logging Archive

  • As California continues with massive wind-driven, high-intensity wildfires that often turn deadly, the governmental and institutional response has been to thin forests and "grind up vegetation" to fight fires. Naomi Pitcairn points to a movement by plant community and wildfire experts led by the Richard Halsey of the Chaparral Institute to focus on protecting vulnerable communities rather than trying to control nature, which now faces extreme heatwaves and droughts from an unpredictable greenhouse-gas-warmed climate.

    Confronting Wildfire: Retrofit Communities, Not Forests

    Posted on September 17, 2018 | 2 Comments
    As California continues with massive wind-driven, high-intensity wildfires that often turn deadly, the governmental and institutional response has been to thin forests and "grind up vegetation" to fight fires. Naomi Pitcairn points to a movement by plant community and wildfire experts led by the Richard Halsey of the Chaparral Institute to focus on protecting vulnerable communities rather than trying to control nature, which now faces extreme heatwaves and droughts from an unpredictable greenhouse-gas-warmed climate.

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  • The US Forest Service salvage logging plan ended up damaging the health of the Greater Yosemite Ecosystem far more than 2013's massive Rim Fire. Chad Hanson from the John Muir Project of the Earth Island Institute explains how wildfires can promote ecological health and survival of many plant and wildlife communities, despite the intense heat and scale of the blazes.

    Protecting Greater Yosemite Ecosystem from Salvage Logging

    Posted on July 13, 2014 | 1 Comment
    The US Forest Service salvage logging plan ended up damaging the health of the Greater Yosemite Ecosystem far more than 2013's massive Rim Fire. Chad Hanson from the John Muir Project of the Earth Island Institute explains how wildfires can promote ecological health and survival of many plant and wildlife communities, despite the intense heat and scale of the blazes.

    Continue Reading...

  • Though the Rim Fire of 2013 was the third largest conflagration in California's history, it improved the ecological health of the forest and the majority of the iconic landscapes of Yosemite National Park remained unscathed. A salvage logging plan approved by the US Forest Service put in danger the regenerating effects of the fire.

    Yosemite: An Ecosystem Nourished By Wildfire

    Posted on May 25, 2014 | 7 Comments
    Though the Rim Fire of 2013 was the third largest conflagration in California's history, it improved the ecological health of the forest and the majority of the iconic landscapes of Yosemite National Park remained unscathed. A salvage logging plan approved by the US Forest Service put in danger the regenerating effects of the fire.

    Continue Reading...

  • Deep in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia grows a rare and beautiful tree whose wood is so highly prized that men will kill to possess it. In Thailand, environmental organizations and park rangers are fighting back against organized crime syndicates bent on logging it and smuggling it to the burgeoning Chinese market.

    Asian Rosewood: Soaked in Blood

    Posted on November 23, 2013 | 1 Comment
    Deep in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia grows a rare and beautiful tree whose wood is so highly prized that men will kill to possess it. In Thailand, environmental organizations and park rangers are fighting back against organized crime syndicates bent on logging it and smuggling it to the burgeoning Chinese market.

    Continue Reading...

  • Honduras grants Miskitu People title to huge swath of coastal, border lands they occupy, but massive dams under construction on the Patuca River and pilfering of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve continue unabated in a region undergoing massive militarization.

    Honduras: Miskitu Facing Dams and Deforestation Granted Land Rights

    Posted on September 13, 2013 | 1 Comment
    Honduras grants Miskitu People title to huge swath of coastal, border lands they occupy, but massive dams under construction on the Patuca River and pilfering of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve continue unabated in a region undergoing massive militarization.

    Continue Reading...

  • The Sacred Land Film Project captured a revival of a canoe ceremony with feasting, dancing and carving, honoring their sacred Ramu River. The region is part of the third largest intact rainforest ecosystem left on earth, where sustainable agriculture and forestry practices have allowed societies to thrive for thousands of years, now threatened by multinational logging interests and corrupt governmental entities.

    Papua New Guinea: Rainforest World of Sustainable River Guardians

    Posted on January 9, 2013 | 6 Comments
    The Sacred Land Film Project captured a revival of a canoe ceremony with feasting, dancing and carving, honoring their sacred Ramu River. The region is part of the third largest intact rainforest ecosystem left on earth, where sustainable agriculture and forestry practices have allowed societies to thrive for thousands of years, now threatened by multinational logging interests and corrupt governmental entities.

    Continue Reading...

  • Wesleyan University academics argue "unnatural" forests, resulting from fire suppression policies, deplete water supplies and should be cut back. We disagree.

    Do Forests Drink Water Meant for Humans?

    Posted on May 9, 2012 | 1 Comment
    Wesleyan University academics argue "unnatural" forests, resulting from fire suppression policies, deplete water supplies and should be cut back. We disagree.

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  • Forest fragmentation and destruction is imperiling the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), according to a new paper published in PLoS ONE. Using satellite collars to track the pachyderms for the first time in the Malaysian state of Sabah, scientists found elephants sensitive to habitat fragmentation from palm oil plantations and logging.

    Elephants in Borneo: Need Lowland Forest Range

    Posted on March 9, 2012 | 3 Comments
    Forest fragmentation and destruction is imperiling the Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis), according to a new paper published in PLoS ONE. Using satellite collars to track the pachyderms for the first time in the Malaysian state of Sabah, scientists found elephants sensitive to habitat fragmentation from palm oil plantations and logging.

    Continue Reading...

  • A documentary from David Fedele allows Papua New Guinean villagers to tell their own story of broken promises and destruction from Malaysian companies logging of their forests.

    Papua New Guinea: Logging’s “Big Damage” to Forests and Humanity

    Posted on January 19, 2012 | 2 Comments
    A documentary from David Fedele allows Papua New Guinean villagers to tell their own story of broken promises and destruction from Malaysian companies logging of their forests.

    Continue Reading...

  • Deforestation, the proposed damming of pristine rivers for hydroelectricity, and destruction of indigenous communities threatens the wildest and most biodiverse corner of tropical Central America: The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

    Honduras: World Heritage Biosphere Trafficked Toward Destruction

    Posted on December 12, 2011 | 8 Comments
    Deforestation, the proposed damming of pristine rivers for hydroelectricity, and destruction of indigenous communities threatens the wildest and most biodiverse corner of tropical Central America: The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

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  • The human commodification of nature often overlooks small, seeming inconsequential values, someday leading to the earth's foreclosure and unavoidable eviction.

    Collamer: Foreclosing on Nature

    Posted on September 29, 2011 | 2 Comments
    The human commodification of nature often overlooks small, seeming inconsequential values, someday leading to the earth's foreclosure and unavoidable eviction.

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