Daily Archives: March 23, 2018

Today’s Takeaway

Global trade in softwood lumber at record-high, US consumption en route to same

March 23, 2018
Category: Today's Takeaway

Although the US-China trade war has the Globe and Mail’s Barrie McKenna seeing good and bad; global trade of softwood lumber is reported at an all-time-high; and US consumption is forecast to reach record-highs by 2030. Interestingly, non-residential construction is forecast to grow at the fastest rate; Ontario’s tall wood bill is back on the table; and Portland is considering CLT for its International Airport expansion.

The US Congress passed a Bill that includes a major overhaul for wildfire funding. The massive spending Bill also revives funding for rural communities whose economies relied on federal timber harvesting; and upholds protections for the Tongass National Forest.

Finally: the neutrality of wood pellets; the carbon benefits of forest management; the impact of climate change on forests; the carbon footprint of paper; and how many trees does it take to cool the planet?

–Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog Editor

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Business & Politics

Canada could be collateral damage in a U.S.-China trade war

By Barrie McKenna
The Globe and Mail
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Barrie McKenna

Maybe there is a silver lining for Canada in the escalating U.S.-China trade imbroglio. The steep tariffs… could give some Canadian companies a competitive edge in the U.S. market. …On a more macro level, higher U.S. tariffs could spark inflation, which would lead to higher interest rates and a stronger U.S. dollar. That, in turn, would make all Canadian exports more competitive in the United States – from cars to lumber. But the glass-half-full narrative only goes so far. It’s unequivocally bad for Canada if our top two trading partners and the world’s largest economies come to blows. …If the U.S. tariffs destabilize the Chinese economy, Canada could feel pain from less demand and lower prices for its commodity exports to China, including wood pulp.

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US consumption of softwood lumber is likely to reach record-highs by 2030

By Hakan Ekstrom
ForestEdge LLC and Wood Resources International LLC
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Higher lumber demand from all end-use sectors in the US in the coming years will result in continued expansion of sawmill capacity in the US South and increased imports from overseas, while Western Canada will reduce its shipments to the US market. For more, see the new report: “Future Suppliers of Softwood Lumber to the US Market – Supply and Demand Outlook 2017-2030”. A newly released study by ForestEdge and Wood Resources International forecasts that US softwood lumber demand will grow at an annual rate of 2.3% through 2030, which will be higher than the reports projection of real GDP. The study’s Base Case demand scenario suggests that US lumber consumption will reach an all-time high by 2030. A detailed analysis of the future consumption of softwood lumber in each of the five end-use categories… reveals that the category “Non-Residential Construction” will grow at the fastest rate… 

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Global trade of softwood lumber reached a record-high in 2017

American Journal of Transportation
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, United States

Trade of softwood lumber reached an all-time-high in 2017 as demand for wood was strong in most key markets around the world. An estimated 126 million m3 of softwood lumber was shipped from forest-rich countries such as Canada, Russia, Sweden and Finland to markets with high consumption of lumber, including China, the US, the United Kingdom, Japan and Germany. Since the global recession in 2008, international trade of lumber has gone up by as much as 50%. With the economy forecasted to stay healthy in the US and Europe in 2018, this might be another good year for lumber exporters. …US softwood lumber production in 2017 reached the highest level seen in ten years. The biggest increase came in the southern states, but other regions of the country also had healthy production gains year-over-year. The higher domestic production levels resulted in decreased demand for imported lumber as US lumber consumption was up by only one percent from 2016.

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The Future of Coast is Now

By Rick Jeffery
Coast Forest Products Association
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada West

Rick Jeffery

As Coast Forest Products Association completes its final days of operation, I’m reminded of the fact that while the players may change, the coastal forest sector is – and will always be an important and permanent fixture in British Columbia.  In this job I have said a thousand times that every day the men and women in this industry show up, roll up their sleeves and get to work.  It is this work ethic, integrity, innovation, thoughtfulness and respect for the land that has allowed the industry to meet its challenges. …The coastal BC forest sector must have the ability to continue to attract investment if it is to move forward and grow.  For this to happen, we must be supported by smart, practical policies which reflect science-based facts.   All levels of government must recognize the reality of the impact on companies due to the current dynamics of our international trade agreements. 

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Verso strikes deal with Canadian companies that could net up to $42 million

By Colin Ellis
Central Maine
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

Verso Corp., owner of the paper mill in Jay, have entered into an agreement with Canadian paper producers that may well net the company $42 million. According to a March 20 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Verso has struck a deal with Port Hawkesbury Paper Limited Partnership and Irving Paper Limited, both producers of glossy supercalendered paper, that could result in the return of import taxes paid by the companies. Verso could receive up to $42 million of the total returned. Ironically, the import taxes the Canadian companies paid were meant to make the price of American glossy paper competitive. Verso filed a request with the U.S. Department of Commerce to indicate its circumstances have changed to “no interest” when it comes to the glossy paper.

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Settlement agreement reached in Port Hawkesbury Paper’s duty feud

By Nancy King
The Chronicle Herald
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

A settlement agreement has been reached between producers of supercalendered paper engaged in a cross-border dispute over counterveiling duties on some Canadian paper exports, the largest of which has been levied against Port Hawkesbury Paper. …The American company Verso Corp. made a filing regarding the agreement in the long-running dispute with the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission this week. It indicated that under the terms of the settlement, it will file with the U.S. Department of Commerce a request for what it called a changed circumstances review of the counterveiling duty order that was issued Dec. 10, 2015, which imposed the duties on supercalendered paper imported from Canada since Aug. 3 of that year. If the Department of Commerce grants the request, all of the duties collected since August 2015 would be refunded to Port Hawkesbury Paper and Irving. 

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For Greenpeace, Honesty is Just a Word

Environment Guru
March 21, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

For the past decade, Greenpeace has publicly insisted that free speech* is not absolute. Rather than regarding it as a fundamental, non-negotiable pillar of democracy, Greenpeace treats free speech like a bit of wire to be twisted this way and that. …In legal documents, the contents of which have not been proven in court, Resolute Forest Products says Greenpeace has been using phony photos and phony video footage to falsely accuse it of wrongful logging practices. It’s critically important to notice that Greenpeace’s defense is not that Resolute is mistaken. Its defense is not that everything it has ever said about Resolute is honest and true. …Rather, in a legal document, Greenpeace practically admits nothing it says should ever be believed. Its publications are “well-known for advancing…opinions, not hard news,” it tells the court. …Now, its position in court amounts to: Hey, we exaggerate. Everyone knows that.

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LePage can’t pick and choose when he’s responsible

Editorial Board
Bangor Daily News
March 22, 2018
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

Paul LePage

Timber on Maine’s public lands belongs to the people of the state. So, when the state suddenly stopped sending wood to one company’s mills and diverted it to others, and perhaps to Canada, lawmakers wanted to know why. Their list of questions, while long, was pretty straightforward. But the questions from the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee unleashed a tirade from Gov. Paul LePage, first through a written response and then an in-person tongue lashing on Tuesday. …Asking for information about departments the commissioners oversee is not disrespectful or harassment. It is a necessary part of the Legislature’s responsibility for oversight of state government. By refusing to allow commissioners to answer questions or appear before committees, LePage has stifled needed oversight and given the impression that his administration has things to hide.

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Wood, Paper & Green Building

Logging in with the International Log Builders’ Association

By Peter Kenter
Daily Commercial News
March 22, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, International

Rob Savignac

Canada has carved out a special niche as a country with both excellent timber resources and expert log builders. The International Log Builders’ Association (ILBA) represents log builders across the globe, but was founded in 1974 as the Canadian Log Builders’ Association. Its offices remain in Canada as the association works to promote the log building craft while helping to ensure that modern building standards accept all that log building offers.  The ILBA’s global membership numbers 165 and ranges from contractors, engineers, architects, designers and suppliers to instructors, furniture builders and insurance companies. ILBA president Robert Savignac has been building log homes and teaching the craft for 40 years.

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Simon Fraser University seeks to build affordable rental for grad students with kids

By Grant Granger
Burnaby Now
March 22, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

An energy-efficient rental project providing affordable accommodation for Simon Fraser University (SFU) graduate students with children will be part of a public hearing before Burnaby city council on Tuesday. The SFU Community Trust wants to construct a six-storey and five-storey wood-frame buildings on the western edge of UniverCity. …“The objective of the project is to deliver a high-performance, low-energy, low-carbon, affordable rental project here on Burnaby Mountain,” said Dale Mikkelsen, vice president of development for the SFU Community Trust. …The trust plans to use Passivhaus (passive house) design principles at a cost that’s comparable to traditional development. …The trust is still working out the dollars but “we believe we can build that at a conventional wood-frame construction cost,” said Mikkelsen, who added the efficiency will be a bottom-line benefit in the long run.

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Toronto’s iconic skyline is about to get an epic wood building

By Yasmin Aboelsaud
Daily Hive
March 23, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

Toronto is about to be home to the province’s first wood building. Last year, George Brown College purchased waterfront land from the City of Toronto. Their intention was to construct the Ontario’s first Tall Wood institutional building. The plan is to build a 12-storey, carbon neutral facility will be home to a Tall Wood Building Research Institute. And in the fall, the College launched an international design competition to undertake the project. On Thursday, George Brown announced the architectural/design firms are set to showcase their innovative concepts for the construction of The Arbour. “Poised to bring the first tall wood structure to Toronto’s skyline, The Arbour joins George Brown College’s existing LEED gold certified Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences as an example of its continued commitment to sustainable development and green building construction,” reads a release by the College.

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Wood bill back on the table

Northern Ontario Business
March 23, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

A provincial bill that would legalize the construction of wood frame buildings up to 14 storeys is back for consideration in the Ontario Legislature. Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli retabled his bill – the Ontario Forestry Revitalization Act, 2018 – for first reading on March 22. The bill had died on the order paper a week earlier after the government was prorogued by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The bill is now scheduled to be debated on second reading on April 26. If approved, the act would allow for wood frame construction to be used in mid-rise buildings up to 14 storeys, instead of the current six storeys.

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The Montréal Wood Convention: record of participation shattered!

By The Quebec Wood Export Bureau
Cision Newswire
March 22, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

MONTREAL – The 2018 Montreal Wood Convention brought together nearly 1,000 participants. …The challenges of transport logistics and labor as well as the opportunities offered by the growing Chinese economy were widely discussed during the event by the twenty or so speakers present. “The wood products industry needs to work on succession planning, job creation, regional work promotion, and continuing education,” said Sven Gustavsson, Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB) co-organizer of the event with the Québec Forest Industry Council, the Maritime Lumber Bureau and the Ontario Forest Industries Association. As for the exhibitors’ fair, it had a record attendance for the 110 exhibitors present.

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Portland International Airport expansion may use eco-friendly wood products

By Kohr Harlan
KOIN TV Portland
March 22, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

Bill Browning

PORTLAND, Ore.  — The $1.3 billion, 5-year expansion of Portland International Airport could incorporate a new wood products technology its adherents say is the eco-friendly future of wood products. …Bill Browning, the founder of design firm Terrapin Bright Green looking at the airport redesign, said not only is cross- laminated timber comparable to steel and concrete, it’s more friendly to the environment. …Portland mayor Ted Wheeler… said mass timber is the next engine of Oregon’s timber economy. Some studies suggest it could add anywhere from $338 million to over $1 billion annually to Oregon’s economy. “And,” the mayor said, “it could create up to 17,300 jobs in the state. So the promise of CLT is significant.” [Video]

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Red Stag Timber planning to build CLT works by mid-2019

March 22, 2018
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

New Zealand Red Stag Timber is planning to build a cross-laminated timber (CLT) works with an annual capacity of around 55,000 m³ at its headquarters in Rotorua. According to release published by the company via BusinessDesk on 8 March, the cost of the investment will be approximately 20m NZD. The new works is to be run as part of the “Wood Solutions” division in future. The start-up is scheduled for mid-2019 with the facility’s full capacity being reached within the space of two years, said CEO Marty Verry.

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Forestry

Tree Canada and CN invite Canadian communities to apply for $25,000 greening grants

By Tree Canada
Cision Newswire
March 23, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada

OTTAWA – CN and Tree Canada are pleased to announce today the launch of CN EcoConnexions From the Ground Up, an annual initiative that provides more than a half million dollars in funding for community greening projects across Canada. This year, 25 communities will be awarded greening grants of up to $25,000. Canadian communities of all types and sizes, from large urban centres to small towns to indigenous communities, are encouraged to submit their proposed greening projects for consideration before April 18, 2018. Thanks to CN’s environmental leadership, this year’s CN EcoConnexions initiative will help improve communities along CN corridors with sustainable, environmentally responsible greening projects. Through its various tree planting programs, including From the Ground Up, CN has planted more than 1.8 million trees since 2012.

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Province creates harsher penalties to curb wildfires

Squamish Chief
March 22, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: Canada, Canada West

Possible payment of firefighting costs, up to $1 million court fines and up to three years in jail — the province means business when it comes to off-road vehicle users who start wildfires. Following a historically bad fire season last summer, the province is ramping up penalties to curb wildfires and what it considers to be irresponsible off-road vehicle use.  “These changes reflect the tougher stand that our government is taking to eliminate unnecessary wildfire risks, encourage compliance, protect communities from harm and help keep British Columbians safe,” said Forests Minister Doug Donaldson in a news release. Spark arrestors are now required for off-road vehicles that go on Crown land. …The province could hit violators with a $460 ticket or an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 if an off-road vehicle without a spark arrestor is operating at a time or place where there is a risk of a wildfire starting.

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Spending bill includes major wildfire overhaul

By Timothy Cama
The Hill
March 23, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

The spending bill Congress is considering includes a major, bipartisan effort to overhaul how the U.S. government spends money to fight wildfires on federal land. …“Pacific Northwest lawmakers have worked together to force Congress to finally address the persistent shortfalls in our nation’s wildland firefighting budgets,” Sen. Maria Cantwell (Wash.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a leader in the fire effort, said in a statement. …“The FY18 Omnibus spending bill might be one of the most critical pieces of legislation for western members I have seen since coming to Congress,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). …But Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, slammed the provision, saying it should have included reforms to increase removal of brush and trees from federal land.

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Budget deal includes wildfire disaster fund to end borrowing

Associated Press in The Herald and News
March 23, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States

WASHINGTON — A spending bill approved by the House includes a bipartisan plan to create a wildfire disaster fund to help combat increasingly severe wildfires that have devastated the West in recent years. The bill sets aside more than $20 billion over 10 years to allow the Forest Service and other federal agencies end a practice of raiding non-fire-related accounts to pay for wildfire costs, which approached $3 billion last year. The House approved the measure Thursday, with Senate action expected soon after as Congress faces a Friday night deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Western lawmakers have long complained that the current funding mechanism — tied to a 10-year average for wildfires — makes budgeting difficult, even as fires burn longer and hotter each year.

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Lawmakers Revive Funding For Rural Oregon, But It’s No Long-Term Solution

By Ericka Guevara and Jeff Mapes
Oregon Public Broadcasting
March 22, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation say they’ve revived funding for an expired federal aid program that provided money to rural counties whose economies relied heavily on federal timber harvesting. In lieu of timber receipts, counties received federal aid. After 15 years of temporary funding extensions, the money ran out in 2015. But Republican Rep. Greg Walden and Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced this week they’ve secured a two-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools, or SRS, program. That money was part of the omnibus spending bill moving ahead in Congress.

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Conservationists See Positives for Tongass in Spending Bill

The Associated Press in US News
March 22, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US West

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Conservationists say a spending package pending in Congress upholds protections for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Alaska Wilderness League says the bill does not include a previously discussed provision that would have exempted the Tongass from federal restrictions on road-building and timber harvests in roadless areas. The group says it also doesn’t include language that would undo a planned transition from old-growth logging. Senate energy committee spokeswoman Nicole Daigle says U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski will continue seeking more access to the Tongass for local stakeholders. Daigle says the bill directs the U.S. Forest Service to complete a “proper inventory” of how much and when young-growth timber will be available. It also delays a final transition from an old-growth to primarily young-growth timber program pending steps including the inventory. [END]

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Despite Government Pledges, Ravaging of Indonesia’s Forests Continues

By Within Coca
Yale Environment 360
March 22, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

Forest Loss

INDONESIA — Seven years after Indonesian officials declared a moratorium on logging in undisturbed areas, logging and palm oil interests have not eased their assault on the world’s third-largest expanse of tropical forest, with major impacts on biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions. …Global demand for forest commodities has devastated major portions of the world’s third-largest tropical forest, with Indonesia losing more than 100,000 square miles of woodlands and peatlands — an area larger than the United Kingdom — from 1990 to 2015, dealing a huge blow to one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. The island of Sumatra alone lost 29,000 square miles — about one-third of its forests — from 1990 to 2010. …Indeed, several years ago, Indonesia became the world leader in deforestation, overtaking Brazil.

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Coalition accuses green groups of misleading public on forestry agreements

The Guardian
March 22, 2018
Category: Forestry
Region: International

AUSTRALIA — The government has accused green groups of deliberately misleading the Australian people by raising concerns about the roll over of long term logging agreements. The accusations from federal assistant agriculture minister senator Anne Ruston were revealed after Guardian Australia reported the government itself had discussed concerns that the agreements were invalid as they are based on old scientific assessments. In February 2018 Ruston sent letters attacking the groups for “deliberately and dishonestly” making misleading claims in emails about the regional forest agreements (RFAs).

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Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Biomass burner an abomination

Letter by Nina Newington, Mount Hanley
The Chronicle Herald
March 23, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Let’s get this straight. Official provincial policy is to “conserve the remaining old-growth forests on public land” (2012 policy document). Except, that is, if there is more than 8% of it in a particular eco-district. Once that 8% has been protected, according to Department of Natural Resources regional manager Mark Pulsifer, the department can allow cutting “in areas that could qualify as old-growth forest.” …Instead of rigorous provincial oversight of our public lands, the mill has its way, destroying the little that’s left of our most valuable forests to burn for biomass. The only way we even know about this is because a forester with guts and a camera contacted The Chronicle Herald. Whom do we trust? Not DNR. It’s time to shut down that travesty of green energy, the biomass burner, and bring in managers at DNR who will do what Nova Scotians have repeatedly asked them to do: protect our forests.

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Wood pellets: Renewable, but not carbon neutral

By the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Phys.Org
March 22, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

A return to firewood is bad for forests and the climate. So reports William Schlesinger, President Emeritus of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, in an Insights article published in the journal Science. …biomass energy is often touted as carbon neutral. To satisfy European Union (EU) demand, forests in the United States are turned into wood pellets and shipped overseas, to the tune of 7 million metric tons annually. …The stage is also being set for a potential uptick in biomass energy in the US, as Congress may declare biomass carbon neutral in an effort to revive the American forest product industry. A tax on fossil carbon would further incentivize US demand for wood pellets. But turning forests into fuel has hard limitations. Accounting for biomass energy often ignores the critical role forests play as a sink for carbon dioxide that might otherwise accumulate in the atmosphere.

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Our carbon footprint: How do paper products fit in?

By Phil Riebel
Two Sides
March 21, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

…And where might paper and print consumption fit in? The Cool Climate Network has a category called “office and reading” which includes paper as one component. The whole category represents about 400 lbs of CO2 annually or 0.4% of total household CO2. Similar results were found in Finland where 0.9% of the overall climate impacts of household consumption were attributed to printed products. Globally, the contribution of the pulp, paper and printing industries to the global greenhouse gas inventory is about 1%.  In 2016, the pulp and paper industry in the U.S. was responsible for generating 37.7 million metric tons of CO2e or only 0.5 % of the total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 6,546 million metric tons. Overall, paper and print products appear to make up 1% or less of our human carbon footprint. 

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Oregon State University study: Carbon benefits in forest management change

KTVZ News
March 22, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon could eliminate an estimated 17 percent of carbon emissions from its forest ecosystems in the next century by increasing the amount of forested area and lengthening times between harvests, according to a new study from the University of Idaho, Oregon State University and EcoSpatial Services LLC. A team of scientists … analyzed how different forest management strategies in Oregon altered the annual net amount of carbon stored in the state’s forests and net carbon emissions entering the atmosphere. …The study’s model predicts that Oregon can increase the annual accumulation of carbon in its forests by 56 percent by 2100. To reach that number, Oregon would need to increase the land covered by forests, restrict harvest on public lands and increase the amount of time between harvests on private land.

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US forests caught up in climate change loop

By the University of Florida
Futurity: Research News
March 22, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

Climate change-induced shifts in rainfall and temperature are causing a swing in the abundance of numerous tree species, a new study suggests. That means that some forests in the eastern United States are already starting to look different. More importantly, it also means the ability of those forests to soak up carbon is changing, too, which could bring about even further climate change. …The findings show that decades of changes in water deficit have reduced forest biomass, causing an influx of trees that are more tolerant to drought but slower growing. This shift results in significant changes in forest species composition …and, moreover, affects the capacity of forest biomass (the mass of living trees) to store carbon. …Overall, the findings show that climatic variability affects forest biomass and tree species composition, as well as their combined impact on carbon storage, on a sensitive and short timeline—just a few decades.

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Stora Enso Wins Bio-Based Product of the Year for Lineo

Stora Enso
March 22, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Lineo™by Stora Enso, a renewable replacement for oil-based phenolic materials, has been awarded ‘Bio-Based Product of the Year’ at the Bio-Based World News Innovation Awards 2018. …Markus Mannström, Executive Vice President of the Stora Enso Biomaterials division, says, “We are delighted that Lineo™ by Stora Enso has been recognised as an innovative, important bio-based product. Made from lignin, an abundant product and one of the main building blocks of a tree, Lineo is a step towards replacing fossil-based products with renewable solutions. As we say at Stora Enso, ‘everything made from fossil-based materials today, can be made from a tree tomorrow’ and it is wonderful that this is being appreciated by key industry representatives.”

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Are wood pellets a green fuel?

By William Schlesinger
Science Magazine
March 23, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

James Watt’s steam engine vaulted coal to its major role as a fuel for the Industrial Revolution. Today, about 40% of the world’s electricity is generated in coal-fired power plants. Because combustion of coal produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants, efforts to combat climate change have now turned to seeking alternatives to coal. …Recently, attention has focused on woody biomass—a return to firewood—to generate electricity. Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and burning wood returns it. But recent evidence shows that the use of wood as fuel is likely to result in net CO2 emissions and may endanger forest biodiversity. In recent years, ∼7 million metric tons of wood pellets per year have been shipped from the United States to the European Union (EU), where biomass fuels have been declared carbon neutral.

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How Many Trees Are Needed To Cool The Planet? A Lot!

By Jesper Berggreen
CleanTechnica
March 22, 2018
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

OK, but let’s also look at the big picture of how many trees are needed globally to suck up all the excess carbon we’re adding to our common biosphere, which potentially leads catastrophic climate change. Note: the following calculations are speculative at best and erroneous at worst, but give me a hint in the comments if you know better. First let’s try to figure out how much wood it takes to bind the carbon we emit now. …Let’s begin by defining a standard fictitious tree: It can grow to 25 meters in height and has a lifetime of about 50 years. …Let’s assume forests of our standard tree will be able to store 18 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare per year …The fact that we all need to become vegetarians to make room for trees will of course help reduce average emissions.

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