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Paper plant to harness wood power (BBC News)

A new power station is to be built in Markinch A traditional paper mill in Fife is to use a new "green" method of generating power using wood. Tullis Russell confirmed plans to build a ?73m combined heat and power station at its Markinch base. The plant will replace an existing coal and gas fired power station, which has been in daily operation for 60 years. The company said the new station would be completely fuelled by wood and wood-crops planted and grown specifically for use as a fuel source.

2004. December 31.

Annual Observations by FVM (Ministry for Agriculture&Rural Development,Hungary)on 2004 (ForestPress)

Forestry outline: An agrarian energy program will be completed -coordination with IM (Ministry of Justice)- environmental aspects concerned with forestries. Dr Imre Németh, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, gave his assessment on the year of 2004 and forecast agricultural policy for 2005. In his introduction he said that 2004 has brought about more changes than in previous years, for instance offices integrating agrarian policy were established. It has been the period of adaptation and learning. Budgetary debates opened the year, due to the amount of limited financial support (Hungary received half of the money provided to countries joining the EU earlier). This fact is an indicator of the performance of the Hungarian agriculture.

2004. December 30.

Wildlife and Game Management (forestry.about.com/ForestPress)

Aldo Leopold's Forestry Influence Game management's roots go back to the early 20th Century. Forestry and forest management provided the primeval soup, a birthing medium, for what is now the science of wildlife management. Aldo Leopold, a forester, and Jay "Ding" Darling probably furthered the cause of wildlife conservation more than anyone else. They were avid hunters but both influenced the protection of wildlife more than anyone in the United States.

2004. December 29.

More Risks for Forests (Washington Post)

THE BUSH administration's new rules on management of national forests are not a surprise. They generally track a set of draft regulations the Forest Service issued two years ago. They are, nonetheless, a disappointment. The furor over the draft had offered the administration a chance to ameliorate the grave problems with its proposal. Instead, just before Christmas, it has gone ahead with a rule that will weaken environmental protection of forests and their wildlife. The idea of streamlining the forest management planning process -- the purported goal of the regulation -- is reasonable. It takes up to seven years to produce the statutorily mandated 15-year management plans for the country's national forests -- an absurd period that guarantees that plans are out of date by the time they get finalized. But the administration's new rule does more than make the process more efficient. It also weakens the protections it should be ensuring. On its way out of office, the Clinton administration rewrote the rules to ensure that conservation lay at the core of forest management. The Bush administration has replaced those rules with new ones that place economic use of federal forests on a par

2004. December 29.

ITTO commits another US$10 million for tropical forests (itto.or/ForestPress)

YOKOHAMA, Projects to develop national-level principles, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in the Republic of Congo, undertake fire management and post-fire forest restoration in Ghana, and continue the development of a transboundary conservation area in the Emerald Triangle of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos were among those funded by the International Tropical Timber Council, which met here last week.

2004. December 29.

'Mangroves can act as shield against tsunami' (The Hindu/ForestPress)

By G. Venkataramani CHENNAI, "Tsunami is a rare phenomenon. Though we cannot prevent the occurrence of such natural calamities, we should certainly prepare ourselves to mitigate the impact of the natural fury on the population inhabiting the coastal ecosystems. Our anticipatory research work to preserve mangrove ecosystems as the first line of defence against devastating tidal waves on the eastern coastline has proved very relevant today.

2004. December 29.

Hardwood Lumber Market Observation (Hardwood Market Weekly)

December 28, 2004 Sales activity was slower than needed for a 'healthy' market. Red Oak sales were particularly difficult for many sellers; "as slow as I can remember," noted one contact. Heavy demand for green and KD Hard Maple was the most notable exception. More green lumber was available and a number of buyers slowed incoming shipments. With the exception of a few species, it was much harder to move green production. Mills held out hope that purchasers were just holding off until after the first of the year. Log supplies were mixed, but most contacts still felt that lumber production was too high for current demand.

2004. December 28.

Penguins escape huge earthquake (BBC News)

Macquarie penguins appear to have escaped the worst An earthquake on a remote Antarctic archipelago home to 850,000 King Penguins was the strongest on earth in four years, seismologists say. The quake hit 400km (250 miles) off the Macquarie Islands on Friday, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale. Penguins appear to have escaped a major disaster as the quake occurred deep under the sea, far from inhabited land. There were no tsunamis, or large tidal waves, because the quake moved horizontally rather than vertically.

2004. December 27.

ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES (CBC)

News Release – Canadian Food Inspection Agency CFIA ADVISES CONSUMERS AND RETAILERS OF RISK ASSOCIATED WITH SOME ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES: Cascade Pre-lit Alpine, Six ft. Dakota Alpine OTTAWA, December 23, 2004 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is advising consumers that artificial Christmas trees from Polytree Hong Kong Co. Ltd pose a risk of infestation to Canadian trees. The affected product was made with tree trunks which were improperly treated to kill the Brown Fir Longhorned Beetle.

2004. December 27.

New Forest Plan Would Lessen Restraints (White House - AP/ForestPress)

WASHINGTON - December 22, 2004. By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer Managers of the nation's 155 national forests will have more leeway to approve logging and other commercial projects with less formal environmental review under a new Bush administration plan, The Associated Press has learned. The long-awaited plan will overhaul application of the landmark 1976 National Forest Management Act, which sets the basic rules for management of nation's 191 million acres of forests and grasslands and protects forest wildlife. Forest Service officials scheduled a Wednesday conference call to announce the changes, which will be published in the Federal Register next week. The Associated Press obtained highlights of the plan, which goes into effect following publication.

2004. December 23.

News

EU Divided on Plans to Curb Illegal Timber Trade (Reuters)

- EU members are divided over a European Commission plan to crack down on the lucrative illegal timber trade by making exporters prove their wood is not from endangered rainforests, officials said on Tuesday. EU farm ministers were discussing a voluntary timber certification system that might lead to a global agreement to clean up the $150 billion global forest product trade. A key part of 's battle against illegal logging is to stop laundered profits being diverted into organised crime. One way that the Commission, the EU's executive, wants to achieve this is to ensure imports are accompanied by paperwork showing the timber comes from approved forests.

2004. December 22.

The Guatemalan Fir (Reuters/ForestPress)

Story by Frank Jack Daniel GUATEMALA CITY - Police have seized thousands of branches of an endangered Guatemalan scented fir species used for Christmas trees in a clampdown to protect it against extinction, police said on Tuesday. Environmental police found more than 4,000 of the branches, which have a natural lemon aroma, hidden under the false floor of a truck parked at a makeshift seasonal market in Guatemala City on Monday. Poor street vendors staple the blue green cuttings to poles and sell them as Christmas trees, a practice that stretches back 50 years to when U.S.-style Christmas decorations became fashionable in Guatemala.

2004. December 22.

News

Hungarian Forest Owners Association Established (ForestPress)

Under the name of Hungarian Forest Owners’ Association, a new organisation took wing on 17th December 2004. On the statutory meeting chairman Pál Telegdy, forestry engineer addressed the assembly.

2004. December 22.

The First Electric Christmas Tree (forestry.about.com/ForestPress)

Edison to General Electric The Thomas Edison Connection: An associate and friend of Thomas Edison, Edward Johnson, is recognized as the first person to put electrified lights on a real Christmas tree. It happened in 1882 and just three years after the incandescent light bulb was invented. Johnson was a New Yorker and an executive of the Edison Illumination Company of New York City. Although the press smelled a publicity stunt, the event took place at Johnson's home in support of his belief in the lighting product's safety.

2004. December 21.

Saudis to sign up to Kyoto (Reuters/ForestPress)

From correspondents in Riyadh SAUDI Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, gave its approval today to the Kyoto protocol which aims to stem global warming, the official Saudi Press Agency said. It said the decision was taken by ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting and a royal decree was being prepared to formally endorse the step. As a developing country, Saudi Arabia would not be subject to emissions cuts under Kyoto, a requirement only binding 30 industrialised nations.

2004. December 21.

3rd Expert Meeting on Forest-related Definitions 17-19 January 2005, Rome (ForestPress)

Objectives - take stock of developments in forest-related reporting processes since the 2nd meeting; - harmonize definitions related to (a) biophysical constitutions of forest resources, and (b) human interventions to manage forests for various purposes. Background In 2002, FAO hosted two Expert Meetings on Harmonizing Forest- related Definitions for Use by Various Stakeholders, which were jointly organized with IPCC, CIFOR, UNEP and IUFRO. Over 50 experts, some from these organizations and others from countries, UNESCO, CBD, UNFCCC, the private sector and NGOs, came together to discuss an analytical framework on forest-related definitions, develop options for harmonizing core forest-related definitions, and discuss follow-up actions.

2004. December 20.

Voted Most Popular Christmas Tree (forestry.about.com)

Ten Top Christmas Tree Species Sold in North America The following Christmas Tree species have been voted the most popular Christmas trees grown and sold in the United States. They are listed according to their popularity - The National Christmas Tree Association suggests that this season, "36 million U.S. families plan to focus their holiday traditions around a real Christmas tree". That means tens of millions of real trees will be sold this year starting in mid-November. NCTA also says that "about 23 percent of the consumers will purchase their trees from a 'Christmas tree farm' while about 62 percent will buy trees from a retail lot." About 300,000 consumers will purchase their real tree over the Internet or by mail order (see Internet sales). It is estimated that "46 million households plan to use a new or used artificial tree this season" instead of a real tree. Another 22 million households don’t plan to have a Christmas tree.

2004. December 19.

Compromise seals climate meeting (BBC News)

December 18. 2004. Delegates at the UN climate change conference in Buenos Aires have reached agreement on ways to address the issue of global warming. They approved a compromise proposal on the format of future discussions agreed by the US and the EU overnight. Some developing countries had threatened to derail the deal, insisting on guarantees that they would not be subjected to emission cuts. But the demand was rejected by the EU and a new compromise emerged.

2004. December 19.