Wood/ paper

==see WOOD 2 forest

see also deforestation (mostly intl?0, best/easiest/cheapest way to deal with carbon, aside from not digging it up, is to store in trees, eg REDD

=<div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Congress, Trump Exploit Fire Tragedy to Promote Logging Agenda</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2509396963" data-authors="Sierra Club" data-headline="Congress, Trump Exploit Fire Tragedy to Promote Logging Agenda" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description">By Chad HansonIn the wake of the October 2017 <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" style="text-decoration-line: none;">fires</a> in Northern California, which resulted in the loss of so many lives and homes, people affected by the tragedy are grieving and bewildered. Many people are searching for answers about what caused the fires, and a way forward to prevent similar loss of life and property.It's frustrating, then, to watch Republican leaders in Congress and the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Trump</a> administration politicizing the recent tragedy as they push for a sweeping elimination of environmental laws on our national forests and other federal <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" style="text-decoration-line: none;">public lands</a> to increase logging and backcountry fire suppression under the guise of community protection. On Nov. 1, the House voted 232-188 to allow for more "salvage logging" and other forms of tree-cutting on federal properties. <a href="https://www.williamsnews.com/news/2017/nov/07/house-approves-bill-speed-logging-combat-wildfires/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">According to the Associated Press</a>, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the bill was needed to protect the nation's federal <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/forests" style="text-decoration-line: none;">forests</a> "from the kind of devastation that California experienced."Wrong. Even a cursory examination of the science of forest ecology reveals that this plan would not only destroy vast acreages of public forests, but would also put communities at even greater risk.The fires that occurred last month in California were in low-elevation foothill ecosystems dominated by oak woodlands and grasslands. The fires were far away from any national forests or other federal public lands. Eviscerating environmental laws on federal forestlands would do nothing whatsoever to help the affected communities now or in the future. Instead, what the tens of millions of Americans living in rural communities within fire-adapted ecosystems really need is for federal and state lawmakers to focus on directly protecting homes and lives from wildland fire.The science is clear on how best to do this, and it involves a few basic steps. Most important, we need to help homeowners make their homes far more fire-safe. This includes measures such as using fire-resistant roofing and siding, installing rain gutter guards (to prevent flaming embers from landing in a dry bed of pine needles and leaves accumulating in rain gutters); using a fine-wire mesh on exterior vents to prevent embers from floating into interior spaces like attics; and replacing wood decks with fire-resistant composites. Homeowners also need assistance to create "defensible space" within 60 to 100 feet around their homes, which involves removing most small trees and shrubs, removing lower limbs on mature trees, and annually raking up and removing small twigs, needles and leaves from the ground. (Clearing vegetation away from larger distances from homes offers no added benefit for home protection, <a href="https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70141773" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">research shows</a>.)Further, we need to create an infrastructure to notify communities when wildland fires occur so that people and their animals can evacuate quickly. When these steps are properly implemented, the vast majority of homes can and do survive wildland fire, and lives are saved. Finally, we must focus wildland fire suppression and management activities around homes and communities, rather than in backcountry forests.But the current leadership in Congress appears more interested in trying to find some kind of cover for allowing for increased logging. The recently passed bill—deceptively named the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017, and which was sponsored by one of the biggest recipients of logging-industry campaign contributions in Congress, Bruce Westerman, an Arkansas Republican—would divert more resources away from protecting communities in order to give a windfall to logging corporations.If the Senate passes this bill and it becomes law, the legislation would eliminate most logging regulations in national forests, and severely curtail public participation in federal forest management decisions, allowing clearcuts thousands of acres in size. What's more, the bill would prohibit federal judges from issuing temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions against illegal logging projects on our public lands, which means giant logging projects would be completed before any judge could enforce existing laws.Unfortunately, Senate passage could happen. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) has introduced S. 2068, the so-called Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation Act. Similar to HR 2936, this bill would exempt massive logging projects from environmental laws and public participation on our national forests, and would prevent federal judges from being able to enforce environmental laws. Barrasso <a href="https://www.eenews.net/eedaily/2017/11/03/stories/1060065545" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">issued a statement</a> misleadingly claiming that this massive rollback of environmental protections was needed to "remove excess brush" from federal forests.
Environmental leaders in Congress, including Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) who is the Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Committee, are calling HR 2936 a shameful "giveaway" to the logging industry. "The Americans across the West whose homes burned to the ground this year aren't interested in whether Congress can make timber companies a few extra bucks," <a href="https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/grijalva-gop-forest-fire-management-bill-just-sacrifices-trees-to-logging-companies-doesnt-solve-fire-funding-problems" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Grijalva said</a>.These logging bills represent both an attack on our public lands and an assault on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">science</a>. Both pieces of legislation are predicated on a political tale known as the "catastrophic wildfire" narrative, which is a classic example of the politics of fear. The basic premise of this narrative is that wildland fires are "destroying" our forests—and that more intensive and widespread logging will "save" them. But the notion that fire "destroys" forests <a href="http://johnmuirproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Final2015ScientistLetterOpposingLoggingBills.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">has been refuted by hundreds of scientists</a> and peer-reviewed scientific studies. The <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.1492/full" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">current science</a> tells us, for instance, that even in the same forest types, the forests with the fewest environmental protections and the most logging burn more intensely, not less.There is now a broad consensus among forest scientists that we have considerably less fire in our forests today compared to the natural levels that occurred prior to fire-suppression policies. And, though it may seem counterintuitive, <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/the-ecological-importance-of-mixed-severity-fires/dellasala/978-0-12-802749-3" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hundreds of scientific studies</a> have concluded that, in the patches where forest fires burn more intensely and kill most of the trees, the resultant "snag forest habitat" is actually some of the best and most important wildlife habitat in the western U.S.—comparable to old-growth forest in terms of native <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" style="text-decoration-line: none;">biodiversity</a> and wildlife abundance.We also need our public forests to help mitigate <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate change</a>, since protected forests absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in growing trees and shrubs. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037811270700802X" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">In fact</a>, if we protected our national forests from logging, it would be like taking 13 to 24 million cars off the road.But the Trump administration and its allies in Congress don't really care about science. They live in a world of "alternative facts" in which clearcuts the size of cities are promoted as fire management, ecological restoration, and climate-resilience measures. Their proposed solution to the risks of wildfire is to destroy the forest in order to save it.Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/congress-trump-exploit-fire-tragedy-promote-logging-agenda" target="_blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">SIERRA</a> magazine.</div></div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-forests-logging-bill-2505370570.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/national-forests-logging-bill-2505370570.html</a>no linkNational Forests, Endangered Species Under Attack as House Republicans Pass Reckless Logging Bill
In a partisan vote, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would devastate national forests by gutting endangered species protections and rubber-stamping huge logging projects. The final vote was 232 to 188.HR 2936, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), also limits public comment and environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Under the guise of reducing forest fires, the bill would increase unfettered logging across national forests and public lands, increase fire risk and harm forest health, while doing nothing to protect communities."This bill is a dangerous bait-and-switch that rewards the timber industry. It puts the health of our forests and wildlife in grave danger and ignores real solutions," said Randi Spivak, public lands program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "It would green-light the worst forest management practices from decades ago, when reckless logging devastated wildlife, degraded rivers and ruined recreation opportunities for countless Americans."Westerman's bill is a timber-industry wish list. Among other harmful provisions, it would allow rushed logging projects up to 30,000 acres—46 square miles—without public notice or scientific assessment of potential harm to the environment as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.The bill would render forest plans meaningless, roll back measures designed to protect old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, waive protections for waterways and water quality across the national forest system, promote harmful logging in otherwise protected roadless areas and force the Forest Service to ignore potential harm to thousands of imperiled species.
It would also give private landowners with easements on public land full ownership of that land and allow herbicides to be sprayed without reviewing the harm to water, fish and wildlife."The knee-jerk response from Republicans is always to gut our environmental laws, no matter what the issue is," said Spivak. "They're willing to sacrifice our wildlife, healthy streams and rivers, and vibrant public lands for private profit."In the first four months of the 115th Congress, Republicans have introduced more than 80 bills that attack public lands, weaken environmental safeguards on those lands or turn over control to states and local governments. These attacks go against the wishes of most Americans, since the vast majority of voters across political parties support protecting and maintaining forests, national parks, monuments and other public lands and waters.

Two Republican bills currently making their way through Congress should anger any American who cares about the nation's forests. Introduced this summer, both bills are pro-industry and anti-environment, and seek to eliminate public participation in federal decisions about forest management that could negatively impact local communities, ecological health and wildlife.

The first bill, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2647" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">HR 2647</a>, the so-called Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015, was introduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman of (R-AR-4). It passed the House and is now under consideration in the Senate. The other bill, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1691" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">S 1691</a>, called the National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act of 2015, was introduced Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY). Hearings held last month by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources were chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who has consistently supported corporate interests over the <a href="http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/lisa-murkowski" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">environment and wildlif</a>e.

Both bills would suspend or weaken several federal environmental laws and clear the way for the timber industry to dramatically increase commercial logging across U.S. national forests.

Empowering corporations, disenfranchising citizens

Introduced on June 4, HR 2647 is a pro-industry bill that seeks to streamline the process by which commercial logging projects are managed by the federal government. One of the ways it wants to accomplish this is by limiting public debate on timber projects, effectively excluding the American public from their legal right to generate and review agency actions regarding forest management. HR 2647 appears to favor the rubber-stamping of industrial logging projects in national forests by establishing several worrisome environmental review requirement exclusions from such projects. These exclusions would effectively remove critical opportunities for American voters to participate in governmental decisions regarding how forests are managed by federal executive departments such as the Department of Agriculture and the Interior Department.

Specifically, HR 2647 would:

<li>Create new categorial exclusions from review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969</li>

<li style=" background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Introduce provisions to limit opportunities for judicial review by creating attorneys' fee recovery provisions and binding requirements that would effectively impede access to the courts</li>

<li style=" background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lower the membership of resource advisory committees that advise the Forest Service on land use decisions, from 15 to six, which would significantly reduce the diversity of stakeholders.</li>

</ul>

Outdoor Alliance, a non-profit coalition that represents the interests of millions of Americans, said that the bill "<a href="http://www.outdooralliance.org/policy-news/2015/7/9/protecting-the-public-process-on-our-national-forests-hr-2647" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">elevates a single interest</a> — timber — over the diverse activities that take place on national forests, including recreation."

</div>

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kqed sponsor?

==

illegal logging?

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<table class="datadisplay" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; width: 915px; line-height: 24px; background: rgb(224, 230, 236);"><tbody><tr style=" padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px;"><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">SULLIVAN, THOMAS D

MIAMI BEACH,FL 33139</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">LUMBER LIQUIDATORS</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">2/19/2014</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">$10,000</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">House Majority PAC</td></tr><tr class="item_odd" style=" padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);"><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">SULLIVAN, THOMAS D

MIAMI BEACH,FL 33139</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">LUMBER LIQUIDATORS</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">6/24/2014</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">$5,200</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">Udall, Tom</td></tr><tr style=" padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px;"><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">SULLIVAN, TOM

MIAMI BEACH,FL 33139</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">LUMBER LIQUIDATORS</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">9/30/2013</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">$5,000</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">Democrats Win Seats PAC</td></tr><tr class="item_odd" style=" padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);"><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">SULLIVAN, TOM

MIAMI BEACH,FL 33139</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">LUMBER LIQUIDATORS</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">9/15/2013</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">$2,600</td><td style=" padding: 5px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;">Schultz, Debbie Wasserman</td></tr></tbody></table>

==

Lumber Liquidators CEO Rob Lynch quits, as did cfo, hq va

Lumber Liquidators is in hot water, reportedly facing criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice -- and for good reason. The nation's leading hardwood floor retailer has allegedly imported illegally harvested wood from critical habitats including forests in the Russian Far East.

The Lacey Act, passed in 1900 to combat the illegal wildlife trade, was strengthened to fight illegal logging in 2008 --and it’s these forests’ best defense. If adequately enforced, the law would ensure that wood products have been sourced legally and violators like Lumber Liquidators would face fines or jail time.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-ceo-admits-tests-showed-high-formaldehyde-levels/

<div class="byline" style="margin: -8px 0px 12px;">ByCARTER EVANSCBS NEWSMarch 12, 2015, 7:05 PM</div>

<h1 class="title" itemprop="headline" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; line-height: 0.95; text-rendering: auto; letter-spacing: -0.06em;">Lumber Liquidators CEO makes surprising admission</h1>

</header>

Lumber Liquidators stock rebounded Thursday after CEO Rob Lynch <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-ceo-confident-our-products-are-safe/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">defended the company and its products</a> to investors -- but he also made a surprising admission.

When "60 Minutes" sent investigators undercover at three Chinese factories that produce laminate flooring for Lumber Liquidators, it exposed <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-linked-to-health-and-safety-violations/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">excessive levels of the cancer-causing chemical formaldehyde</a> in the glue used to bind wood particles that make up the core of the laminated boards.

"We're never gonna sell something unsafe," Sullivan said.At the time, company founder Tom Sullivan told Anderson Cooper the flooring complied with strict standards set by the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-update/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">California Air Resources Board</a>, also known as CARB.

Employees at the factory told "60 Minutes" a different story.

"I have to be honest with you. It's not CARB 2," a factory's general manager told investigators in a hidden camera recording, meaning it didn't meet the CARB safety standards.

On a conference call with investors Thursday, Lumber Liquidators CEO Rob Lynch admitted CARB'S preliminary tests had revealed high levels of formaldehyde before the "60 Minutes" broadcast.

Lumber Liquidators doesn't believe in the testing method CARB developed and uses, which peels back the top layers of the board in order to analyze the core."We know that tests on some deconstructed samples have had elevated levels, but we believe that the results of deconstructed tests have little or no bearing on the safety of the finished product," Lynch said.

"We have been engaged with CARB over many months, provided them with additional information and, like others in the industry, have expressed our concerns on the validity and applicability of the deconstructive testing method," Lynch said.

<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-on-tests-used-to-investigate-lumber-liquidators/" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;">In tests commissioned by "60 Minutes,"</a> 30 of 31 boxes of the product labeled compliant were not, with some emitting as much as 13 times the CARB 2 limit.

Balero is ripping out the laminate flo"Kinda disgusted really, with what's going on, that they knew about the product," said Michael Balero, the lead plaintiff in a class-action suit against Lumber Liquidators....

</div>

===

larry craig: <cite>www.waterplanet.ws/transitions/tr9509.pdf  boise cascade

</cite>

Chlorine?

==

I have called it the<a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/rumble-in-the-lumberyard-fsc-wins-this-round.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> Rumble in the Lumberyard</a>; Artist/activist Franke James calls it the<a href="http://www.frankejames.com/debate/?p=5705" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">War in the Woods</a>. It was the long-running battle by the <a href="http://www.sfiprogram.org/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)</a> to get recognition for their wood certification system in the LEED green building certification system, which only recognizes wood certified by the <a href="http://www.fscus.org/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) </a>. I will not go into the <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/rumble-in-the-lumberyard-fsc-wins-this-round.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">merits of their argument</a> here, that has been the subject of many a post that can be found in the related links to the left.

What is more important is that, having failed to get into the LEED rating system, Kathy Abusow and SFI have changed tactics, and now appear to be out to destroy it.

After I wrote<a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/congress-goes-through-ban-green-building-department-defense.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> Congress Goes Through With Ban On Green Building at Department of Defense</a>, Lawyer Chris Cheatham noted that the ban was rooted in the wood wars,<a href="http://www.greenbuildinglawupdate.com/2011/12/articles/codes-and-regulations/federal/congress-restricts-leed-spending/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">quoting a senator</a> who says he believes LEED inaccurately evaluates wood products:

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., helped lead the effort to place the language into the appropriations bill on grounds that the Pentagon needed to think more about building products' green qualities over the course of their entire life--from the moment a product's raw materials are extracted from the earth to when that product's components are tossed out or, even better, recycled. This notion, called "life-cycle analysis," has been gaining much momentum in the green building community. And on this front, some groups--including the Green Building Initiative program, a rival to USGBC's LEED--have embraced life-cycle analysis.

</blockquote>

In fact, the<a href="http://www.thegbi.org/contact-us.asp" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> Green Building Initiative</a> is a sham set up by a former Louisiana Pacific lumber PR executive, Ward Hubbell, for the explicit purpose of creating a rating system that allowed SFI certified wood. It operates out of the offices of his company,<a href="http://www.hubbellcommunications.com/hubbell-case-studies.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Hubbell Communications</a>, which specializes in "Grassroots and Grasstops mobilization", also know as astroturfing. Members and supporters of the Green Building Initiative include the American Chemistry Council, SFI, The American Forest & Paper Association and the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association. It is hardly, as Senator Wicker maintains, a credible standard.

(More on the Green Building initiative <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/coming-soon-greenwashed-lumber.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a> and<a href="http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/understanding-labels-part-2-separating-green-building-from-greenwash.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"> here</a>)

Republicans like Senator Wicker have taken up the cause of SFI because President Kathy Abusow has wrapped herself in the flag and pronounced it to be the patriotic thing to do. Paula Melton quotes her in <a href="http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2012/2/23/Are-FSC-and-LEED-Killing-American-Jobs-A-Look-at-the-Evidence" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">BuildingGreen:</a>

"100% of SFI-certified forests are in North America," said Kathy Abusow, president and CEO of SFI. "90% of FSC forests are outside the U.S. You don't have to be a statistician to know that not recognizing SFI is a problem for domestic forests, communities, products, and jobs."

</blockquote>

When Paula pressed her, she said "90% of FSC certifications are abroad, and I don't need to go into depth to know that that's an issue. And so I don't."

Well, in fact you do, because it is a meaningless point. FSC happens to be international, but but certifies lots of American wood; SFI was set up by American lumber interests specifically because they didn't like silly things in FSC such as respecting workers' rights and indigenous people. But bashing Europe always plays well in certain political circles. It played particularly well in Maine, which has essentially <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/state-maine-bans-use-leed-state-construction.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">banned LEED certification because it favors FSC</a>.

Paula connects the dots of the two attacks on LEED :

Senator Roger Wicker and Maine Governor Paul LePage both attempted to make an economic argument for their choices. By promoting FSC lumber, the claim goes, the LEED rating systems harm producers of homegrown forestry products--hurting the economy and killing jobs.

</blockquote>

The issue is a lot bigger than SFI vs FSC and a stupid single point in LEED; it is a question of the survival of the green building movement, as it is rolled back by Republicans in Congress and by anti-green Tea Party controlled State governments.

</blockquote>

Indeed, we have to do more than that; we have to start actively pushing back against SFI. It is no longer just another standard for certification; it is now actively working to gut green building. I have no great love for LEED, but this is hurting the entire industry. If you care about green building, then you shouldn't buy SFI.

Read more at <a href="http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2012/2/23/Are-FSC-and-LEED-Killing-American-Jobs-A-Look-at-the-Evidence" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">BuildingGreen</a>

</div>

<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; line-height: 1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Related on TreeHugger.com:</h4>

<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.428571em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/understanding-labels-part-2-separating-green-building-from-greenwash.html" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Understanding Labels Part 2: Separating Green Building from Greenwash</a></li>

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Tags: <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/tag/green-building/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Green Building</a>

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BM

* The Louisiana-Pacific (L-P) logging company, famous for its union- busting, clear cutting of old growth forests and support for anti- environmental front groups. L-P hopes to convince its employees and the public that rural unemployment in North America is caused by environmental extremists and opressive government regulation and not by unsustainable logging practices or the relocation of s awmills to low-wage countries like Mexico.

* B-M formed the British Columbia Forest Alliance (BCFA), a Canadian front group which has L-P among its founding members. BCFA is campaigning against restrictions on logging and is actively work ing to smear and discredit environmentalists. Other BCFA members include Mitsubishi and Weyerhaueser.

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alec bills:

<h2 style="background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0.6em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 19.2px;">Agriculture</h2>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/9/94/3A0-Agriculture_Bio-Security_Act_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A0 Agriculture Bio-Security Act Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/5/55/3A1-ALEC_Resolution_on_Animal_Antibiotic_Use_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A1 ALEC Resolution on Animal Antibiotic Use Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/4/42/3A2-Biotechnology_Resolution_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A2 Biotechnology Resolution Exposed</a></li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://alecexposed.org/w/images/8/8b/3A3-Biotechnology_State_Uniformity_Resolution_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A3 Biotechnology State Uniformity Resolution Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/4/4c/3A4-Commending_American_Forest_and_Paper_Product_Industries_and_the_Sustainable_Forest_Initiative_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A4 Commending American Forest and Paper Product Industries and the Sustainable Forest Initiative</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/8/8b/3A5-In_Support_of_Proper_Timber_Harvesting_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A5 In Support of Proper Timber Harvesting Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/2/29/3A6-Resolution_in_Support_of_the_Healthy_Forest_Initiative_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A6 Resolution in Support of the Healthy Forest Initiative Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/2/22/3A7-Resolution_on_Invasive_Noxious_Weeds_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A7 Resolution on Invasive Noxious Weeds Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/a/af/3A8-Right_to_Farm_Act_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A8 Right to Farm Act Exposed</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Right_to_Farm_Act" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcayaaacnms="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs" aaaavkleqvr4xn3pgqkamqhduxfqtu7kttkpd5ra8ainfartq2irxfwt2qedafttj2fspioe1ecoleuowwjgzyab="AAAAVklEQVR4Xn3PgQkAMQhDUXfqTu7kTtkpd5RA8AInfArtQ2iRXFWT2QedAfttj2FsPIOE1eCOlEuoWWjgzYaB" ikegorxxhqb="IkeGOrxXhqB" ua9bfcm0lazuh="uA9Bfcm0lAZuh" yiead="YIeAD" caqsz4kcmuaaaaasuvork5cyii="); padding-right: 13px; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat;" xmlns:data="data">Right to Farm Act on SourceWatch</a></li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/f/f0/3A9-State_Pesticide_Preemption_Act_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A9 State Pesticide Preemption Act Exposed</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/0/02/3A10-State-Based_Healthy_Forest_Plan_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A10 State Based Healthy Forest Plan Exposed</a></li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/6/63/3A11-Vegetative_Filter_Strips_Act_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">3A11 Vegetative Filter Strips Act Exposed</a></li>

<li style=" margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/6252.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" xmlns:data="data">Sagebrush Rebellion Act</a></li>

</ul>

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