All Posts
Hoteliers Building Green Properties
Independent hotels and major chains have planted a crop of green hotels, with a few beginning to open, that stem from national guidelines constituting environmentally friendly construction. Starwood Capital, Starwood Hotels, InterContinental and Fairmont have green hotel properties under construction or are seeking ways to retrofit existing properties. To achieve true green classification, buildings must…
Read MoreTHE EFFECT OF APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINTOP MINING ON INTERIOR FOREST: Report to the EPA
Southern Appalachian forests are predominantly interior because they are spatially extensive with little disturbance imposed by other uses of the land. Appalachian mountaintop mining increased substantially during the 1990s, posing a threat to the interior character of the forest. We used spatial convolution to identify interior forest at multiple scales on circa 1992 and 2001…
Read MoreMaterials Selection in Framing: Is Steel Framing a Good Environmental Choice?
Although promoted as an environmentally preferable material, and classified as such in several green building programs, the production and use of steel framing results in a number of adverse environmental impacts that greatly exceed the impacts of available renewable alternatives such as wood. Even when considering steel framing that contains recycled content as high as…
Read MoreEnergy Independence or Destroying Appalachia for Coal?
From Lauren McGrath at SOCM in TN: Coal-to-liquids is being framed as the new solution for just about everything from the war in Iraq to global warming. According to Steven Leer, the chief executive for Arch, the second largest mining company in the United States, “You’re not serious about global carbon stabilization unless you’re serious…
Read MoreNews Briefs
New Chief Dooms Roadless Areas In June, newly appointed Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth announced that commercial logging and road construction can resume on National Forest roadless areas with his permission. Bosworth also announced his intention to make roadless area protection subject to the forest planning process. Under existing forest plans, 50% of all roadless…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I appreciated your article on “modern day midwives.” I am glad to see more publicity given to natural birth and midwifery. In today’s technological environment, it is often hard to have a birth free of IVs, continuous monitoring, etc. unless one delivers outside the hospital. The statistics provided by Ms. Bellebuono accurately reflect…
Read MoreWildlife Management Workshop: Ecology, Management and ID of Migratory & Resident Birds
Wildlife Management Workshop: Ecology, Management and ID of Migratory & Resident Birds May 2, 2007 – Hill Demonstration Forest in Bahama, NC, sponsored by NC State University Forestry & Environmental Outreach Program, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/feop/wildlife/BH83mailer.pdf News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes www.southernsustainableforests.org
Read MoreCongressman Pete Stark on the Clean Water Protection Act
Congressman Pete Stark weighs in on his decision to co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act: I agreed to cosponsor the Clean Water Protection Act when it is reintroduced in the 110th Congress. The legislation would protect our water supply by prohibiting mining companies from dumping into nearby valleys the debris they remove from mountaintops during…
Read MoreChristians for the Mountains is looking for interns
Christians For The Mountains (CFTM) seeks one or two interns for summer, 2007 to assist in its campaign to engage religious organizations in the moral, environmental, and social justice issues of mountaintop removal and related abusive coal extractive processes. The internships will include a stipend and travel expenses within the Appalachian region. Training and supervision…
Read MoreAmericans Report Increased Environmental Consciousness and Expectation That Companies Will Take Acti
National survey … highlights untapped opportunity for sale of green products [ Massachusetts ] The 2007 Cone Consumer Environmental Survey released today finds one-third of Americans (32%) report heightened interest in the environment compared to a year ago. In addition, they are overwhelmingly looking to companies to act: 93% of Americans believe companies have a…
Read More