Ban on Solid Wood Packing Material to Prevent Asian Beetle Infestation
12/1/98
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Ban on Solid Wood Packing Material to Prevent Asian Beetle
Infestation
Source: The Resource Conservation Alliance
Status: Distribute freely with proper credit to source
Date: 12/1/98
The Resource Conservation Alliance
Welcome to the first issue of the RCA Newswire. Our purpose is to bring
you news and information from around the world that addresses the issues
of forest conservation through demand reduction, habitat protection and
tree-free alternatives. These are some of the issues we are following.
If you would like to submit articles, campaign updates, announcements or
action alerts to the Newswire, or if you would like to get involved in
campaigns on these issues or would like more information on items in RCA
Newswire, please contact me at roselle@essential.org Sincerely,
-Mike Roselle
To Subscribe:
Send a message to listproc@essential.org subscribe rca-news your name
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LEAD STORY:
Administration, Leahy Advocate Ban on Solid Wood Packing Material in
Response to Asian Long-horned Beetle infestation A recent report by the
World Watch Institute stated that the two biggest threats to healthy
ecosystems are habitat loss and invasive species and for these two
reasons, pallets and other solid wood packing material are under heavy
scrutiny and may be banned from importation into the United States
FEATURE STORY
The Government Purchasing Project's Advocacy Pays Off - A Recent Success
On September 14, 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13101,
called "Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and
Federal Acquisition." This order builds on Executive Order 12873, which
called for increased purchasing of products manufactured from recycled and
renewable materials.
NEWS BRIEFS
a) Timber Prices, Production, Hit By Asian Economic Crisis.
b) Project Applies GIS Technology to Straw Collection to Plant
c) China Govt. To Enact Logging Ban
d) New R&D Agreement Explores Uses of Wheat-Based Concrete
e) Poll Shows North Carolinians Oppose Commercial Logging on Public Lands
f) Ridged Straw Board Being Developed
g) New Forest Service Chief Calls For A Change
h) Washington Timberland to be sold
i) Coalition Opposes Boise Cascade Wood Chipping Plan for Chilean Forests
j) First Mill in Canada Qualifies for PCF Certification Program
k) Mill Produces First FSC Certified Paper
l) Environmental Toll From Hurricane Mitch Rises
CAMPAIGN UPDATE #1
Activists Target Home Depot for Old Growth Timber Sales
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: #2
NRDC Launches Campaign to Increase Wood-Use Efficiency
CAMPAIGN UPDATE #3
Institute for Local Self Reliance's Carbohydrate Economy Program
Mill Proposes To Help Second Growth Forests
==LEAD STORY==
Administration, Leahy Advocate Ban on Solid Wood Packing Material in
Response to Asian Long-horned Beetle infestation A recent report by the
World Watch Institute stated that the two biggest threats to healthy
ecosystems are habitat loss and invasive species (press release:
http://www.worldwatch.org/shared/alerts/pr981010.html), and for these two
reasons, pallets and other solid wood packing material (SWPM) are under
heavy scrutiny and may be banned from importation into the United States.
In the U.S. alone, pallets and wood packing materials consumed 4.53
billion board feet of solid hardwood (does not include plywood or oriented
strand board) and 1.79 billion board feet of solid softwood.
Approximately 40 percent of all hardwoods cut in the United States are
used for making pallets or other shipping containers. RCA could not find
good numbers for the amount of wood used globally for pallets and solid
wood packing material.
SWPM is having another devastating effect on forests in the United States:
solid wood is the only material used for packing that acts as a vector for
invasive species such as the pine shoot beetle, Eurasian spruce beetle and
the most recent invader, the Asian Long-horned Beetle.
In the U.S., Asian Long Horned Beetle infestations have been discovered in
Brooklyn, New York which was later spread to Amityville, Long Island and
one or possibly two outbreaks in the Chicago area. The Asian Long-horned
beetle infestation is being taken very seriously since it has no natural
predators in the U.S.. Unlike some other invasive species such as the
gypsy moth, beetle infested trees have a high mortality rate and the
beetles attack specific types of trees, maples are one of their favorites.
27 percent of the trees in Brooklyn, the sight of the first known
invasion, are Norway maples (New York's favorite shade tree to plant).
A worst case scenario is that the beetle will be introduced into the
forests of Vermont where sugar maple trees, another favorite of the
beetles, is key to two of Vermont's big industries: maple sugar and
tourism around the fall foliage (sugar maples produces the deepest reds).
New Yorkers, themselves considered an invasive species in Vermont,
bringing firewood from home in New York to their ski chalet in Vermont
could literally devastate Vermont's economy with one infested log.
In response to this threat, the Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant
and Health Inspection Service has a new interim rule to increase
fumigation standards for SWPM coming into the United States from China
(USDA risk assessment report:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ss/Interim_rule_PRA.htm). Fumigation does
not eliminate the threat of invasive species, only reduces it which means
eventually pests will enter the country. Another problem with fumigation
is the process uses methyl bromide, a very toxic chemical which is 50
times more powerful than chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as an ozone depleter.
Comments on this interim rule are due by November 17th, 1998. (Proposed
rule: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/alb/interimalb.html) In a recent
Washington Post article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-10/19/037l-101998-
idx.html.
The Clinton Administration hinted that the ban on solid wood packing
material could be extended to encompass all trading partners, not just
China. This would make sense considering 72 percent of pests that are
discovered in SWPM are from Europe, 16 percent from Asia, five percent
from South America and two percent and less from Central America, Africa,
Oceania, and the Caribbean.
Senator Leahy of Vermont has introduced a bill into Congress, S. 2480
(http://thomas.loc.gov/) that would, among other things, set up a
treatment process for shipments coming into the United States for five
years and then prohibit the importation of pallets, packing material or
dunnage composed of wood.
One issue that has not come up directly yet is the GATT/WTO implications
of a ban on SWPM because China is not a member of the WTO.
If the ban is extended to all trading partners or the Leahy bill is
passed, there would likely be a challenge of the regulation.
The Resource Conservation Alliance is working with trade lawyers,
nonprofits working on Pacific Rim forests and others to develop a policy
on the importation of SWPM. If you would like to be involved in that
process or would like a copy of RCA's comments to the Dept. of
Agriculture, please email Ned Daly at ned@essential.org.
==FEATURE STORY==
The Government Purchasing Project's Advocacy Pays Off - A Recent Success
On September 14, 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13101,
called "Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and
Federal Acquisition." This order builds on Executive Order 12873, which
called for increased purchasing of products manufactured from recycled and
renewable materials. The new order includes for the first time a clause
stating that federal agencies must begin to consider purchasing biobased
products. However, as it stands now, biobased products are so broadly
defined that they can contain virgin forestry materials-- even old growth
timber! This definition has the potential to diminish purchases of true
biobased products that contain, for example, annually renewable wheat
straw, by giving the President's seal of approval to purchases of certain
non-renewable wood-based materials, which can now arguably be called
"biobased" under the terms of the order.
In the coming months, the USDA Biobased Products Council will be preparing
a list of biobased products to be published in the Federal Register.
According to the new Executive Order on section 504(b), "once the Biobased
Products List has been published, agencies are encouraged to modify their
affirmative procurement program to give consideration to those products.
"The Government Purchasing Project has drafted an analysis of the
Executive Order, which can be found at http://www.gpp.org/eo13101.html
At this point, concerned groups and citizens can encourage the Biobased
Products Council to include agricultural residues-based products on the
Biobased Products List and to limit the inclusion of forestry materials to
recycled or reclaimed woods, or to certain types of certified woods.
Write to Dr. Daniel Kugler, USDA-CSREES, Stop 220, Washington, DC 20250-
2200 with a copy to Fran McPoland, Federal Environmental Executive, 401 M
Street SW, Washington, DC 20460. Letters should state the benefits of
agricultural residues and other renewable agricultural crops as industrial
feedstocks, question the broad and loosely defined inclusion of forestry
materials, and remind the administration that inclusion of forestry
materials in the definition of biobased products represents tacit approval
of government purchasing of products containing non-renewable resources,
which thereby defeats the original purpose of the order.
==NEWSBRIEFS==
a) Timber Prices, Production, Hit By Asian Economic Crisis.
An industry trade group reported that the forest-products sector has been
hard-hit by the Asian economic crisis. According to Random Lengths, an
industry trade group, prices for framing lumber was at it lowest price in
33 months, and export prices for Douglas Fir have fallen from $900 to $600
per thousand board feet in the last year. Pulp prices have also fallen, as
global consumption has continued to fall. Several Canadien paper mills and
one large Indonesian mill have shut down recently, hit by a glut in the
international market. Among the hardest hit timber corporations are Plum
Creek, Willamette Industries and Weyerhauser.
b) Project Applies GIS Technology to Straw Collection to Plant Isobord
Enterprises and the Manitoba government are each contributing $58,500
toward a $117,000 project which will apply geographic information systems
(GIS) technology to the collection of straw for use at Isobord's new
particleboard manufacturing plant. The project is reported to be the first
of its kind to be conducted anywhere. It entails the development of a
computerized mapping and route planning system for the collection of wheat
straw being grown by a straw producers' co-operative made up of hundreds
of growers in a 20,000-square-kilometer area. This will enable the
resource to be collected more effectively and efficiently, noted
Agriculture Minister Harry Enns, who observed that the project "will
maximize technological, economic and environmental opportunities to help
strengthen our agricultural industry and our economy as a whole." Isobord
has selected Linnet Geomatics International, of Winnipeg, to carry out the
project. GIS technology will be used to create maps which will display co-
operative members' field locations and other geographic details to provide
reference points. It will also be used to organize the daily scheduling of
baling crews and will incorporate an inventory control database.
c) China Govt. To Enact Logging Ban
"Amid mounting official concern over how rampant logging has worsened
deadly flooding this year," China is expected to order loggers nationwide
to "lay down their axes and plant trees," reports Reuters.
The Forestry Administration $722 million plan, aimed at stopping logging
along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers calls on 65 firms to halt logging and
on another 70 companies to cut timber production by 353 million cubic
feet. Under the plan, more than 1 million people currently employed with
the forestry industry are expected to lose their jobs by 2000, reports the
Xinhua News Agency. Li Yucai, the administration's deputy director:
"Most of those laid off will have new jobs as tree planters, forest
tenders and other related work" (Eckert, Reuters/Washington Times).
The State Forestry Administration had drawn up a 19.5 billion yuan ($2.3
billion) plan to stop logging along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers and in
the northeast and to start large-scale reforestation, Xinhua said.``With
the implementation of this forest-conservation project, over one million
people now employed by the forestry industry will lose their present jobs
by 2000,'' it said.``Most of those laid off will have new jobs as tree
planters, forest tenders and other related work,'' it quoted Li Yucai, the
administration's deputy director, as saying.
Authorities have increasingly acknowledged the role of logging along
China's major waterways in devastating floods, which have killed more than
3,000 people and caused at least 166 billion yuan in damage this
year.``The devastating floods in China this summer are due, at least in
part, to deforestation and the serious damage it has done to vegetation
along the upper reaches of the Yangtze and other rivers,'' Xinhua said.
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji on 9/2 became the latest in a string of Chinese
officials to cite "rampant logging" as a contributing factor to the
country's current floods(Greenwire, 8/27) (Agence France Press, 9/1).
During a visit to the flood-damaged city of Harbin, Zhu "said Beijing
would rather sacrifice its timber industry than allow rampant logging to
continue" (Daniel Kwan, Hong Kong South China Morning Post, 9/3)
However, according to an article by John Pomfret in the Nov. 22 edition of
the Washington Post, China's central government will face difficulty
bringing changes to a development model that has taken China's environment
to the brink of crisis. According to Pomfret, bans, poorly thought out and
badly implemented, rarely work. Little effort is made to coordinate policy
with county chiefs who must implement the rules. And the ban on logging
relates only to national state-run companies. Half of the logging is done
by county and village-owned enterprises.
"I have mixed feelings about the ban," said Lu Zhi of the World Wide Fund
for Nature in Beijing. "I would like to believe that the government has
the determination to stop logging, but I'm afraid the process will cause
the exact opposite result. "These logging firms could easily move over the
border and begin mining Tibet's forest," said one Chinese scientist. "If
that happens, this will end up being a turning point for the worse, not
the better.
d) New R&D Agreement Explores Uses of Wheat-Based Concrete Lightweight
concrete products such as exterior panels for high-rise office buildings
may soon be made with an unusual ingredient-- wheatstarch. The
Agricultural Research Service, chief research agency of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and Artlo Industries, Inc., of Perris, Calif.,
entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement today in
Washington, D.C., to develop, test and commercialize wheat-based concrete.
Artlo Industries manufactures custom pre-cast concrete products.
"Unique and promising new uses of wheat starch resulting from agricultural
research may provide strong, durable and attractive products for
commercial and residential useand an important new market for America's
wheat growers," said I. Miley Gonzalez, USDA Under Secretary for Research,
Education and Economics. In addition to building materials, other
potential products from wheat-based concrete may include ornamental
fountains, benches and planters.
Under the new agreement, ARS scientists in Albany, Calif. will provide
samples of wheat-based aggregate for making the concrete to Artlo
Industries. Artlo Industries will test various mixes of the concrete for
strength and durability. Artlo will also determine cost-effective ways to
manufacture lightweight, pre-cast wheat starch based concrete products for
indoor and outdoor uses. The ARS Western Regional Research Center in
Albany will help develop specifications for commercial products.
e) Poll Shows Most North Carolinians Oppose Commercial Logging on Public
Lands
According to a poll released Friday by the NC School of Journalism and
Mass Communications, a strong majority of North Carolina citizens are
strongly opposed to commercial logging on public lands. Forest protection
groups point to these findings as proof that the U.S. Forest Service's
money-losing commercial timber sale program in the nation's last wild
public forests must end. The poll asked: "Recently there has been a
nation-wide debate about whether the U.S. Forest Service should continue
to sell timber from national forests. In general, do you strongly support,
somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose commercial logging
in North Carolina's national forests?" 35.2% strongly oppose
27.2 somewhat oppose
22.8 somewhat support
5.5 strongly support
9.3 don't know/no answer
"We agree with the majority of North Carolina citizens that the U.S.
Forest Service's commercial timber sale program on public lands must end",
said Andrew George, Executive Director of the Southern Appalachian
Biodiveristy Project (SABP). "It's time to get the Forest Service out of
the timber business. Aside from costing the government over $3,287,000 to
log in North Carolina's National Forests in fiscal year 1996 alone,
commercial logging takes an unacceptable toll on the forests we depend on
for clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreational and tourism dollars.
A national poll conducted from June 22-25, 1998 by the conservative
polling firm Market Strategies, Inc.- which has done extensive polling
work for Newt Gingrich and other Republicans- shows even greater
opposition to the commercial logging question when applied nationally.
Among Democrats, the sentiments against logging are impressive. By a
greater than 4 to 1 margin, 79% of Democrats who were asked said they
"oppose continuing to allow timber companies to log in our national
forests". Even Republicans and westerners are in solid opposition to
logging with a 2 to 1 margin. Overall 69% of Americans want logging of
our National Forests ended. Begun a decade ago by progressive forest
protection groups frustrated with U.S. Forest Service corruption, the
campaign to end commercial logging on public lands, also known as the
National Zero Cut Campaign, has won the endorsement of more mainstream
organizations like the Sierra Club, as well as members of congress.
f) Ridged Straw Board Being Developed
Straw enthusiasts should check out work done recently at MIT on a rigid
straw board containing approximately 2% binder (MDI) and achieving R-
values of 3.6 for reasonably structural (meaning sufficient to hold its
own weight, be handled, and installed with fasteners). No one is
producing such a board in the US now but if you know of companies with
potential interests, please have them contact me. Results can be found in
a recent paper published in the 98 ACEEE proceedings and in the upcoming
Thermal VII conference.
g) New U.S. Forest Chief Calls For Change In speech delivered at the
USFS's National Leadership Conference entitled: "Words to Action:
Conservation Leadership for the 21st Century." USFS Chief Dombeck has
called for changes in the agency to meet the challenges of the 21 century.
Among other things, he said; "Even as society demands clean water, better
outdoor recreation opportunities, landowner assistance programs, and new
research and technologies on forest inventory, analysis, wood conservation
and more efficient wood utilization, we are spending too much time and
money in controversy about timber sales in roadless areas. Our timber
harvest has declined by about 70% of its high in less than a decade and
today we are finding it ever more difficult to finance road maintenance,
recreation and wildlife projects, overhead, and salaries. And you know as
well as I that the harvest is not going to return to its high historic
level.
Eliminating purchaser road credits will diminish the divisive subsidy
debate and lessen the internal incentive to build new roads in order to
pay for maintenance of our existing road system. We must change.
Consistent with principles of ecosystem management, collaborative
stewardship, and social values, we must transform our view of forests as a
warehouse of outputs to one that assigns greatest values to the positive
outcomes of watershed management and responsible stewardship." While some
environmentalists are hailing this as a sign that the agency may actually
live up to its mission of protecting the National Forests, judging from
the traffic on the internet, there are many who are not convinced. One
angry staff person for a national environmental organization who did not
want to be identified wrote; "Having been to nearly all the Secretary of
Agriculture's Committee of Scientists meetings on the revisions of
National Forests Management Act, I can say that we still have lots to
fear. The combination of ignorance, self-important arrogance, bounded
rationality both self imposed and imposed by the Secretary of Agriculture
and the total shut out of environmentalists for the invited testimony
sections of the meetings resulted in what will likely be the destruction
of NFMA's most important clause, the Diversity provision, as implemented
by the species viability clause in the implementing regulations. I was
consistently disgusted, appalled, flabbergasted and resigned to the
destruction of NFMA's most important sections during these meetings. So,
while Dombeck greenwashes the issues with toothless pronouncements, the
actual laws that allow activists to protect the forests are being
dismantled." Those who are interested in reading the entire speech can
access it on the USFS website at
http://www.fs.fed.us/intro/speech/19981027.html and send in their
comments.
f) Greenpeace Blocks Ships Carrying BC Old Growth Long Beach, CA-
Greenpeace activists, including crew members from the Rainbow Warrior
boarded the Thorseggen, a ship carrying newsprint from British Columbia,
Canada, which was carrying eight hundred thousand tons of newsprint, much
of it destined for the Los Angeles Times. The activists chained themselves
to the ship's cranes to prevent off-loading, and unfurled a banner
reading, "Stop Destroying the Great Bear Rainforest." Greenpeace swimmers
and small inflatable boats were used to blockade the ship and force it to
drop anchor. The ship was immobilized off pier F in Long Beach for three
days. In New London, Connecticut, on October 12, Greenpeace activists
occupied a ship carrying ancient forest wood. The activists, including
new Greenpeace U.S. Forest Campaign George Marshall, locked themselves to
equipment on the ship, Saga Wave, preventing it from unloading. Marshall,
was pepper sprayed while locked to the controls in the crane, and
arrested.
Greenpeace is calling on the L.A. Times, GTE, AT&T and the Orange County
Register and other companies to cancel all contracts with Fletcher-
Challenge and other suppliers using wood fiber from Interfor, Doman or
West Fraser -- the three companies logging in the Great Bear Rainforest --
until these newsprint producers cease using wood fiber from the ancient
forests.
h) Washington Timberland To Be Sold
Willamette Industries Inc., a Portland, OR forest-products company, agreed
to sell 117,000 acres of timber lands in southwest Washington to Campbell
Group, Inc. of Portland. Cambell will reportedly pay $234 million for the
property. Willamette said the land wasn't essential for its Oregon fiber-
supply operations. The company will still own 1.7 million acres of US
timber lands
i) Coalition Opposes Boise Cascade Wood Chipping Plan for Chilean Forests
The Native Forest Network, and the Northern Rockies Preservation Project,
along with local citizens have been protesting Boise Cascade's plans to
launch a massive wood chipping scheme in Chile. After closing sawmills in
their home state of Idaho, Boise Cascade Corporation is investing $180
million in a massive wood chipping and oriented strand board (OSB)
facility in Bahia Ilque, Chile. Boise Cascade, responsible for recent
controversial logging and road building in important Idaho and Oregon
roadless areas, is infamous in the U.S. for their heavy-handed logging
practices on both private and public lands. The joint-venture Cascada
Chile project would turn intact, biologically diverse native Chilean
forests into wood chips and OSB for export from a new facility to be built
at Bahia Ilque. Bahia Ilque is located in the midst of one of the two last
remaining great temperate rainforests on Earth.
According to Adriana Hoffman of Defenders of Chilean Forests, "Our
analysis of the forests in this region indicates that if wood chip
production continues at current rates, there will be no forests in the
region in 25 years. If production increases via Cascada Chile or similar
projects, our forests will be gone that much sooner." Chile is the world's
third largest exporter of wood chips, after Canada and the U.S., yet wood
chipping accounts for less than one per cent of Chile's Gross Domestic
Product. Tourism is worth seven times more than wood chipping to Chile's
economy.
j) First Mill in Canada Qualifies for PCF Certification Program The
Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) announced today that a popular
U.S. copy paper, New Life DP 100, manufactured by Rolland, inc., in Saint-
J,r"me, Quebec, now meets independently verified, Processed Chlorine Free
(PCF) certification standards. This verification assures consumers that
they are purchasing environmentally safe pulp and paper products that are
not made using harmful, chlorine-containing compounds; oruse tree fiber
that comes from responsibly managed forestry, not old growth forest; and
complies with a stringent formula for post-consumer content. The paper is
made from 80 percent recycled content, 60 percent post-consumer waste and
20 percent virgin content that is totally chlorine free (TCF)." The paper
also carries the EcoLogo, indicating it has passed the Canadian
government's Terra Choice certification program. "We take the guesswork
out of putting your money where your environmental values are," says
CFPA's Beaton. "
k) Mill Produces First FSC Certified Paper A New York paper mill has just
completed its first run of printing and writing paper certified to have
come from a well-managed forest. The paper, produced by the Lyons Falls
Pulp and Paper mill, is the first produced under the National Wildlife
Federation's regional SmartWood certification initiative. It carries a
Forest Stewardship Council certification label, which means it came from
independently inspected and certified forests that have met high standards
for environmental and social responsibility.
Certified solid wood products, from flooring and furniture to bird houses
and guitars, have been available for several years, and some tissue and
wall paper have recently become available in Europe. Lyons Falls' pulp and
paper mill is the first in North America to be awarded a certificate.
It also is producing the only certified printing and writing paper in the
world.
While applying the FSC label to paper presented some unique challenges,
the project proves that "certification is not just for lumber anymore,"
said Eric Palola, NWF's, a coordinator for SmartWood. "Now the FSC system
can be applied to any forest product and used to reward forest owners and
managers who protect water quality, wildlife habitat, recreational
opportunities and worker and community interests while producing saw
timber and pulpwood."
l) Environmental Toll From Hurricane Mitch Rises Hurricane Mitch has
caused an "ecological disaster" in the forests and mangrove swamps of
western Nicaragua, according to The Humboldt Center, an environmental
group sponsored by German and British environmentalists. "Fragile
ecosystems in five western provinces were ravaged and that wildlife was
seriously affected",the center reported, "and the hurricane caused the
erosion of hillsides, stripped leaves from trees, and spread pesticides
and chemicals from gold mines over wide areas, particularly affecting
mangrove swamps and their marine life. The center says some of the damage
is irreversible, and it expects "great numbers" of marine species to die.
The center said it has appealed for international aid to try to save
remaining areas, but it added it will take at least 35 years to recover
some of the affected areas Clearcut logging and rampant housing
development are being blamed for exacerbating the effects of Hurricane
Mitch in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Clearcut areas
were devastated by mudslides, while a helicopter survey over central
Honduras last week showed that heavily forested areas were relatively
unscathed.
==CAMPAIGN UPDATE #1:==
Activists Target Home Depot
The Home Depot campaign is rocking! After building momentum throughout the
summer, RAN, the Coastal Rainforest Coalition, Greenpeace and a number of
other organizations have made The Home Depot their primary target. Home
Depot sells, doors, hot tubs, wheelbarrows, rakes, paint brushes and
dowels that are made of old growth tropical and temperate rainforests.
Pre-hung mahogany doors sold at the Home Depot are made from trees that
can be hundreds of years old and carry as many as 1200 species of flora
and fauna on a single tree. Plywood and doors are made from lauan are
taken from the rainforests of Indonesia, where logging has led to massive
forest fires and threatens to drive orangutans and other endangered
species to extinction. The Home Depot also sells cedar, fir and spruce
lumber and other wood products from the Great Bear Rainforest of British
Columbia, lumber, decking and trim from the Pacific Northwest's ancient
redwoods, and mahogany doors from the tropical rainforests of the Amazon.
An estimated 80% of logging activities in the Brazilian Amazon- the source
of most of Home Depot's mahogany imports--are illegal With over 700 stores
in North America, Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement
retailer Here is a breakdown of recent activities in Home Depot Campaign:
* Five RAN activists scaled a giant construction crane in view of the
Home Depot World Headquarters in Atlanta Georgia. The five unfurled a
massive 2,000 square-foot banner with a message: "Home Depot: Stop Selling
Old Growth Wood".
* A public outreach campaign led by Global Response, Co-op America, CRC
and Rainforest Action Groups around the country have sent in over 12,000
letters and postcards to Home Depot's CEO, Arthur Blank.
* Socially responsible investment companies and major shareholders such as
KLD, Franklin Research and Development Corporation, and Citizens Funds
began to pressure The Home Depot in September, expressing concern
regarding their old growth policy.
*October 12, an article in Time magazine entitled, "Next stop, Home Depot"
highlighted the growing campaign against the retail giant. Two days later,
over 80 demonstrations took place across the US and Canada as part of a
North American Day of Action.
*October 22 and 26, RAN placed an advertisement on the op-ed page of the
local Atlanta newspaper, the Atlanta Journal, describing, "How two men in
pinstripe suits cut down more rainforest than anyone in flannel shirts."
* Police arrested five Greenpeace activists for alleged shoplifting and
trespassing at a Seattle Home Depot store last week after the group tried
to "reclaim" lumber they said was stolen from Canada's Great Bear
Rainforest.
* In September, A Greenpeace team of international climbers, representing
Canada, the United States, Germany and Australia hung a banner over
Niagara Falls protesting the destruction of ancient forests in North
America. The banner, measuring sixty-feet high, by thirty-feet wide reads
"Save Ancient Forests", and displays the Canadian and U.S.
flags.
Home Depot is clearly beginning to feel the pressure. Two days after the
article in Time magazine, they held a meeting with all of their vendors to
discuss the issue of old growth wood consumption. On October 29, they will
hold a meeting with leaders of the FSC and the CFPC to discuss Home
Depot's use of certified wood. It is clear that Home Depot is looking
for a way to deflect some of the criticism by boasting of its use of
certified lumber. We will continue to work to frame the debate as a larger
issue of overall old growth consumption by targeting the company in full-
page ads in national newspapers, using civil disobedience at store
openings, and making creative use of celebrity support.
In the past few years, they have made several forest-conservation-related
promises that have kept environmental organizations at bay. In spring of
1997, Home Depot responded to growing grassroots pressure and agreed to
stop selling any old growth redwood products but refused to address the
larger issue of the rest of their old growth rainforest wood products. A
full 19 months after the company said they would stop selling old growth
redwood, investigations by area building professionals have revealed that
Home Depot is indeed still selling it.
Please write a letter to Home Depot about your concerns for the forests
and about their role in destroying it. Write to: Mr. Arthur Blank Chief
Executive Officer The Home Depot, Inc., 2455 Paces Ferry Rd., N.W, GA
30339 FAX: 770-384-3040 arthur_blank@homedepot.com
==CAMPAIGN UPDATE #2:==
NRDC'S Wood-Use Efficiency Project
NRDC is working to promote efficient use of wood in building, targeting
the residential construction industry, whose consumption of lumber and
plywood represents the single largest use of forest products in the U.S.
Our work involves research on wood-efficient building methods, outreach to
building industry professionals, and demonstration projects highlighting
the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of our recommended approaches.
They have produced our handbook on Efficient Wood Use in Residential
Construction, which will be available in print in November 1998. The
handbook is published with technical contributions from the National
Association of Home Builders Research Center and the University of
California Forest Products Laboratory. It provides practical information
to residential construction professionals on ways to implement wood-
efficient building methods and technologies.
In the handbook, NRDC assess the cost of these approaches and estimate the
potential savings for builders as compared with conventional building
techniques and provide information on availability, performance, and
durability of these materials and methods, and describe their implications
with respect to design, engineering, and building codes.
To demonstrate the effectiveness and viability of the techniques described
in the handbook, NRDC is developing demonstration projects with prominent
builders. NRDC's objective is to decrease the amount of wood used in
construction in California by 15 percent over the next ten years through
market adoption of wood-efficient technologies, methods, and products.
Their fundamental strategy is to affect the building sector by targeting
some of the largest builders in the state where only a few players
dominate the market - and work to influence their decisions relating to
materials, design, and methods.
First, they have forged a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, the
largest residential builder in the U.S., to proceed with three
collaborative projects in California that demonstrate wood-efficient
strategies. In collaboration with NRDC, Habitat for Humanity will design
and construct homes to use wood efficiently and will build homes using
environmentally certified lumber. These joint projects will provide
durable, affordable homes while conserving our forests and natural
resources.
The first project, located in Menlo Park, California, is part of "The
House that Congress Built" program and is endorsed by Congressperson Anna
Eshoo. The groundbreaking for this project occurred on June 13 and
featured Congressperson Eshoo along with representatives from Habitat and
NRDC. The second project is a demonstration structure built during
Habitat's Annual Western Conference in October 1998, which focused on
emerging technologies for building. Finally, NRDC is negotiating a 40-unit
Habitat development located in San Fernando Valley, California.
Each of these projects features one or more of the wood-efficient
strategies that we are endorsing. They are also discussing with Habitat a
partnership through which all of its national affiliates will receive
training and recommendations on efficient wood-use practices.
In addition, NRDC is negotiating with Taylor-Woodrow, a large builder in
California, urging them to specify wood-efficient methods in a residential
project near San Francisco. Taylor-Woodrow is a large, multifaceted, and
innovative corporation with numerous companies and subsidiaries worldwide.
The project under consideration is a ten-unit residential redevelopment
project at the former Hamilton Air Force Base, financed by the Bank of
Marin. They have had several meetings with their representatives, who are
currently considering our proposal.
NRDC is planning an aggressive outreach campaign for the remainder of this
calendar year and for 1999 that will promote our handbook and
demonstrations. Many of these activities will include collaborations with
building organizations such as the Structural Insulated Panel Association,
Wood Truss Council of America, National Association of Home Builders
Research Center, U.S. Green Building Council, and the Austin, Boulder, and
Scottsdale Green Building Programs.
In addition, NRDC will distribute their handbook to over 1,000 builders
whom we have identified on selected "green building" lists, as well as to
all of the national affiliates of Habitat for Humanity, attend and
speaking at many of the major national and regional builder conferences to
promote our handbook results and methods. Write technical pieces for trade
journals such as Builder magazine, as well as feature pieces in journals
such as This Old House and Fine Homebuilding, and offer builder workshops
on wood-efficient methods.
Target several of the largest builders in California, who may have an
interest in wood-efficient premiums, and will be approaching them with
proposals for collaboration once our handbook is published. And develop
alliances with local, regional, and national organizations, as well as
companies, that share our resource conservation aims.
==CAMPAIGN UPDATE #3==
ISLRs Program for a Carbohydrate Economy The Institute for Local Self-
Reliance (ILSR), founded in 1974, is a non-profit research and educational
organization that promotes environmentally sound economic development
strategies. One of their program areas promotes the utilization of plant
matter for industrial raw materials, as an alternative to relying on
fossil fuels. ILSR call this program the "Carbohydrate Economy". Their
research on plant matter-derived substitutes spans three broad areas:
biochemicals, biofuels and alternative fibers. ILSR's work on alternative
fibers focuses on products and technologies used in construction (green
building), papermaking, and textiles. They currently publish a quarterly
newsletter, called the "Carbohydrate Economy", which reports on activities
occurring in the emerging alternative fibers industry and profiles
companies making nonwood fiber products. ILSR is also in the process of
creating a clearinghouse of information related to plant matter-derived
products and technologies, called the Carbohydrate Economy Information
Clearinghouse (CEIC), which will be accessible through the internet this
fall. ILSR disseminates information about the carbohydrate economy program
worldwide through written publications, speaking engagements, workshops,
Webster and partnering organizations.
ILSR also works with communities to encourage sustainable development and
utilization of local resources. This includes projects aimed at
converting agricultural residues into a high-value products or finding new
uses for waste materials, thus diverting materials from landfills.
==READING LIST==
Three very good studies on the economic feasibility of industrial hemp
have been produced at North Dakota State, Oregon State and Kentucky
Universities. All three can be found on the web.
Feasibility of Industrial Hemp Production in the United States Pacific
Northwest Department of Crop and Soil Science
Oregon State University
http://eesc.orst.edu/AgComWebFile/EdMat/SB681/body.html
Economic Impact of Industrial Hemp in Kentucky Center for Business and
Economic Research University of Kentucky
http://www.hempgrowers.com/studypages/study.html
Industrial Hemp as an Alternative Crop in North Dakota Institute For
Natural Resources and Economic Development (INRED) North Dakota State
University
http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/ndsu/aer402.html
The Forest Products Lab in Madison, Wisconsin has a great web site with a
very good resource list. The web site and some of the titles are listed
below.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/DOCUMNTS/div981.htm
Pest Risk Assessment of the Importation into the United States of
Unprocessed Pinus and Abies Logs From Mexico (PDF 1.2 MB) Tkacz, Borys M.;
Burdsall, Harold H., Jr.; DeNitto, Gregg A.; Eglitis Andris; Hanson, James
B.; Kliejunas, John T.; Wallner, William E.; O'Brien, Joseph G.; Smith,
Eric L. 1998. USDA Forest Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL-GTR-104. 116 p.
Dynamic and Mechanical Properties of Agro-Fiber Based Composites (PDF 612
KB) Caulfield, Daniel F.; Stark, Nicole; Feng, Daan; Sanadi, Anand R.
1998. In: Balatinecz, John J.; Redpath, Tony E., eds.
Progress in wood fibre-plastic composites: emergence of a new industry.
Proceedings, Materials and Manufacturing in cooperation with U.S. Forest
Service, Forest Products Laboratory and Unitersity of Wisconsin; 1998,
June 1; Mississauga, Ontario. Mississauga, Ontario: Materials and
Manufactguring Ontario.
Processing into Composites (PDF 320 KB) English, Brent; Chow, Poo; Bajwa,
Dilpreet Singh 1997. In: Rowell, Roger M.; Young, Raymond A.; Rowell,
Judith, K. Paper and composites from agro-based resources. Boca Raton,
FL: CRC Lewis Publishers: 269-299. Chap. 8.
Design and Performance Aspects of United States and European Glulam (PDF
233 KB) Falk, Robert. 1997. In: Proceedings, conference on research
standardization applications; 1997 June 6; Technical University, Graz,
Austria. Graz, Austria: Institute for Steel Construction, Wood
Construction, and Industrial Construction: 1-21. Chap. 2.
Utilization of Natural Fibers in Plastic Composites: Problems and
Opportunities (PDF 825 KB)
Rowell, Roger M.; Sanadi, Anand R.; Caulfield, Daniel F.; Jacobson, Rodney
E. 1997. In: Leao, Alcides L.; Carvalho, Francisco X.; Frollini,
Elisabete, eds. Lignocellulosic-plastics composites. Proceedings, First
international lignocellulosics-plastics composites; 1996 March 13-15; Sao
Paulo, Brazil: 23-51.
Engineered Wood Products: A Response to the Changing Timber Resource (PDF
72 KB) McKeever, David B. 1997. Pacific Rim Wood Market Rep. 123, Gig
Harbor, WA. November: p. 5, 15.
Wood Residual Quantities in the United States (PDF 191 KB) McKeever, David
B. 1998. BioCycle. 39(1): 65-68.
12. Wood-Based Panel Plant Locations and Timber Availability in Selected
U.S. States (PDF 3.4 MB) McKeever, Tim; Spelter, Henry 1998. USDA Forest
Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL-GTR-103. 53 p.
Substitution (PDF 215 KB) Spelter, Henry 1998. Timber Processing.
(March): 36-42.
Mill Proposes To Help Second Growth Forests
Boise Cascade has proposed to build a $130 million timber mill in Oregon
to handle smaller second-growth trees. Their stated reason is to help thin
Oregon's "dense, fire-endangered" forests. The real reason is that they
are running out of old growth and there are only small trees left.
Regional foresters say wildfire suppression has changed the composition of
forests in the region, leaving many small, young trees instead of large,
old trees.. Usually the smaller second-growth trees are not as valuable
for lumber, but the mill would produce oriented strand board, a cheap
alternative to plywood. Boise Cascade officials didn't say how cutting all
the younger trees would help to increase the number of older trees.