Bioenergy ProjectA new woody biomass procurement project, launched by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), has attracted support from Forestry Research Associates (FRA).
The research and advisory consultancy provides fresh outlooks and consultancy services on all matters surrounding forestry investment, sustainability and forestry management and has spoken out in support of the new pilot scheme. The plan is to support sustainable forestry management by helping US-based bioenergy companies to purchase woody biomass.
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Dovetail Partners Releases New Report on BioenergyA new report from Dovetail Partners evaluates the life cycle impacts of forest management and bioenergy. The report reviews new research findings addressing the potential role of forests in bioenergy development in the context of sustainable forest management.
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Developing a Sustainable Biomass Forest Industry: Case of the U.S. NortheastWho isn't in search of clean, cheap energy? Policy makers, residents and investors around the region are, and they are taking a close look at biomass energy, that is, burning low-grade wood or other plant materials for high-tech electricity generation.
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Weyerhaeuser Completes Sale of Hardwoods BusinessFEDERAL WAY, Wash., USA, Aug 01, 2011 - Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced it has completed the sale of its hardwoods business to American Industrial Partners.
Total proceeds from the sale will be approximately $108 million.
Assets included in the transaction are located in Tuscumbia, Ala.; Elkhart, Ind.; Grand Rapids and Lewiston, Mich.; Brainerd, Minn.; Coos Bay, Eugene and Garibaldi, Ore.; Titusville, Pa.; Arlington, Centralia and Longview, Wash.; and Dorchester and Onalaska, Wis.
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Softwood lumber dispute’s next round set to begin August 9On August 9, the United States will makes its case to the London Court of International Arbitration that British Columbia is subsidizing timber prices for pine-beetle damaged trees.
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Rick Perry to run for president; climate deniers cheerThe climate skeptics can finally get excited about the 2012 election: Rick Perry, their candidate of choice, is about to officially
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Wis. officials start work on timber clearing plan
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Weyerhaeuser Recognized as Global Sustainability LeaderEDERAL WAY, Wash., USA, Sep 13, 2011 - Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) today announced that it has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, which tracks companies in terms of their economic, environmental and social performance. Weyerhaeuser is one of only eight building materials companies to be included on the World Index.
Weyerhaeuser also continues to be a member of the DJSI North America, as it has every year since its inception in 2005.
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Exports of logs and lumber from the US and Canada to China to reach recordLumber shipments from Canada alone could reach 1.2 billion dollars this year. The North American share of log and lumber import volumes to China has increased from four percent in 2005 to 18 percent in 2010.
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Q and A: Forests and ClimateReading about declining forests, the problem seems overwhelming. So I’m wondering: What can I do at a personal level?
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American Manufacturer of Pulp and Paper Machinery Files Suit Against Andritz
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Andritz AG auf 25 Mio. Dollar verklagtDem Grazer Anlagenbauer Andritz droht juristisches Ungemach in den USA: Das US-Unternehmen Ovalstrapping wirft dem österreichischen Konzern Diebstahl geistigen Eigentums vor und klagte auf mindestens 25 Millionen Dollar.
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USDA Study Shows Economic and Environmental Benefits of Wood as Green Building MaterialWASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) welcomes a study by the U.S.
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Dr. Peter Kolb discusses Sustainable Forestry, German-styleHow German the sustainable forest management (SFM) system is recognized by the US - spend the time to watch - and have a lough!
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NAFO refutes OSU biomass study conclusionsThe authors of a study recently published by Oregon State University’s College of Forestry says that the production of bioenergy from U.S.
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Report fails to see the forest for the carbonAt first glance, the latest biomass study out of Oregon State University seemed like bad news with a capital B. It certainly could pose yet another obstacle for champions of woody biomass removal, the latest and perhaps best hope to address the problems of our rural forest communities.
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Some Timberland Transactions and Other Stuff I've had several requests for an update on issues surrounding timberland investments and transactions to date for 2011 so I am posting a chart of the transactions of which I am aware. I will also make a comment or two on conservation easements and on who is
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Study confirms biogenic emissions result in no net carbon releaseA new study with multiple co-authors, including researchers from the U.S.
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Report provides new analysis of carbon accounting, biomass use, and climate benefitsPORTLAND, Ore. -- A recent report provides new ideas regarding carbon and energy benefits forests and forest products provide.
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How the United States Can Support REDD+ Programs Efforts to reduce deforestation in developing tropical countries continue to provide promising opportunities to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously addressing development concerns.
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Conservation International Enters into Groundbreaking Partnership with Althelia Climate Fund on REDD+ Investments
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How (some) deforestation might slow warmingDeforestation in the northern parts of the U.S. can cool down the Earth rather than contribute to global warming, according to a study published Wednesday.
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Sustainable Forestry Draft Report Proposes Local Land Use ChangesThe Sustainable Forestry Council, which was created by the Sustainable Forestry Act of 2009 (SB 549), has released a draft report on a “no net loss of forests” p
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Celebrating Sustainable Forest ManagementArborGen recently celebrated the planting of its 10 billionth tree seedling. To celebrate, the company planted a ceremonial tree at its new headquarters, which is being constructed in Summerville, S.C.
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US Forest Service Teams With Society Of American Foresters on Research WASHINGTON, – U.S. Forest Service scientists contributed to a far-reaching report that will help land managers make decisions about how forests are best managed to help offset carbon emissions, including the use of forest biomass for energy.
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U.S: A Look at Renewable EnergyClimate change poses a long-term threat to the world, because an unchecked acceleration of current warming trends could have catastrophic consequences for billions of people.
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Study: Forest thinning increases carbon releasesAssumptions that forest thinning treatments help sequester carbon are not grounded in science — instead, recent research shows that thinning act
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