Publication archives

The cough-inducing haze eventually will clear, but Southern California's recent wildfires could lead to longer-lasting environmental consequences -- mudslides that send ash-ridden water to the ocean and the extinction of a few plants and wildlife.

When David Milarch first visited Northern California in 1968, he thought he would see avenues of coast redwoods 100 miles long. What he found instead, he said, was a "moonscape." Nearly 40 years later, the Michigan arborist has returned to the region to realize his dream of preserving and restoring the most ancient of these trees using the latest advances in genetic cloning.

The Canadian forest industry is joining with the World Wildlife Fund in a bid to become Canada's first carbon-neutral industry by 2015 without purchasing carbon credits. Saying the industry is responding to markets, not just government regulations, Forest Products Association of Canada head Avrim Lazar announced the new initiative at a climate change conference in Ottawa Tuesday.

Rick Bowerman is into recycling. The tops of his reproduction tables are fashioned from century-old pine floors from Ontario, and the staircase in his shop features wood from the old Interfor Mill in Squamish. Even the railings are recycled "drill skills" that were used in the blasting and construction of the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler.

The environmental group that runs a widely recognized labeling system to identify "green" wood and paper products has acknowledged that some companies using its label are destroying pristine forests and says it plans to overhaul its rules.

Next week, the U.S. Senate will have an important opportunity to level the playing field for farmers and ranchers in the marketplace. The Farm Bill coming out of the Senate Agriculture Committee includes important provisions to restore fair markets (see discussion of Livestock Title here).

As one era ends, another begins. The collapse of the World Trade Organization negotiations, combined with coming changes in the U.S. presidency, seem to be spurring a lot of creative new thinking about globalization. And judging by two recent efforts, it appears civil society is making the quick transition from defense to offense.

The federal Bankruptcy Court judge presiding over the Pacific Lumber Co.'s Chapter 11 process told the bitterly divided parties Tuesday to pick a mediator by Friday and present a unified plan within 30 days.