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| RCA Newsletter - March 2002 |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Boise, formerly Boise Cascade, recently announced that it would end all logging of old-growth forests, although company officials stated it would take some time to "transition out of the commitments we have in our contracts," giving itself two years to carry out the transition, reported the Associated Press on March 27, 2002 in "Customers Waiting to See If Company Actually Ends Old-growth Cuts." Not unlike other companies that have capitulated to consumer demands, Boise shied away from giving credit to consumer and environmental campaigns targeting Boise for the policy change. Kinko's, L.L. Bean and Patagonia were among the large companies which had ended their contracts with Boise, because of its role as the largest company logging old-growth trees. The new policy, however, does not entirely satisfy consumers and environmentalists. A Patagonia official stated that information about the exact origin of Boise's timber supply chain is not yet available. And, while Boise claims that it does not log trees outside of the United States, Rainforest Action Network's Michael Brune states that Boise does buy and distribute old-growth timber from Indonesia, Chile, Canada and Southeast Asia. While the international impacts of the new policy are negligible, it is still an enormous turning point for Boise.
Numerous countries, including the United States, are undergoing a boom in building and construction. As these developments march forward, forests are logged to supply the demand in wood building products. In addition to the individual "green" buildings, now being constructed, various efforts are underway to ensure the sustainability of entire cities. These initiatives can be all encompassing, outlining the design of an entirely new city or smaller in scale, "greening" already existing cities. Generally, these initiatives have not incorporated forest protection as a central tenet in their efforts. But, the potential to do so is high and should be explored. Ideally, the best ideas from these "green" development initiatives should be combined to provide truly forest-friendly eco-cities. When appropriate, model sustainable cities would: undertake "in-fill" projects which revitalize existing towns (instead of adding to sprawl and the resulting logging of forests), design and construct alternative buildings made from non-wood sources, preserve open space (including forests) and plan for waste reduction (such as ensuring that new buildings incorporate space for recycling practices). An innovative idea to build a "tree-free" town of 20,000 houses which do not require timber is being explored, reported Reuters News Service on March 13, 2002 in "Model 'Eco-City' Could Soon Rise in Senegal" by Anton Ferreira. Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade would like to build a model town with "Superadobe" buildings, a construction method developed by architect Nader Khalili. The circular, dome-shaped structures have sand-filled tubes for walls. The buildings do not need timber for support and could house thousands of individuals who were made homeless by severe flooding. Khalili estimates that if the houses were built, they would cost half that of comparable structures made of other materials. The domed structures have passed earthquake tests, are less susceptible to hurricanes (lacking a conventional roof that could be ripped off) and would remain standing after a flood, due to the solidity of the structure. Sweeden has developed its own version of a model eco-city, according to the Landscape Architecture March 2002 article, "Housing the Future." A new housing development in the ecologically sustainable town Malmo, Sweeden is called a "city of tomorrow" which attempts sustainable city so attractive that it will be chosen in our time." Though wood reduction was not listed as a priority for the development of buildings, courtyards, gardens, parks, a plaza and an esplanade, the development did include the planting of large trees and an attempt to preserve green space, as well as biodiversity. Many U.S.-based efforts deal with the "greening" of already established cities. Some cities are focusing on their own facilities. The City of New York is working to incorporate environmental measures into its Design Guide for Consultants -- a standard document issued to all architects working on City projects, according to Wintergreen, Vol.3, Issue 9, a Steven Winter Associates newsletter. Other cities are working to reinvent themselves as a "sustainable city" such as San Francisco which has a "sustainability plan" with forest-impacting policies such as open space and waste reduction provisions. For more information, see http://www.sustainable-city.org. Many new U.S. developments that strive to incorporate environmental concerns follow a "new urbanism" model (see http://www.newurbanism.org). While these designs typically improve the pedestrian and bicycle transportation options of new developments, they are criticized for increasing sprawl in some cases. Also, new urbanism has largely remained removed from the "green" building movement. But, these developments typically preserve shared forest or park land and could be a good fit with "green" building efforts. NEWS BRIEFS a) From Thai Railroads to American Floors b) RASTRA Building c) Industrial Materials Revived in Furniture d) California Reed for Paper e) Hemp, A Glass, Cedar, You Name It Replacement A March 8, 2002 Hempola press release announced that the Ontario-based company is entering into a partnership with Wellington Polymer Technology Inc. (WPTI) will investigate methods to incorporate hemp fibers into its EnviroShake™ roof shingles product. The EnviroShake™ is a "simulated cedar shake roof covering." f) Expanding Designers' Horizons g) Hemp: At A Staples Near You h) Consumers Faithfully Recycle i) Wastes: One | North Carolina: Zero j) China's Booming Economy Leads to Increased Consumption k) Shopping for Wood l) Can Britain Decrease Wastes? CAMPAIGNS & EVENTS The Tree Free Paper Campaign is holding a National Day of Action on
April 4th on campuses throughout the country targeting Boise Cascade for
its destructive logging practices. For more information, see www.
ran.org.
April 11, 2002 is the date for the next Staples National Day of
Action. This will be the first demonstration held during the tenure of
the new Staples CEO Tom Stemberg. Activists are calling on Staples to
make a long term commitment to stop selling paper from ancient forests,
to stop selling 100 percent virgin paper and to implement other
improvements. For more information, see www.stopstaples.net. RESOURCES & ANNOUNCEMENTS The Paper Campaign, which is currently targeting Staples, teamed up
with the rock band R.E.M. to create a public service announcement
(PSA). The PSA was recently premiered at an exclusive Pre Oscar Party,
attended by Hollywood stars, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ed Begley
Jr., Ingo Rademacher and Wendie Malick. The PSA can be viewed at
www.ThePaperCampaign.com and will also be featured in a paid media
campaign, airing in select cities across the country, particularly
Boston. Global Forest Watch is releasing six new reports detailing the status
of the intact (primary and old-growth) forests in Central Africa,
Russia, North America, Chile, Venezuela and Indonesia. The reports
reveal that in most regions, intact forests will not exist for long as
rapid degradation is occurring. For more information,
see http://www.wri.org/press/gfw_2002reports.html. World Resources Institute has released, "The State of the Forest:
Indonesia" which states the scale of the country's quick deforestation
is unprecedented. Corruption and lawlessness is driving an epidemic of
illegal logging. Due to a tremendous expansion in the wood product
industries in Indonesia during the past 20 years, the demand for wood
fiber for these manufacturing plants, exceeds legal supplies by as much
as 40 million cubic meters annually. A number of industry officials
acknowledged their reliance on illegal wood which may have accounted for
65 percent of the supply in 2000. For more information, see
http://www.wri.org/press/indoforest.html. National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology program has opened
registration to its Driving Sustainable Markets "Teach-In" Web Course.
For more information, see www.nwf.org/campusecology. |
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