• by Irish49
• 18/06/2008 At 04:38

  Hi Ron,  The reason you hadn't seen me here before is because I just found this place a few days ago!! lol  But we are together again....Working on the changes that the World needs to desperately! 

Take care of yourself, my good friend, until we talk again,

Marsha

• by Eyes Wide Open International
• 16/04/2008 At 09:04 (Comment edited 16/04/2008 at 09:06)

  WORLD WIDE FOREST ACTIONS & NEWS

--British Columbia: 1) Save the Caribou! 2) Caribou savers desperately lying to increase prominence and funding, 3) Mountain Bikers and loggers make friends, 4) Pine Beetle outbreak declines, 5) Beetle attack affects Salmon, 6) Buying up forest licenses and closing mills, 7) Olympic-sized clearcut, 8) Tinglit and BC Gov divide up the loot, 9) Questioning Clayoquot, 10) Powerlines won't happen in Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, 11) Island Timberlands trashes Horseshoe river, lake and canoe route, 12) Clayoquot agreement still not legal yet?
--Canada: 13) Ash liquidation fiasco, 14) Greenpeace banner at Toronto's Eaton Centre,
--UK: 15) Conservation report
--Ireland: 16) 2007 - 2013 Aforestation Plan
--EU: 17) New measures to tackle illegal log imports
--Iran: 18) Description of forest zones
--Mexico: 19) Mexican dustbowl 5-part series
--Costa Rica: 20) Replanting a rainforest, 21) Spanish cedar and teak farming
--Belize: 22) New reality TV show called: "Forest Police"
--Brazil: 23) Rainforest Foundation Fund
--Peru: 24) Do uncontacted natives still exist?
--Guyana: 25) London-based financiers 'protect' a million acres
--India: 26) Burning stumps to wipe out evidence, 27) 'forest land' in Mumbai suburbs,
--Cambodia: 28) Forest still covers some 59 percent? --Thailand: 29) Logging was banned in Thailand in 1989?
--World-Wide: 30) Harsh Criticism for FSC, 31) Standards for Starbucks' growers,

British Columbia:

1) On October 16, 2007 the British Columbia government announced it would be protecting a million acres of mountain caribou habitat and increasing protections in another four million acres by limiting motorized recreation and mining. This new commitment ensures the protection of more than five million acres (2.2 million hectares) in the Inland Temperate Rainforest. We are nearing the six-month mark on making these commitments a reality, and while progress has been steady, concerns remain. For example, habitat maps have yet to be finalized. In addition we're worried that progress has been slow on ensuring that snowmobiling and heli-skiing are closed in areas recommended by caribou scientists. Industrial logging has already badly damaged the forests that caribou need for their survival, and motorized recreation is driving caribou from their preferred habitats. We must not squander this opportunity to reverse the tide of extinction and give mountain caribou a fighting chance. Help us show the BC government that caribou are not alone and that we are watching to ensure the government keeps its promise. Send your message to BC Premier Gordon Campbell and Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/281/t/3069/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=23822

2) Download the Real Chrononology.pdf on behalf of a consortium of scientists, conservation groups, communities, and others which inserts our information in red and green text into the verbatim Campaign Chronology that Forest Ethics, Wildsight, Sierra Club, (etc.) have been publishing about their so-called MtCaribou Proj. campaign (black text). We notice that most of the 2.2 million ha the Forest Ethics Campaign Chronology claims to have got protected in 2007 were already well on their way to be protected, and most BECAME LEGALLY PROTECTED in 2003, four years ago, BEFORE the government's RIG and the FE Mt Caribou Project barely got started! We believe the corrections to their Chronology attached show these groups and others of the Mt Caribou Project Coalition are more interested in promoting themselves than protecting caribou since: We have a species going extinct for 4 years, but scientifically the government has done nothing. The government's propaganda is it spent some $ millions to protect 2.2 million ha, 1% of the old growth, which will save the species. However, a closer look at the Real Chrononology.pdf shows most of the 2.2 million ha happened 4-5 years ago, BEFORE the government spent the $ millions. The public and Foundations pay the Coalition members to speak for the caribou. Therefore in light of 50 scientists from all Western Provinces and States writing the government's plan will lead to extinction with no (un bought) scientists saying the opposite, the Coalition should be complaining, or at least questioning the government's propaganda. However, instead the Coalition agrees with government instead of the 50 scientists by saying 1% of the old growth forest is enough to save the species, even though they have absolutely NO EVIDENCE to support ANY of their claims, and all scientific evidence and all (un bought) conservation biologists support the Coalition is dead wrong (at least twenty other groups concur with the scientists). The way we see the data, the Coalition groups are desperately lying to the public and press to increase their prominence and funding that will be at the expense of MtCaribou. The Real Chrononology.pdf indicates these groups should be shut down because they got paid $ millions over 4 years to accomplish nothing and yet they are celebrating! http://www.InlandTemperateRainforest.Org

3) Rider Lee Blais, of the Alberni Valley Riders Association, said the relationship he's built with the logging company is a good one, even though the areas the club uses are scheduled for harvesting. "We are allowed to ride and do whatever we want out there," he said, "and it's their land." A Westcoaster.ca article posted Tuesday, while factual, cast the company in a bad light, said Blais, adding that he wants to publicize also the good rapport that Island Timberlands has maintained with the club. Club member Daryl Chase had described his frustration to the Westcoaster.ca earlier this week, at seeing surveyors' ribbons fluttering along the trails that he lovingly maintains. But good things come from Island Timberlands too. Trees surrounding the local riders' impressive network of trails have been logged in the past, said Blais, and that's when Island Timberlands really shines. Land near Errington is a good example. The company returned when they finished the harvest and cleared all the debris away from the bike trails. "Fallers have spent their own time to come back in and clean up the trails," said Blais. When the land was managed by Weyerhaeuser, Blais said, relations were more strained. The bike club was charged $400 a year for the use of the trails by Weyerhaeuser, but now Island Timberlands lets them use the trails for free, turns a blind eye to the offshoots that are developed and even encourages the trail building and maintenance that local volunteers work so hard at."They want to give us a donation of $500," said Blais, "They want to sponsor us and give us cash and everything." He said the small riding club has limited resources for staging Island-wide events like the upcoming April 6 cross-country race.
While there are a number of unaffiliated riders in the Valley, the club actually only has about 35 members. Last year, the club took members of the public and Island Timberlands representatives on a woodlands tour and showed them some of the network of trails just east of the city. The hike went a long way towards enhancing communications. Blais has the company's word that he'll be notified of any logging plans that will affect the bike trails. "I'd rather they didn't log at all, but there's consideration on both sides," he said. http://www.westcoaster.ca/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=3951

4) British Columbia's epidemic of the mountain pine beetle is nearing an end after the voracious pest has destroyed nearly half of British Columbia's marketable pine forest. The voracious beetle has infested 13.5 million hectares of lodgepole pine in the province - an area more than four times the size of Vancouver Island. While the beetle continues its push east past the Rocky Mountains and into B.C.'s southern interior region, there is little left for it to survive on in the province's central interior area where it's been thriving for decades. "The pine beetle populations have moved on. The epidemic is fundamentally over," said Doug Routledge, vice-president of forestry with the Council of Forest Industries. "The pine stands in the core part of the province... have collapsed." The latest figures from the B.C. government and the council estimate the beetle has consumed more than half of B.C.'s marketable pine forest. About 710 million cubic metres of timber is in either the green, red or grey stages of attack by the beetle, which bores into the trees to lay eggs and attract mates. The beetles infect the tree with a fungus and the hatched larvae then feed off the fungus before the tree dies and they move on to another. Trees are "green" in the first year of infestation. Red refers to the rusty colour of the pine's needles when the beetles and the fungus they carry kill the tree. Grey describes the last stage when the tree is dead and the needles have fallen off. There are about 1.35 billion cubic meters of merchantable pine on the provincial harvesting land base. Routledge said the beetle's rate of spread is slowing because the rice-sized bugs have to go to higher elevations to reach new trees and two cold snaps in two years in the northeast have slowed their progress. "Now that's not to say they're not still at epidemic levels. They are," he said. http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hJ_-CwweLqJd5dFFBVBjNCfZSBNg

5) Some 60 per cent of the Fraser River watershed is affected through the loss of forest cover over salmon streams that has led to numerous impacts that "significantly alter the watershed's ecology, threatening already stressed salmon runs." Because the enormous pine forests are dead or dying, the tree boughs don't intercept snow and rain, or shade the forest floor to slow the spring snow-melt. The result is bigger snow packs, more rapid snow melts leading to flash flooding and higher peak flows that erode streambeds. Then rapid runoffs mean more summer droughts, combined with higher summer water temperatures, the report notes. However, while the situation is dire, Gordon Ennis, managing director of the conservation council, said the intent of the report isn't to instill hopelessness. The council wants to educate the public on the seriousness of the salmon's plight, but also highlight the importance of making changes that are within humans' control to help the salmon's survival. "We would be very concerned if the message is so negative that people throw their hands up," Ennis said in an interview. Instead, the council wants to encourage efforts such as more careful development, reforestation to put shade trees over important fish habitat and using hydro dams to release cooler water into streams that have dams and fish populations. And there is evidence, in a report released by the provincial Ministry of Forests and Council of Forest Industries, that the pine-beetle infestation may have passed its peak. On the public policy front, Ennis added that the B.C. Water Act needs to be updated with a mind to ensuring adequate water is left in streams for ecological purposes including nurturing fish. Ennis said better care could be taken in agricultural irrigation practices. And the province could look at taking greater care with the salvage logging of pine-beetle-killed forests, treating it as an experimental practice to find the best ways to prevent rapid runoffs. http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=95658

6) Right now, the forest companies in B.C., looking at a future of diminished wood supply and collapsing markets due to global competition, have plans to turn themselves into energy producing companies. The take overs, the consolidations, are nearly complete. There are now just two forest companies in Williams Lake. One of them is currently under great pressure and has "temporarily" closed all of its mills. Bigger players are buying up forest licences and closing mills. Just like the seed companies, they want control. Control of what ? The forests of British Columbia. OUR forests. In the fifties, consolidation took place from many small family-run outfits to larger tenured companies. The idea was to put the management of forests under companies that the government could regulate. Mills were built, towns grew around them, a stable workforce was created, local economies benefited and the companies made profit. Since then the system has gradually changed to the point that all bush work is contracted out, with only 6 to 8 months per year of employment. Now mills are closing as "rationalization" takes place. B.C. has lost 10,000 jobs in the forest sector in the last year. And what of the companies? They still have evergreen licences, and the government has continually reduced oversight so that now the companies have enormous control of forest policy. We are now threatened with another step in the evolution of capitalist control of our forests. The new plan is to burn the trees to make electricity. Aside from the huge negative climate impacts I have described elsewhere, once tree burning plants are installed, we will lose even more control of our forests. These plants willl have lifespans of 20 to 40 years and come with a 'force majur' clause , which, simply put, means that they have the right to log for the trees they need irrespective of any controls. It assures the banks that the operations have a secured supply of timber, for at least 20 years. This was not the vision of managed forest land that created local economy and jobs. This is the vision of corporations bent on profit and nothing else. http://chilcotin.wordpress.com/2008/03/23/who-owns-the-forest/

7) The construction of a plaza for Olympic medallists is set to begin as soon as the snow melts in Whistler Village, but some anonymous members of the community are making their disagreement of the construction known loudly -- without saying a word. Signs of protest turned up on dozens of the hundreds of trees on a 4.5 acre lot, which will be cleared by the municipality to make room for an Olympic medals stage. The signs have slogans such as "Save the trees," "R.I.P.," and "Olympics: three weeks, Trees: forever," on large signs that hang off the trees like ornaments. Heather Henderson, a local resident, isn't taking credit for the signs, but she is collecting signatures for a petition against what she considers a clear-cut of the Whistler Village forest. Melamed says the Olympics provide both the funding and the reason to create an open space that can be enjoyed by all, even after the games. "Essentially, (we are) clearing the land and grading it so that it forms a natural amphitheatre," he said. But Henderson plans to lobby local politicians to prevent the clearing. http://www.ctvbc.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080322/BC_whistler_trees_080322/20080322/?hub=B
ritishColumbiaHome With less than a month to go before construction of the Celebration Plaza begins, Whistler residents are diligently collecting signatures to protest deforesting Lots 1 and 9 where the plaza will go. The petition has collected at least 450 signatures since it began circulating March 16, though its grass root's nature makes it hard to pin down exact figures, said organizer Heather Henderson. She added that at least seven other volunteers are also gathering signatures that have not yet been included in the total figure. "I decided to take some action and found out that they intended to clear the site and put up a celebration platform, and that is when I decided I wanted to start a petition." Henderson plans to take the list of signatures to council April 7 to demonstrate the local concern. The petition is available online at www.whistlerwatch.org and asks the municipality to move the "temporary" plaza to another location, open up discussion with the community on the issue and consider alternatives for the Lot 1/9 site development. http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?content=Lot 1 9 1513

8) ATLIN - The Province and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation are working together to create a plan for sustainable use of natural resources in northwestern B.C. and have signed a framework agreement to solidify their commitment, Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell and Taku River Tlingit First Nation spokesperson Sandra Jack announced today. "Ratification of this agreement marks a major milestone in the development of the Province's partnership with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation," said Bell. "Today's announcement is truly a historic achievement because land-use agreements have never been undertaken for this area of the province. The agreement signed today ensures that land-use decisions in the region will be implemented in a sustainable and collaborative manner. The Taku River Tlingit First Nation fully embraces the framework agreement," said Jack. "This government-to-government opportunity will result in collaborative decision-making processes concerning land use and wildlife management affecting Tlingit values across our traditional territory." The area subject to the agreement will cover three million hectares and includes the traditional territories of the Tahltan Nation and Dakh Ka First Nations - Carcross Tagish First Nation and Teslin Tlingit Council. The agreement includes the creation of a joint land forum made up of representatives from the Province and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. The forum will undertake: 1) A land-use agreement focusing on sustainable resource development issues related to mineral development, wildlife, ecosystems and cultural sustainability; 2) Collaborative fish and wildlife management planning, which includes completion of a local wildlife management plan with the TRTFN; and 3) Developing processes for shared decision making to implement the land-use agreement and collaborative fish and wildlife management plan. http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/lup/.

9) Lawson remains skeptical of what he sees being done on the Clayoquot slopes: "It's just a recipe for blow-downs," he says. "I wonder whether Ecotrust and its supporters know that this is what they're about here in Canada, large-scale logging of the old growth forest?" The Clayoquot Sound protests of the early 1990s may have focused the world's attention on preserving Vancouver Island's old growth forests, but they didn't bring an end to logging in the region's valleys. Last week Tofino's Susanne Hare and Steve Lawson sent Monday a selection of photos documenting ongoing logging operations in Rankin Cove, behind Meares Island in the Clayoquot wilderness. Lawson, a member of the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, says he has serious reservations about how the area's forests are being managed. He and other trust members recently met with representatives of logging companies active in the area to seek answers. "Because everything has been kind of hidden in secrecy for the last several years and they haven't been forthright in answering any questions from the local people or environmentalists, or anyone really," says Lawson. The Rankin Cove photos show rafts of logs cut by Isaak Forest Resources-a company owned by five Island first nation bands that operates under the management of Ecotrust, an Oregon-based institution with aims to merge conservation and capital generation-in conjunction with Campbell River's Triumph Timber. Ecotrust's Alberni-Clayoquot project coordinator Daniel Arbour says Isaak is focussed on running a "low volume, high value," operation. Isaak is authorized by the forest stewardship council to take an annual allowable cut of 110,000 cubic metres of timber from the Clayoquot forest and Arbour says the company intends to take 87,000 cubic metres in 2008. Arbour told Monday that all trees removed by Isaak in 2007 were processed at mills either on Vancouver Island or the Lower Mainland. "That might change, mind you," says Arbour, who points to the continued closures of mills up and down the Island. To that end, Arbour says Ecotrust is looking at the viability of mounting a value-added operation in the Clayoquot. By -Jason Youmans news@mondaymag.com

10) Environment Minister Barry Penner has decided not to recommend to Cabinet or the Legislature that the proposal by Northwest Cascade Power Limited to adjust the boundaries of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park be accepted. Penner made the decision after a briefing with BC Parks staff this morning, following the last scheduled public meeting regarding the proposed park boundary amendment. He concluded the proposal did not meet the strict environmental criteria set forth in the Provincial Park Boundary Adjustment Policy, nor did it have sufficient support from the public, some First Nations, and local government. The Provincial Park Boundary Adjustment Policy has been in place since 2004 and makes it clear that a proponent must demonstrate a clear need for a boundary adjustment. The policy is available online at:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/


11) Island Timberlands of Nanaimo is guilty of causing harm to the Horseshoe River, Horseshoe Lake and the Powell Forest Canoe Route. The evidence and the mess are there for all to see. Many will not see the scars healed in their lifetimes. The canoe main entrance road to the backcountry, which led through a towering Douglas fir forest, was once a beautiful sight and a place to be proud of. Island Timberlands chopped down every tree growing there and it's now a shame and an embarrassment. Opponents of logging cannot passively stand by waiting to see if the same fate awaits the Eagle River, its wildlife corridor, its wild salmon population and its salt water estuary. The drive from Lang Bay Road to Saltery Bay is now a parade of clear-cuts and butchered forestland. Only common sense is required to know that clear-cuts are not a sustainable way to manage natural resources. Living forests have meaning and importance to a majority of citizens in the community and it is time to protect some of these natural assets for public use and enjoyment, and protect the most environmentally sensitive areas from the exploitation of transnational corporations. The behaviour of Island Timberlands in this region shows that it cares little for the economic well-being of Powell River and less for the community values of conservation, sustainable resource management and the prospect of a growing eco-tourism sector. The BC government is the actual instigator of this showdown, while the logging companies and foreign investment interests are the perpetrators. The fact that big business appears to control government policy is something all citizens should take seriously. For local citizens to demand rights to what is inherently theirs is a natural and just reaction to the current situation. The province, through its Private Managed Forest Act and the weak environmental regulations tied to it, has relinquished its responsibility to properly manage and protect these lands. This has led to the struggle for citizens' rights to devolve into local confrontations in many coastal communities.http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1998&dept_id=460503&newsid=194279
49


12) The Clayoquot Sound Central Region Board voted last week to ask B.C.'s Ministry of Agriculture and Lands to sign a ministerial order making legal the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel and 11 watershed plans. The plans set minimum standards for how forestry is to be practised in Clayoquot Sound. The CRB's decision wasn't made without significant debate, however. Saya Masso, a Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation appointee to the CRB, abstained from the vote, saying the plans don't go far enough and don't address his bands' plans to create a tribal park. At the heart of the debate were the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel and 11 watershed plans. The Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel was written by a 19-member panel over two years and consisted of five reports and 170 recommendations. The panel followed the arrest of more than 800 logging protestors in 1993. In 2003, the provincial government and the five Central Region First Nations endorsed watershed plans for Flores Island, Cypre and Bedingfield. Then in July 2006, the parties endorsed plans for eight more units: Tofino-Tranquil, Sydney-Pretty Girl, Bedwell-Ursus-Bulson, Hesquiaht, Kennedy Lake, Upper Kennedy River, Clayoquot River and Fortune Channel. In February 2007, though, the CRB learned the provincial government didn't include the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel or the watershed plans as objectives in its revised Forest and Range Practices Act. As a result, they were not legally enforceable. "We need to find a way to make it legal." Al Anderson, a provincial appointee to the CRB representing Tofino, said it's better to have the plans in place and then make changes. He said if the plans are not legal, nobody's bound to follow them. http://www.westcoaster.ca/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=3929

Canada:

13) TURKEY POINT - "I've never seen anything like this before and I hope to never see this again," said logger Sandy Gee, owner of Gee's Lumber and Logging. Working against the clock and inclement weather, Gee and his son Andy, along with logger Ed Boterberg have halted their own logging operations to help forestry superintendent Steve Scheers and his crew of six salvage as many ash trees as possible. They've identified 300 to 400 commercial ash trees on county land that are ideal for harvesting and salvaging whether confirmed to be infested or not. "But every tree I've cut has been infected with the emerald ash borer," Gee said. In the distance, the constant rev and hum of chainsaws can be heard. Bobcats make their way through the mud and muck that is knee deep at times, piling ash logs and twigs not worth salvaging into the burn pile. Though the mud makes it difficult to manoeuvre, everyone is working against the clock to cut as many ash trees as they can by the end of the month. Once April arrives, the emerald ash borer larvae will begin the transformation to flying insects. By logging living ash trees now, the county can earn income. Once an ash tree is dead - which is inevitable for every ash tree in this immediate vicinity - it becomes worthless as a lumber product because ash wood decays rapidly. "I have no idea how many trees I've taken out of here," Gee said. "A slew of them and we're gaining on it every day." Gee offered his help at cost because the situation worries him. Scheers is grateful for all the help. "They're doing it at cost, which is great of them to do," Scheers said. "They know how much the county gave to do this project and it's great to have guys like these helping us." Across from the two huge bonfires is a stack of logs that has to be taken to Townsend Lumber for salvaging by March 31. "We'll get a decent return on these logs," said resource management technician Eric Cleland. "But it costs more to process these ash logs." The sawmill must do more paperwork and must know the origin of every ash tree that arrives at the mill. The lumberyard must also ensure that any byproduct is further processed to be sure every ash borer is dead. "Everyone is harvesting ash wood right now," said Townsend Lumber's general manager Yvan Robidas. "So you aren't getting a good price. As well you can't process as much of the log so you aren't getting the same yield." Robidas agrees with Scheers' plan to cut as many ash trees as possible. "At least we can recoup some cost before all the ash trees are dead and we can't make anything off of a dead tree," he said. http://simcoereformer.ca/News/387417.html

14) Early this afternoon, four Greenpeace activists were arrested attempting to unfurl a massive banner inside Toronto's Eaton Centre. The message: "Sears, Best Buy, Indigo Books, Toys "R" Us, Canadian Tire and Kleenex = Boreal Forest Destruction." The protest was aimed at the corporate customers of logging giant AbitibiBowater, Kruger, Buchanan and pulp manufacturer SFK Pulp. Their business supports destructive logging operations that are turning the 10,000 year old Boreal Forest into disposable products like tissue paper and junk mail. "Sears, Toys "R" Us, Talbots, Best Buy and others are paying for an ancient forest to be converted into throwaway flyers, romance novels and toilet paper," said Kim Fry, a forests campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. "They should instead flex their financial muscle and demand that their suppliers end logging in intact forest areas." Toronto Police intercepted and arrested activists Mark Goldsworthy, Roxanne Gadova, Naila Lalji and Vanessa Buttersworth before they could completely deploy the 3.1 x 34 metre banner. They are now being detained at Toronto Police's 52nd Division at 255 Dundas Street West. The customers, who also include Talbots and Harlequin Books, are financially supporting the logging of woodland caribou habitat despite the fact that caribou is a federally listed threatened species in Canada. Scientists predict woodland caribou will be extinct by mid-century in Ontario unless vast areas of forest are protected. Already, an area three times the size of France has been degraded and fragmented by logging the Boreal Forest region (175 million hectares) to make advertising flyers, magazines, catalogues, lumber and other products. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2008/27/c7792.html


UK:

15) More needs to be done to green the region's urban spaces. These are just some of the conclusions of a report published today charting progress in implementing the North East's Regional Forest Strategy, which was launched in 2005. The document says that 60 key projects have been completed over the past two years and a further 100 are either planned or on-going. Significant advances has been made in conserving red squirrels where an alliance of organisations, backed by grants from Defra and £626,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, are bidding to stem the tide of grey squirrels. Key habitats are also recovering. Over 375 acres of the Border Mires in Northumberland, England's biggest upland bog, have been restored by removing conifers and blocking drainage channels. And there are also the green shoots of recovery for vulnerable ancient woodlands, which date back at least 400 years. Improving their condition remains a top priority after a survey revealed that over half of those in Northumberland were in a poor condition. However, more restoration schemes are planned and further condition surveys are now needed elsewhere in the region. But progress has been slower in other crucial areas. More needs to be done to expand urban fringe woodlands, which offer major benefits to local communities, and create more green spaces in housing and commercial developments. Despite this 200 acres of new woodland was planted around towns and cities using Forestry Commission grants. Richard Pow of the Forestry Commission said: "Overall the picture is pretty encouraging and an impressive range of projects are underway to ensure we maximise the benefits from our trees and woodlands. This report shows just how much has already been achieved, but it lays down markers where we need to do better." The document also signals an expansion in the wood-fuel sector in the North East. Britain's biggest bio-mass power station opened at Wilton on Teesside in 2007 and Northwoods, which delivers training and business support, is looking to strengthen biomass supply chains. Egger UK at Hexham have made a £100m investment - one of the biggest ever investments in manufacturing in the North East - which has maintained the global competitiveness of this chip-board factory. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/AllByUNID/17A8636E41DB095D8025740B004B4426

Ireland:

16) The new forestry schemes under the 2007 - 2013 Afforestation Plan, launched last week by Minister Mary Wallace have been welcomed by John O' Donnell, chairman of ICMSA's rural developmet committee. Mr O'Donnell said that these schemes would help to improve the value of existing forests which are now near thinning. "Where the quality of thinnings is poor and the size of the plantations is small, the value of thinnings of forests has always been a problem for farmers. ICMSA advocated the introduction of a range of schemes to the Minister to address this issue and the Association is happy to note that the Minister has taken these concerns on board. However, taken on their own, these measures alone will not guarantee a better return to farmers from thinnings", he said. "There are number of pilot projects around the country which have attempted to address the issue of the value of thinnings. In Kerry for instance, a group has been established to look at various ways to increase the value of thinnings and they have successfully identified a number of outlets for wood chips around which they have begun to develop a supply chain. I believe that it is through further imaginative projects like this that farmers will receive an adequate return from their forest and ICMSA will be advocating a mainstreaming of these projects throughout the country to the Minister" said Mr O'Donnell. http://www.limerickleader.ie/farm/New-schemes-will-help-improve.3920797.jp


EU:

17) The Commission will propose new measures to tackle illegal logging in May amid fears that the current EU legislation is not effective enough, Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas announced last week. "We are going to have some proposals, I hope by the end of May, for the use of sustainable timber and products [.] in the EU markets," said Dimas last Wednesday (19 March), declaring that the measures put forward would be "the best and most workable". The announcement came after the commissioner was presented with a report by Friends of the Earth which asserts that "half of the timber imported by the EU from high-risk areas [including Central Africa, the Amazon, Russia and Indonesia] has been logged illegally". Responding to the report's findings, spokesperson for Commissioner Dimas Barbara Helfferich said the Commission would "examine the kind of actions it can take under its mandate," adding that something must be done to combat deforestation and illegal logging "as a matter of course". Commissioner Dimas said the illegal timber issue is "very important because it contributes to deforestation, which is detrimental for both climate change and biodiversity", issues which the EU executive is "determined to fight". He said the EU executive had concluded voluntary agreements with Malaysia, Indonesia, Cameroon and Ghana, adding that discussions were underway to conclude similar accords with other countries. The report also alleges that illegally logged timber was used in a number of EU-funded construction projects. Questioning the effectiveness of EU legislation, Anne van Schaik of Friends of the Earth Netherlands claimed the Commission was "not even able to keep illegal and destructively logged timber out of its own construction projects". http://www.euractiv.com/en/environment/eu-moves-combat-illegal-logging/article-171134

Iran:

18) BAZOFT FOREST ZONE, SHAHR-E-KORD: This zone covers an area of 53,000 hectares and is 180 km away and to the west of Shahr-e-Kord. From north it reaches the borders of Lurestan, from south to Ardal, from east to Shahr-e-Kord and from the west to borders of Khuzestan province. The main forest area of this region includes Chahak, Talkhehdan, Badam Shirindan,Voleska, Chekooz and Cham Jendar. CHALOOS FORESTS, NOSHAHR: This area is close to the sea, with high plains, suitable regional conditions, verdant, with heights and valleys and dense forests, lakes , elevated waterfalls. Besides it being in the vicinity of Alam Kooh. All speak of it being unequal to its kind in Iran and even the world. It is a place worth visiting. SISTAN VA BALUCHESTAN: The forest areas of Sistan Va Baluchestan province are scanty and not at all dense like the forests of the north and west of Iran. The forests of this vicinity are scattered around the elevated areas, springs and along the river banks. Near Konarak in the Chabahar region are traces of forests with tamarisk and the Indian fig trees. These are sparse and on the decrease due to environmental conditions and soil erosion. But in the borderline area in the vicinity of the Taftan and Panj Angosht Mountain Ranges the scene changes because of climatic conditions. Various species of trees can be found here such as the lote tree, wild almonds, pistachio, Indian fig, Indian tamarind, jasmine, oleander and so on. These forests extend over an area of 1.5 million hectares throughout the province and are the habitat of different wildlife. PLAINS, MAZANDARAN In Mazandaran province, if the elevations below 100 m. be considered as those limited to the plains, two particular areas come into focus. The first is the narrow strip of Ramsar - Alamdeh and Galugah - Kord Kooy. These being near the forest heights and have a considerably steep gradient towards a limited flat region. The vast plains of the Amol - Babol and Sary - Behshahr segment, which have been formed at the mouths of Haraz, Babol, Tajan and Neka Rivers, can be accounted as the second sector. Climatically, the plains of Mazandaran are moderately warm and the temperature rise is from west to east, thus bringing about a relative decrease in rainfall in the same direction in the region. These plains encompass various important cities and also rural areas, which bear an influence on the economic and industrial factors. Forest landscapes, the sea, citrus orchards, tea gardens, and even the natural cuts and separations in the forest heights bring forth a wonderful and matchless scene. http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/line-16/0803234489114603.htm

Mexico:

19) Some call the Purepecha's homeland in central Mexico 'the.' Deforestation scars the mountainsides, and abandoned farm plots shrivel under the hot sun. For many, the search for work now leads North. KUOW's Liz Jones takes us on a job search from the Mexican countryside to the shores of the Duwamish. In this five-part series, A Village Away From Home, Reporter Liz Jones traces the migration trend from the Mexican sierra to Seattle's fast-paced suburbs. http://kuow.org/DefaultProgram.asp?ID=14570

Costa Rica:

20) Carl Leopold and his partners in the Tropical Forestry Initiative began planting trees on worn-out pasture land in Costa Rica in 1992. For 50 years the soil was compacted under countless hooves, and its nutrients washed away. When it rained, Leopold says, red soil appeared to bleed from the hillsides. The group chose local rainforest trees, collecting seeds from native trees in the community. "You can't buy seeds," Leopold says. "So we passed the word around among the neighbors." When a farmer would notice a tree producing seeds, Leopold and his wife would ride out on horses to find the tree before hungry monkeys beat them to it. The group planted mixtures of local species, trimming away the pasture grasses until the trees could take care of themselves. This was the opposite of what commercial companies have done for decades, planting entire fields of a single type of tree to harvest for wood or paper pulp. The trees the group planted were fast-growing, sun-loving species. After just five years those first trees formed a canopy of leaves, shading out the grasses underneath. "One of the really amazing things is that our fast-growing tree species are averaging two meters of growth per year," Leopold says. How could soil so long removed from a fertile rainforest support that much growth? Leopold says that may be because of mycorrhizae, microscopic fungi that form a symbiosis with tree roots. Research at Cornell and BTI shows that without them, many plants can't grow as well. After 50 years, the fungi seem to still be alive in the soil, able to help new trees grow. Another success came when Cornell student Jackeline Salazar did a survey of the plants that moved into the planted areas. She counted understory species, plants that took up residence in the shade of the new trees. Most plots had over a hundred of these species, and many of the new species are ones that also live in nearby remnants of the original forests. Together, these results mean that mixed-species plantings can help to jump-start a rainforest. Local farmers who use the same approach will control erosion of their land while creating a forest that can be harvested sustainably, a few trees at a time. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Yes_You_Can_Rescue_A_Rainforest_999.html

21) Fred Morgan grows Ojoche, Spanish cedar and teak at the Finca Leola tree plantation in Costa Rica in an effort to to help rebuild the rainforest. They are called pioneer species. Morgan said that in order to turn land into a rainforest, people need to grow these types of trees. Because some of these trees are meant to only last a short time to help bigger trees grow, he cuts them down and sells them to places like Craig Bell's company in Indian Harbor Beach. Bell then turns that wood and bamboo into home decor. "Picture frames, mirrors, coat racks, bookshelves," Bell said. Bamboo isn't part of Morgan's reforestation effort in Costa Rica, but it is environmentally-friendly choice. "It grows so quickly. It's such a renewable source. It's such a versatile source," Bell explained. So next time you buy something made of bamboo, teak, Ojoche or Spanish Cedar, you are actually helping to rebuild the rainforest. "We have over 500 acres that we've brought back to rainforest already," Morgan said. But if you had to choose, are pioneer trees better than bamboo? "These are all being used to bring back the rainforest, so they're at least as friendly," Morgan said. http://www.cfnews13.com/FamilyAndHome/YourHome/2008/3/25/home_bamboo.html?refresh=1

Belize:

22) The first segment in that series, "Forest Police," will air locally on PBS Channel 2 tonight (Sunday) at 7 p.m. Johnson went to Belize, Central America, to film the documentary piece, which shows how eight forest rangers in Belize do their jobs - protecting 260,000 acres of pristine tropical rainforest from illegal poachers, loggers, squatters, archaeological looters, drug trafficking, etc. The piece also focuses on an environmental project called Programme for Belize, one aspect of which involves U.S. corporations helping to fund forest preservation efforts by purchasing so-called "carbon credits." Rainforest preservation, Johnson said, not only helps slow global warming by preventing the release of carbon from felled trees into the atmosphere, but also protects wildlife and promotes biodiversity. The money raised through Programme for Belize also goes toward funding local schools, hospitals and community projects in Belize's rainforest, Johnson says. Johnson made the trip to Belize with her son, Christian, who worked as a camera grip on the project. While he enjoyed some aspects of the trip, such as getting to work with the forest rangers on bird identification and exploring some of the area's archaeological sites, Johnson said, he found the actual filming process to be "pretty boring." The next project in the series is a piece Johnson just finished filming in Honduras, which is about "preserving the rainforest and empowering its people." "Next month I'll be going back to Belize to do a story about over-fishing (i.e., depleting the fish population)," she said. Johnson first became interested in doing a documentary during a volunteer trip to Ecuador, where she learned about how the local people were getting income from carbon credits. http://www.dl-online.com/articles/index.cfm?id=34699§ion=news&freebie_check&CFID=18391852&C
FTOKEN=78520450&jsessionid=8830b6910ea66c204453

Brazil:

23) This year marks the 20th year since Trudie Styler and her husband Sting took their first trip to the Brazilian Rainforest and their commitment began. What subsequently followed was the founding of the Rainforest Foundation Fund. On May 8th they celebrate another milestone, the 15th RFF "Some Kinda Legacy" Benefit Concert at the eminent Carnegie Hall followed by a gala dinner in the newly restored legendary Plaza Hotel's Grand Ballroom. Billy Joel, James Taylor, Sting, Brian Wilson, Chris Botti, Feist, celebrated French operatic tenor Roberto Alagna, cellist Natalie Clein plus some very special musical family members along with many more special guests will perform one night only on behalf of the Rainforest Foundation Fund. Created in 1989, The Rainforest Foundation Fund did not emerge out of an abstract concern or theory about the environment or indigenous peoples. It began because an indigenous leader asked for Trudie Styler and Sting's help. Over the years, many of the objectives of the Rainforest Foundation Fund, and the national organizations -- RFF Norway, RFF UK, RFF USA, which now covers three continents, Asia, Africa and the Americas, have been successfully achieved. However, the work is far from over as they continue to focus on crucial issues such as land rights, security, natural resources management, community and organizational development, cultural revitalization, protection of human rights and supporting the indigenous people. According to RFF International Chairperson, Franca Sciuto: "Whatever success we achieve is in large measure the success of those who are at the forefront of the struggle to protect their land, their rights, their lives, the indigenous peoples and tribal populations of the world to whom we renew our commitment. http://www.rainforestfoundationfund.org

Peru:

24) Driving along an oil company road in Peru's northern Amazon, Patricio Pinola Chuje looked out the window. He nodded beyond a green wall of rain forest. "I don't know if they are in this area, but I know they are farther south in other places," said Pinola, an Achuar Indian. "Isolated Indians are especially vulnerable to any contact, because they have no immunity to outsiders' diseases," said David Hill, a spokesperson for Survival International, a London-based group that defends the rights of uncontacted tribes. Other groups add that Indians' rights to their traditional lands are increasingly being violated by development-hungry governments. Do unseen natives really exist? "It is like the Loch Ness monster," Cecilia Quiroz, lead counsel of Peru's oil and gas leasing agency, told The Washington Post in July. "Everyone seems to have seen or heard about uncontacted peoples, but there is no evidence." How Many "Unseen" Tribes Are There? Guevara Sandi Chimboras, an Achuar Indian environmental monitor, wipes sweat from his cheeks in the sweltering heat of an Amazon afternoon, not far from the Ecuadorian border. After traipsing through a grassy field, using donated satellite-positioning tools to help document oil spills, he doesn't hesitate when asked about unseen tribes. "Yes they exist," he said. "I know people who have seen them. They are seen when they go to river banks to find turtle eggs." The elusiveness of some rain forest tribes, coupled with the threat of infection posed by outsiders, makes getting an accurate census near impossible, activists say. But Survival International estimates that some 15 uncontacted tribes live in the Peruvian Amazon alone. Spotting them is rare. But in October, a plane searching for illegal loggers managed to photograph 21 natives standing near palm shelters on the banks of the Las Piedras River in Peru's southeastern Amazon. Days after the photos ran on international news wires, Peruvian President Alan Garcia suggested in a newspaper editorial that unseen tribes were largely a ruse used by groups opposing development. Meanwhile, a native rights group based in Lima called AIDESEP is calling for the establishment and protection of government-protected parks for uncontacted natives. http://liplibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/03/oil-exploration-in-amazon-threatens.html

Guyana:

25) Hylton Murray-Philipson, director of the London-based financiers Canopy Capital, who sealed the deal with the Iwokrama rainforest, said: "How can it be that Google's services are worth billions but those from all the world's rainforests amount to nothing?" The agreement, to be announced tomorrow in New York, will secure the future of one million acres of pristine rainforest in Guyana, the first move of its kind, and will open the way for financial markets to play a key role in safeguarding the fate of the world's forests. The past year has been a pivotal one for the fast- disappearing tropical forests that form a cooling band around the equator because the world has recognised deforestation as the second leading cause of CO2 emissions. Leaders at the UN climate summit in Bali in December agreed to include efforts to halt the destruction of forests in a new global deal to save the world from runaway climate change. A deal has been agreed that will place a financial value on rainforests - paying, for the first time, for their upkeep as "utilities" that provide vital services such as rainfall generation, carbon storage and climate regulation. "As atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide rise, emissions will carry an ever-mounting cost and conservation will acquire real value. The investment community is beginning to wake up to this," Mr Murray-Philipson added. Guyana, sandwiched between the Latin American giants Venezuela and Brazil, is home to fewer than amillion people but 80 per cent of its land is covered by an intact rainforest larger than England. The Guiana Shield is one of only four intact rainforests left on the planet and at its heart lies the Iwokrama reserve, gifted to the Commonwealth in 1989 as a laboratory for pioneering conservation projects. Iwokrama, which means "place of refuge" in the Makushi language, is home to some of the world's most endangered species including jaguar, giant river otter, anaconda and giant anteater. Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, a former economist, has appealed for state and private sector help for the country to avoid succumbing to the rampant deforestation currently blighting Brazil and Indonesia, in an effort to raise living standards in one of Latin America's poorest countries. "Forests do much more for us than just store carbon ... This first significant step is in keeping with President Jagdeo's visionary approach to safeguarding all the forests of Guyana," said Iwokrama's chairman, Edward Glover. The deal, drawn up by the international firm Stephenson Harwood, is the first serious attempt to pay for the ecosystem services provided by rainforests. http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/million-acres-of-guyanese-rainforest-t
o-be-saved-in-groundbreaking-deal-801239.html

India:

26) "The fire in the forests is the handiwork of notorious timber smugglers and some unscrupulous forest officials. They burn stumps of the trees to wipe out evidence against them. Ironically, the authorities act as mute spectator to vandalization of the forests," the locals told Greater Kashmir. The locals warned this reporter and the accompanying photojournalist not to wander alone in the forests as it was "full of dangerous smugglers," and volunteered to accompany us. "The irony is that a few decades ago we used to fear the wild animals, and now the smugglers. The smugglers have no mercy for the trees and we don't expect them to respect humans," a local youth said. On way to the forests at Betdalav, the smugglers have marked many trees for felling. Before felling a tree, the locals said the smugglers cut its bark so that its sap gets leaked. Gradually, the tree becomes dry and is easy to cut. The locals said the felled trees are ferried into the villagers during night. "There is an organised group of timber smugglers active in the area. They bribe some forest officials and openly fell the trees. However, we wonder how the smugglers enjoy free movement during the nights when troops are on high alert. They recently shot dead a bear when it was moving in the forests. It seems the smugglers have nexus with the troops and policemen," they said. An aged man wishing anonymity said the vandalization of the forest started after 1995. "The forest was stronghold of militants and nobody dared to go there. After they were killed, the forests turned into a safe haven for smugglers. If the government was serious, let it stop further felling of the trees for our future generations at least," he said. The forest officials have their own tale: "We are helpless to act against the smugglers in absence of any security. The smugglers threatened us of dire consequences if we don't allow them to fell the trees," a lower rung forest official, wishing anonymity, said. The locals fear that fire in the Khrew Wildlife Conservation Reserve can spread to the adjoining the Dachigam National Park. "The fire had affected movement of the Kashmiri Stag from Dachigam to the Reserve. Before the fire we spotted many stags in the forests. However they have vanished now," the locals said. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=27_3_2008&ItemID=61&cat=1

27) MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is now preparing to admit its 'tactical mistake' to save thousands of houses built on 'forest land' in Mumbai suburbs when the issue comes before the Supreme Court. Admitting the "tactical error" - of not making the necessary changes in the revenue department records after allowing construction on forest land - could be the only solution before the government to pull itself out of the mess, experts point out. Such a submission before the court during the forest land case would have saved thousands of houseowners who are facing the threat of eviction following the recent high court order. A senior minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet disclosed to ET that the departments of forest and revenue had discussed such an option, but the government did not do so when it filed its affidavit before the court. Revenue department officials pointed out that the state government had exploited this option to free around 42,000 hectares of private forest land in Sindhudurg district of Konkan from the Maharashtra Private Forests (Acquisition) Act. "The government affidavit before the court simply pleaded guilty and expressed regrets over the mistake. The court took a lenient view and freed 42,000 hectares of land, which was locked in a similar case," a revenue department official said. Last week, the Bombay High Court rejected petitions filed by some developers, upheld a government order declaring around 1,500 hectares of land as private forests, and ruled that all construction on these lands was illegal. "Top officials from the departments of revenue and forests had sat together to work out a solution to this problem which threatened to snowball into a major crisis for the government. But the government blundered by not using this option and told the court that the entire land in question was actually private forests. The court naturally upheld the government order declaring all those lands as private forests," the minister said. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Maha_admits_to_its_mistake_finally/art
icleshow/2905623.cms

Cambodia:

28) Forest still covers some 59 percent of Cambodia's total area, English-Khmer language newspaper the Mekong Times on Wednesday quoted Environment Minister Mok Mareth as saying. "Though there is criticism that a lot of forest has been lost, currently forest still covers the area of about 59 percent or 106,810 square km of Cambodia's land," he told a seminar here on Tuesday. The government no longer issues logging concessions and bans the export of timber to protect what remains of Cambodia's forests, he said. "To ensure a stable and balanced environment in Cambodia, we must have 60 percent forest cover," he said. "We encourage the public to replant tree seedlings feverishly and hope to reach a 60 percent target," he said. Ty Sokun, Director of the Forestry Administration at the ministry, said that the target of 60 percent by 2015 is possible. Tree planting is increasing with about 10,000 hectares replanted last year and 5 million tress distributed, he said. Cambodia has some 200 varieties of trees. Forest cover stood at 73 percent in 1970s, but over-logging has decreased it to around 50 percent, according to official figures issued on other occasions. NGOs even put the current ratio at 20 percent. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6381031.html

Thailand:

29) As we have mentioned in prior blogs, logging was banned in Thailand in 1989. A ban such as this does not work alone but needs supporting and complementary measures which frankly did not exist. Part of the problem manifested itse

• by Eyes Wide Open International
• 15/04/2008 At 19:55

Species like the tiger - one of the most spectacular animals on earth - are disappearing at an alarming rate.

It's true. Today less than 2,500 tigers roam the earth's wilds with no more than 250 in any one population. 

Their decline is spine-chilling. These majestic animals are dissected for use as medicinal remedies . their habitats are swallowed up for farming and housing as populations in Asia increase. and hundreds of tigers are killed with their valuable coats sold in the black market.

And tigers aren't the only ones disappearing. Another species is pushed towards extinction every 20 minutes. Extinctions have not happened so fast since the dinosaurs were killed by the collision of an enormous asteroid with our planet 65,000,000 years ago.

Ronald, you have the power to stop the extinction clock. These creatures are counting on you to give voice to life on Earth, and slow down these astronomical rates of extinction. There are two easy ways you can take action right now.

1. Sign the petition and help us reach our goal of 20,000 people (1,000 signers for every minute of the extinction clock) to send a powerful message to influential leaders at the World Conservation Conference in Barcelona.
2. Donate a Buck-a-Minute ($1 for every minute of the extinction clock - that's just $20) and help me protect critical habitats worldwide, curb climate change, and build conservation capacity to respond to the extinction crisis.

Your caring and generous $20 donation not only helps assure that tigers are here on our planet for good, but that all species have a better chance of survival - even humanity ourselves. 

There are a lot of ways you could spend $20 - but none as meaningful as being part of the change that helps save splendid animals like the tiger. Please don't wait another minute. Help us reach our goal of $20,000 and 20,000 names today!

Thank you so much for your support, 

Ron G.

• by Eyes Wide Open International
• 15/04/2008 At 19:50 (Comment edited 15/04/2008 at 19:52)

No. 403, April 3, 2008
The Heat Is On: Global Warming-threatened Seabirds, Dwindling Rivers, and Polar Bear Pressure

	Kempthorne Hides, Center Testifies (and Sues); See Video of Center Testimony at Yesterday's Congressional Polar Bear Hearing
	Suit Brewing Over Bush Refusal to Protect California Seabird from Global Warming
	Minnesota Trapping Program Halted to Save Endangered Lynx
	There are 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth--and Uniting With the Center Is One
	Feds Start Historic Review of Global Warming Impact of National "Miles Per Gallon" Standard
	Montana: Temperatures Rise, Rivers Fall, Fish Suffer
	California City Agrees to Increased Public Scrutiny of Desert Developers
	No Idea Too Wacky to Keep Water Flowing in an Age of Global Warming--Except, Of Course, Stopping Global Warming

MORE HERE>  http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

• by Eyes Wide Open International
• 17/01/2008 At 20:33

 EARTH JUSTICE ALERT:

Arsenic and lead don't belong in our water. Hold the coal -fired power industry accountable for poisoning us.

Coal ash, the toxic byproduct of coal-fired power plants, makes up the nation's second largest industrial waste stream, with more than 129 million tons generated each year. It's loaded with arsenic, lead, and other toxins. Unsafe disposal methods of coal ash have poisoned water supplies across the country.

A common industry practice is to mix the pollutant-laden ash with water and dump the toxic brew into unlined or inadequately lined ponds, allowing pollutants to seep into drinking water supplies. In other instances, the ash is dumped back into coal mines, another dubious disposal method. A recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency found the cancer risk posed by common types of coal ash disposal sites is 900 times above what is defined as "acceptable."

EPA promised in 2000 to regulate coal ash disposal. But eight years have passed and officials have yet to act. And even in the face of this incriminating data, the agency is dragging its feet.

The EPA is accepting public comments on this issue until January 28. Tell the Environmental Protection Agency we need safe disposal standards for coal ash now!

READ MORE AND TAKE ACTION HERE:

http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/CoalAsh_011508-rk=Td%5fOlME1KDZSE