A mild winter and recent drought throughout the southeast have made our forests subject to some of the smallest, most destructive of insects.

Timber owners in Alabama and Georgia have already noticed widespread southern pine beetle infestations throughout pine stands. The tiny beetles, about the size of a grain of rice, burrow into the inner bark of the tree, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients to the branches. Drought causes trees to slow their sap production, the main defense against the burrowing insects.

Forest industry professionals fear a repeat of the 2002 season, in which foresters in Georgia alone reported $57 million in losses. The problem abounds in southern Alabama, where wind damage from the 2005 hurricane season had already weakened massive stands of forest.

The problem is not limited to Georgia or Alabama. Almost the entire southeast has experienced drier than average conditions so far this year and west coast foresters fear similar outbreaks. Currently, the beetles’ work is hardly noticeable, but once the trees receive significant rain again the needles of infested pines will immediately turn brown. Dust piles around tree roots, indicative of insect boring, is another sign of infestation.

Timber owners will be forced to harvest infected trees at that point, to eliminate the spread of beetles to near-by, healthy trees. Chemical solutions are available, but are often far too expensive to private land owners.

To mitigate costs for these private owners, the state of Florida has recently reinstated the Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Cost Share Program. The idea of the program is preemptive. Florida government officials hope to provide landowners resources needed to reduce susceptibility of the pines.
Management practices such as thinning or select burning may help in areas with infestation or history of infestation.

If you think you may have an infected stand, or would like to learn more:

https://forests.org/links/
Forestry Encyclopedia

Throughout the week of August 8-14, Rising Tide North America, in collaboration with Energy Justice Summer, Southern Energy Network, and the Nuclear Information Resource Service, will host a Southeast Convergence for Climate Action near Asheville, North Carolina.

The Convergence for Climate Action will offer skill-based workshops, strategy sessions, and direct action aimed at building a no-compromise climate justice movement.

The Convergence aims to promote a just, rapid transition away from fossil fuels, promoting environmental justice by supporting communities that are fighting energy developments in their backyards. The Convergence also attempts to encourage direct action as a means of challenging corporate power and empowering movements to stop climate change through networking and strategy among the various social justice and environmental programs already in place.

Workshops will include Direct Action 101, Climbing Trainings, Strategic Action Planning, Anti-oppression, Sustainable living skills, Debunking False Solutions, Blockades, Media, and much more. The convergence will culminate in a coordinated day of direct action against fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

Looking out toward Kayford Mountain I was surrounded by beauty, green foliage thick with birds singing. Imagining this area before Mountaintop removal was nearly impossible with the hum of bulldozers and crashing of boulders tumbling into the valleys bellow. I open my eyes and continue to frown. You can’t look at the landscape of Kayford and smile.

The only green was behind me, the last natural refuge among hills of gray rock and waste. Even reclaimed land, void of blasting for years could only support sparse grasses and teams of grasshoppers.

I immediately felt grateful that the mountains of North Carolina have no coal and at the same time moved with empathy for the people who call these surrounding mountains home. After all, they haven’t asked for coal to be in their mountains. Of course, coal mines employ people in the area, but the number of coal miners are one-tenth of what they were only 30 years ago. And the people making the largest amounts, the corporate employees of the coal companies, reside far away and their incomes hardly affect the economy of the coal country.

Regardless, I did not feel it necessary to place fault. Throughout the trip I found myself repeating “everyone has a job to do.” The people that have fallen behind on their jobs are our policy makers, politicians that should have our best interest in mind.

This became apparent during the testimony of Donna Branham of Lenore, W.Va. Branham and her husband worked hard for a lifetime to afford the retirement home they built on the right fork of Laurel Creek. The creek provides a drinking source and lifeline for an abundant garden and trout pond. In essence, the creek allowed for a self-sufficient farm, but now mining and slurry dams threaten the Branham’s water supply.

The state issued the permit for the mine, ignoring provisions of the current law. After almost a year of discussion, the Department of Environmental Protection decided to hear the Branham’s case. Branham, her daughter Kelli and fellow townspeople provided hours of testimony for the surface mine board. Regardless of testimony from Branham and her fellow townspeople, the board allowed the permit to be issued unedited.

Only a couple days after the trip could I digest the experience of Kayford Mountain. Change can only start with yourself, but we must start holding our policy makers accountable. The Branham’s can not fight a state department alone, neither can one town. It will take a nation to end Mountaintop Removal.

Riceville, NC – Now folks can leave their mark on the Pisgah National Forest without having to lace up their boots. A new online survey invites forest users to weigh in on a recent Forest Service proposal in the Shope Creek area of Riceville.

Adjacent to the Asheville watershed and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shope Creek provides excellent habitat for black bear and wild trout, but lacks sufficient public access. In April, the Forest Service proposed improving public access at Shope Creek, but the agency also included plans to log 68 acres and reconstruct five miles of forest roads, placing the entire 1,500 acre forest at risk.

“Shope Creek is Asheville’s best kept secret,” said Stan Cross, a resident of the area. “Those of us who use this amazing forest for recreation or hunting know how stunning it is. That’s why it’s critical that our community weighs in on this proposal—taking the survey is an important first step.”

Currently, the agency has provided limited information regarding their plans for Shope Creek. At the community’s request, Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project (SABP) is assisting residents and forest users to develop an alternative proposal, which the Forest Service has agreed to consider. To help gauge community sentiment, SABP has designed a brief online survey that examines the various goals of the Shope Creek Project.

“We hope this survey gives folks an opportunity to consider the options for Shope Creek and perhaps offer up some common sense solutions that meet the Forest Service’s goals,” said SABP’s campaign coordinator, Chris Joyell.

Click here to complete the survey

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But what about the Navajo, Hopi and Crow? Peabody destroyed the Black Mesa, a sacred place of worship for Native Americans in Northern Arizona. And the Washington Group uses Crow labor in the Absaloka mines of Montana, and gives nothing back to the reservation.

And about the people of Appalachia, people desperate for jobs and opportunity? Their land is literally crumbling around them as mountain top removal coal mining erodes more than just the landscape. A once self sufficient people have been raped of their resources. No farms can grow on the barren rock beds, and fish can not survive in streams inundated with toxic sediments. The little life remaining is subject to poor air quality, toxic water and constant removal of habitat.

It becomes obvious the coal companies desire profits at the expense of the poorest, most depressed regions of our country. And what does congress suggest? MORE! Yes, and it’s bi-partisan. Even democratic presidential candidate Barrack Obama has co-sponsored the senate bill advocating liquid coal. He is joined by four other senate democrats, who are supporting the bill with eight republicans. The house bill also has multiple co-sponsors from both parties.

Researchers at the MIT believe $70 billion would be needed to develop infrastructure for liquid coal, so it could be made available to the American masses. As legislators make one of the most important decisions for our future, they should think ahead, keeping in mind the cost and long term involvement with this project. And what happens when we’ve used all the coal?

Why not give our farmers subsidies for making renewable fuels instead of Fortune 1000 energy companies? After all, Rudolph Diesel developed his engines with the idea that they could all be sustained from a personal farm. The prototype ran on peanut oil and was made to run on plant oil derivatives. Mr. Diesel would be appalled at the current status of his invention, and having his name on every gas station billboard in America.

One person in Washington, D.C. does have it right. Senator Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, is drafting a bill supportive of renewable energy sources and not coal-to-liquids. A part of his proposed legislation would also ask energy companies to use renewable fuels for 15% of their production by 2020.

Part 1

Liquid Coal Inc. has plans for a plant that would process 15,000 tons of coal a day to make 50,000 barrels of diesel fuel. Out of the daily 15,000 tons, the company’s plan states there will be 3,000 tons of solid residues. Handling the waste and bi-products of the fuel will become a major issue. Furthermore, America uses 9 million barrels of gasoline a day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Using these figures, an attempt to replace gasoline with liquid coal would require 2.7 million tons of coal each day.

Where will all this coal come from? According to Peabody Energy, the concept is “a world where our country runs on fuel from Middle America, instead of the Middle East.”

Of course, America’s largest coal producer has plenty to gain. Peabody already produces 10% of America’s energy; liquid coal would in reality be liquid gold for stakeholders of Peabody, Massey Energy, Arch Coal, Kennecott Energy and other coal producing companies. During an industry conference two years ago, Peabody’s chief executive Gregory H. Boyce told those in attendance the value of Peabody’s coal reserves would multiply by ten, to about $3.6 trillion if it sold all of its coal in the form of liquid fuel.

This would explain why the coal industry has taken the fight straight to Washington. The coal industry spent $6 million on lobbying during 2005 and 2006, which happens to be three times the amount they spent annually from 2000 through 2004, according to politicalmoneyline.com. Peabody has actually quadrupled their lobbying efforts to total $2 million since 2004, and recently hired former Presidential candidate and Missouri Governor Richard Gephardt to promote the coal-to-liquid process.

Part 3

As both houses of congress debate bills for coal-to-liquid subsidies, environmentalists are beginning to wonder if they’ll find Jimmy Hoffa before congress settles on a renewable energy source. Coal is not renewable, only an alternative, and a dirty one at that.

Scientists across the country say liquid coal will emit twice as much green house gas as current petrol fuels , but companies such as Liquid Coal Inc. and Syntroleum describe their fuel as “ultra-clean.” And despite how innovative and new this process may sound to some, it’s an old process.

Commonly known as the Fischer-Tropsch process, coal has been transformed into liquid fuel since 1923. Even Germans used liquid coal to power their panzers during WWII, while facing an oil embargo. South Africans used liquid coal throughout apartheid and have continued to use the fuel in diesel engines. In fact the world’s largest coal-to-liquid plant is in South Africa. If this were truly a better alternative, wouldn’t we have joined the Germans or South Africans and used coal a long time ago? The United States does produce a little less than one-fifth of the world’s coal according to the Energy Information Administration.

The proposed bills suggest loans for six to 10 major coal-to-liquid plants, a tax credit of 51 cents for every gallon of fuel sold, and a 25 year contract with the Air Force for coal based jet fuel, among other subsidies that would keep liquid coal more competitive with oil in America.

Liquid Coal Inc. has plans for a plant that would process 15,000 tons of coal a day to make 50,000 barrels of diesel fuel. Out of the daily 15,000 tons, the company’s plan states there will be 3,000 tons of solid residues. Handling the waste and bi-products of the fuel will become a major issue. Furthermore, America uses 9 million barrels of gasoline a day, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Using these figures, an attempt to replace gasoline with liquid coal would require 2.7 million tons of coal each day.

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From the Southern Forest Network:

[Oklahoma] Steven McNulty grew up hearing Smokey Bear tell him how to prevent forest fires, but he believes addressing the issue of climate change may also prevent the blazes. The ecologist with the USDA Forest Service based in Raleigh, N.C., said when the amount of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere increases, the temperatures also rise and the climate often varies from one extreme to another. McNulty spoke about the effects of climate change on the southern region’s forests, noting what to expect and what not to expect. “Water and air temperature will continue to increase — that’s about as likely as death and taxes,” McNulty said. Forest fires are another likely impact. He said federal and state financial incentives are a couple of the ways to get landowners to plant trees or manage the land they possess.

https://www.cushingdaily.com/statenews/cnhinsall_story_162152521.html

The basic idea of democracy is the empowerment of the individual, in effort to form governmental policy. But do you feel empowered today? Do you feel like, as an individual, you have an influence on your legislator’s actions? There have been many occasions when my desire to make a change was insatiable, but I felt alone- like a man trying to move a mountain, and perhaps we all have.

In the case of Savannah Rose Walters, there was no such intimidation. Aware of an impending energy crisis, the 9 year old Walters developed a small publicity campaign aimed at fuel conservation. Oh, and she learned about democracy on the way. Walters began in 2002 by distributing flyers and informational material at her hometown train station. The educational materials urged motorists to keep their tires inflated and monitor their pressure regularly.
The numbers are compelling; during a NPR interview, Walters states 4-12 million gallons of gas are wasted every day by Americans with under-inflated tires. With these numbers and other statistics in her arsenal, Walters convinced Firestone, Sears and Goodyear to donate tire gauges for free distribution. Again, we’re talking about a girl that, at this time, had yet been to middle school.

You may ask ‘why would these three companies collaborate on this campaign? It seems contradictory to their business plan.’ You may discover a few reasons, but it boils down to consumers holding companies accountable. Consumers cause companies to be innovative, progressive and helpful, as the companies must survive. Likewise, if we place equal pressure on the careers of politicians, we may evoke change.

It’s all about becoming active in democracy. Walters wasn’t afraid to become involved, make her voice heard. She sent multiple inquiries to congressional representatives and even our Vice President. And wouldn’t you know, a project so benign and politically unmotivated elicited no response from Cheney’s office. Incredible. If Walters would have sent a letter saying ‘Mr. Cheney, I admire your diplomacy and uncanny business acumen,’ she would have likely received a monogrammed picture of a grimacing man and a thank you.

Instead, Walters found only a letter a year later apologizing for the Vice President’s utter disregard for the democratic process- that’s all.
Her fortunes faired better with her senator, Mel Martinez, R- Florida. He did not return a letter, but eventually after a circumstantial encounter, Martinez granted Walters an interview, during which the girl only received something of an ‘oh, okay, thanks for your input.’ Did the representative, and I use the title loosely, make any effort to encourage the agenda of Walters or offer help? According to Walters, he did not.

My purpose is to convey how an individual CAN make a difference. Despite the short-comings of our political process, Walters achieved results. Over 10,000 individuals received free tire gauges. Furthermore, her publicity achieves results. I know I added a little air to my tires shortly after hearing the broadcast interview.

Now 14, Walters shows no sign of stopping. The only thing she does exhibit is a desire to help, and make America more efficient- more livable. Follow her example; become involved in the process and convey your support or disdain for decisions made by your representatives. Introduce new ideas. Perhaps you will receive more attention than Walters. No matter what, know what your representatives stand for and hold them accountable.

And if you get no help from your representatives, join Savannah Walters and start a campaign of your own initiative. And of course, check those tires.

Tallahassee, Florida–On Tuesday, state regulators denied Florida Power & Light’s application to build a mammoth coal-fired power plant on Lake Okechobee at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades. In denying the permit, the Public Service Commission boldly held that Florida could meet its energy needs with cleaner, less costly options. “This is exciting because it demonstrates that grassroots organizing is forcing decisionmakers to wake up and smell the devastating impacts of mining and burning coal,” said Scott Gollwitzer, In-house counsel at Appalachian Voices. “Those seeking to place all of our energy eggs into the filthy coal basket, are little more than fossil fools.” Click here to read the full story in the Tallahassee Democrat

Managing and Understanding the Hispanic Workforce: A Workshop for Employers in the Forest Industries
September 24th-25th, Princeton, WV, sponsored by USDA Forest Service’s Wood Education
and Resource Center (WERC), https://www.forestindustries.vt.edu/Managing%20Hispanic%20Workshop%20II%20Agenda%209_24_07.pdf

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the world’s sixth largest economy has taken another step toward reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by effectively prohibiting its municipalities from signing new contracts to purchase electricity from coal-fired power plants. While California has largely eliminated coal-fired power plants within its borders, it currently buys about twenty percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants in neighboring states.

“While this is certainly a significant and exciting development, it falls short of a total ban on coal-fired power in California,” said Appalachian Voices’ In-house Council, Scott Gollwitzer. “The new rules allow municipalities to renew these contracts if the carbon dioxide can be sequestered underground–an unproven technology.”

Click here for the full story from the LA Times