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A North American wood pellet race has begun, with its eyes on exports to Europe . Biofuel pellets are made by compressing sawdust and other dried wood waste, such as forest thinnings, into a dense, high-combustion fuel source. Energex Pellet Fuel Inc. currently bills itself as North America’s largest pellet fuel maker, producing 200,000 tons…

[ Oregon ] As part of a lead-in to this year’s GreenBuild Conference, Forest Products Solutions has launched the first-ever FSC-certified home design contest. The project has been developed to provide homebuilders, architects, developers, remodelers, homeowners and other building professionals with a venue to learn about how their green building projects can incorporate FSC-certified wood…

Responding to a recent report indentifying five biological “hot spots” for mercury contamination in New England, New York and eastrn Canada, senators Hilary Clinton (D-NY), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are co-sponsoring a bill that would establish a nationwide monitoring system to track mercury contamination levels in air, water, soils and plants &…

As the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) wraps up its annual convention in Boston, the STOP GE Trees Campaign and member groups from around the U.S., including Dogwood Alliance, WildLaw, Southern Forests Network, Sierra Club and Global Justice Ecology Project are uniting to stop the plans of GE tree giant ArborGen to release genetically engineered eucalyptus…

[Montana] Much of the work in the woods these days is focused on fuel reduction and forest health, which means there are lots of small trees, branches and piles of bark in need of disposal. At one time, all that material was considered waste – and so was piled and burned. Those days are gone.…

State seeks help to track spread of Asian weed [South Carolina] Officials want to enlist anyone who spends time outdoors to keep cogongrass from spreading across the state, said George Kessler, a retired Clemson University professor. The aggressive Asian grass, which was first introduced around 1911 in Mobile Bay , Ala. , grows so densely…

[ Georgia ] After years as environmental groups‘ poster child for irresponsible retailing, Home Depot today announced a new program to highlight environmentally friendly products on its shelves. Home Depot has labeled more than 2,500 Eco Options products already, including all-natural insect repellents, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, cellulose insulation, front-load washing machines, and certified sustainable forestry…

[ North Carolina ] The red bay is the beautiful evergreen tree of coastal lowlands. In fact in many coastal swamps, it is the dominant broadleaf tree. But this unique tree, which forms part of an increasingly threatened ecosystem from our alterations of the landscape, may vanish from the Carolinas because of an exotic insect.…

[ North Carolina ] The nonnative invasive grass Microstegium vimineum may hinder the regeneration of woody species in southern forests. Chris and Sonja Oswalt (Forest Service Southern Research Station) and Wayne Clatterbuck ( University of Tennessee ) set up experiments on a mixed-hardwood forest in southwest Tennessee to study the growth of the invasive grass…

Resource economists have long recognized the market distortions caused by unpriced goods. They have developed techniques to estimate monetary values, and ecological economists have applied those methods to estimate ecosystem services. This paper reviews estimates of the economic value of forest ecosystem goods and services in the United States . The Wilderness Society, 2001. News…