It’s time to invest our tax dollars in truly environmental solutions to climate change, not false solutions like burning our forests.
We all know by now, except for the far fringe deniers, that we are in a climate crisis. Ice caps are melting, temperatures are dramatically fluctuating, sea levels are rising, and we have a small window of opportunity to take action. Unfortunately, when a crisis is at hand, there is always a small group of people hoping to make a buck off of it. For forests, we are most concerned with the risks associated with the push to burn trees for electricity or to convert them into liquid fuel as a “solution” to climate change.
Forests as a critical global carbon sink should be preserved and restored not chopped down to address the climate crisis, but in the headlong rush to find an answer, big companies and small entrepreneurs are pushing forest burning as a solution. Though science is on our side, forests are still viewed by powerful industrial interests as a “renewable” resource, we all have a strong desire to end our reliance on foreign oil and end destructive mountaintop removal coal mining domestically. Taken together, there is a loud battle cry for burning forests echoing in the halls of Congress.
Intact Southern forests are a critical component in the quest to fight the climate crisis. Rather than investing in preserving and restoring our forests, the Federal Government is investing millions of taxpayer dollars in false solutions. Most egregious is the give away to companies building biomass facilities that will burn trees to produce energy. Our forests need to be protected not burned as their solutions means more clear-cutting, more climate emissions and an unproven solution.
Federal legislators are currently considering numerous bills giving generous tax credits to the biomass industry. Congress will be voting on some of these bills very soon. Please take the time to contact your Congress members now to ask for a NO vote on new or extended tax credits for burning biomass to make electricity. You can take action here.
We are calling Congress and the Obama administration to end these taxpayer giveaways for false solutions and invest in proven methods such as conservation and efficiency, wind, and solar power. Please join us in taking action today!
Dogwood Alliance mourns the passing of longtime forest activist and talented musician Alison Cochran.
On Sunday night, longtime activist, musician and friend of our forests, Alison Cochran, passed away. Alison was a co-founder of Heartwood and served as Executive Director from 1999-2001. She also helped found Dogwood Alliance and served two separate terms on our Board of Directors. She was a great spirit, incredible facilitator, and one heck of a musician with a moving voice and deft hands on the fiddle. She will truly be missed!
Below is a short reflection from Campaign Director, Scot Quaranda, please feel free to add your own reflections to the comments…
Remembering Alison Cochran Tis the song, the sigh of the weary; Hard Times, Hard Times, come again no more: Many days you have lingered around my cabin door; Oh! Hard Times, come again no more. – Hard Times Come Again No More by Stephen Foster
I remember the first time I met Alison – it was a beautiful Autumn day at Moonshadow in the Sequatchie Valley on the Cumberland Plateau. She was in between terms on the Dogwood Alliance board of directors but agreed to facilitate our meeting as we were having a particularly contentious board meeting, though for all I remember, the conflict could have simply been over why we were holding the meeting inside the house rather then out in the forests we were working to protect. Logic won out and we got down to the real business at hand thanks to her. She was a maestra of consensus, an incredible facilitator, probably my greatest teacher – turning the acidic barbs and cautious laughter like so many ingredients in a cauldron and brewing them into a strong bond, finding that ceremonial and magical place where we could leave behind our varied scales of perception and find the common ground that would not simply move the work forward, but unite once again with common purpose assured that all was well and right and we collectively had the wisdom to overcome all obstacle and face insurmountable odds.
This was an incredible gift and no matter how hot tempers flared or how soft the voice of the quietest one in the room was she poked and prodded and pushed with a firm yet gentle touch until we were raw yet satisfied. The whole was only as great as the sum of its parts and Alison managed to make us all stronger, better, and more sure that no matter what road we took to get there, no matter how difficult the climb, that what lay ahead was going to be worth the hard work.
After that meeting she was persuaded to take another round on our board of directors and always brought that magic, ensuring the voiceless had a voice and the loudest in the room was laughing by the end rather than stewing. After her term ended, a few years passed before I saw her again. Her and her husband Chris were passing through town and offered to play a house party as a fundraiser for Dogwood Alliance. She was no longer involved in the day to day struggle of the fight for the forests or administrating and politicking that goes along with the environmental movement, but that did not steal an ounce of passion that she had for the forests, wildlife and communities that were so integral to the real meaning of why we struggle. It was Saint Brigid’s day, the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, when the increasing light of day starts to become noticeable, when everything in its winter slumber feels the first pangs of awakening, a scant moment before the trillium breaks through the leaf litter on the forest floor to let us know the days will be brighter again. The perfect time in so many ways for Allison to re-appear into our lives. She and her partner played old time tunes and bluegrass, including a particularly moving version of “Hard Times” by Stephen Foster, as we drank home brew and shined a light bright into the darkness. Her voice haunting and her fiddle hitting the perfect timbre of the mood.
Alison was a true warrior of light who won you over not with an aggressive nature or by overwhelming you with depressing facts but instead by accepting the truth within you and helping you to find the truth in everyone. She will be truly missed!
Photos Courtesy of Andy Mahler and Heartwood
A short window of opportunity to demand the USDA deny ArborGen permits to do a widescale planting of genetically engineered Eucalyptus in the Southern US…
ACTION NEEDED BY 18 February! Tell the USDA NO WAY to ArborGen’s Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus Frankentrees
In an unprecedented move toward commercial large-scale release of genetically engineered (GE) forest trees in the United States, ArborGen is petitioning the U.S. government for permission to plant an estimated 260,000 flowering GE eucalyptus trees across seven southern U.S. states in so-called “field trials.”
The mass-planting of 260,000 flowering GE eucalyptus trees is a major step toward the unregulated development of large-scale GE eucalyptus plantations in the U.S. ArborGen has also requested permission to develop large-scale commercial plantations of GE cold tolerant eucalyptus across the U.S. South which the USDA has not yet ruled on.
Government approval of GE eucalyptus trees will set a dangerous precedent to allow the release of other experimental GE forest trees, including poplars and pines, that would inevitably and irreversibly contaminate native trees with destructive GE traits, devastating forest ecosystems and wildlife. Once GE trees escape, there is no way to call them back.
The only way to prevent the genetic contamination of forests is to ban the commercial release of GE trees before it is too late.
Tell the USDA that GE cold-tolerant eucalyptus plantations pose an unprecedented threat to U.S. forests, wildlife and communities. Tell them to reject ArborGen’s request to plant more than a quarter of a million dangerous invasive GE trees across the Southern U.S. Since these field trials are a concrete step toward unregulated commercial growing of dangerous GE eucalyptus, they must be rejected.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION
Additionally, a recent article in “Scientific American” addresses the inevitability of genetically engineered trees being introduced to the Southern United States. (IP), the infamous character in the story of forest destruction is back in the spotlight as the major proponent of replacing the South’s native forests with the genetically engineered eucalyptus. Along with MeadWestvaco, another industry giant and ArborGen, their joint biotech venture, IP seeks government deregulation of the GE eucalyptus so that it can be used on a massive scale in the near future. As of now we are unsure of the capability for the eucalyptus to become invasive. Because of these uncertainties, there is a need for longer and more intense scientific trials that can prove the efficacy of its containment.
However, IP and its allies are more interested in the speedy introduction of GE trees in order to quickly increase their production and profit. Invasive species can be a serious threat to natural forests, wildlife habitat, clean water and ecosystems as a whole. Due to the possibility of serious consequences caused by the introduction of GE trees, it is imperative that IP be held accountable and take into consideration the future safety and presence of the South’s native forests. Read the whole story and reader feedback here: http://www.scientificamerican.
Groups Force USDA to Re-release Draft Environmental Assessment on Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus Trees for Southern U.S. Forests: Original Assessment Lacked Key U.S. Forest Service Hydrological Studies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture re-released their draft environmental assessment [1] regarding a request by ArborGen, a subsidiary of timber giants and MeadWestvaco, to plant over a quarter of a million genetically engineered eucalyptus trees in so-called “test plots” across seven southern U.S. states. [2]
“If these invasive GE eucalyptus are planted across the South on this large of a scale, it is highly likely that fertile seeds will escape into surrounding forests,” said Dr. Neil Carman, a plant scientist with the Sierra Club. “This is a major problem since eucalyptus is already known for its invasiveness. Once they escape into the forests, there is no way to call them back. It would be an ecological nightmare for southern forests.”
The environmental assessment was re-released by the USDA after groups concerned about the environmental impacts of transgenic eucalyptus trees pointed out that the assessment was missing key hydrological studies conducted by the U.S. Forest Service that directly refute the conclusions of the USDA’s draft environmental assessment which recommend approving ArborGen’s request. The USFS studies point out that eucalyptus trees have heavy water requirements and can seriously impact ground and surface water reserves. [3]
The USDA is seeking public comments on their draft environmental assessment through February 18th, 2010. [4]
“In countries that are already suffering the impacts of large-scale eucalyptus plantations–like Brazil, Chile and South Africa–people have organized massive campaigns against them,” stated Anne Petermann, Executive Director of Global Justice Ecology Project and North American representative of the Global Forest Coalition. “This is because eucalyptus plantations have devastated forests and communities. In Brazil, the Mata Atlantica forest has been all but wiped out by eucalyptus plantations. In Chile, communities living near eucalyptus plantations have lost their access to fresh water.”
Other new information in the assessment reveals that some of the supposedly infertile engineered eucalyptus trees in existing field trials produced fertile seeds. Eucalyptus is a non-native tree and numerous species of eucalyptus are already considered invasive. This new transgenic (or GMO) eucalyptus has been engineered to tolerate colder temperatures giving it the potential for invading forest ecosystems throughout the South.
“I had hoped that the disaster of kudzu would have taught us the consequences of releasing invasive species into the environment,” agreed Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director for the Dogwood Alliance. “Instead, ArborGen wants to release invasive GE eucalyptus trees. Unlike kudzu, however, these trees are not only invasive, they are also highly flammable and use huge quantities of fresh water. California is already spending millions to eradicate invasive and flammable eucalyptus trees. We do not want these invasive trees to be mass-planted in the South.”
The STOP GE Trees Campaign [5] is working with the Center for Food Safety on plans to stop ArborGen’s proposal to release hundreds of thousands of genetically engineered eucalyptus trees across the U.S. South. “This is a very slippery slope,” warns George Kimbrell, an attorney for the Center for Food Safety. “Allowing the release of these GE eucalyptus trees will set a legal precedent that could allow the release of genetically engineered poplars or pines–which have wild relatives across the continent. The commercial release of engineered versions of native trees would lead to the contamination of forests with engineered pollen. Once this occurs there is absolutely nothing that can be done to stop the further contamination of more forests. We have to stop the release of GE trees before this contamination occurs.”
The public is encouraged to submit comments to the USDA regarding the ArborGen proposal to release 260,000 genetically engineered cold tolerant eucalyptus trees across seven southern states. For details on this, please visit: http://www.globaljusticeecology.org/stopgetrees.php?tabs=0
[1] To download the USDA’s December 17, 2009 revised draft environmental assessment, go to: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/08_014101rm_ea2.pdf
[2] The seven states targeted for ArborGen’s GE eucalyptus deployment are South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
[3] The summary findings of the USFS with regard to the impacts of eucalyptus plantations on water resources can be found on page 57 of the new USDA draft environmental assessment. These findings include the fact that the water usage by eucalyptus plantations is at least double the water usage by other forest types, and that afforestation to eucalyptus plantations will reduce stream flow, lower the water table and affect groundwater recharge.
[4] Comments to the USDA can be submitted at: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=09000064809c344a
[5] Global Justice Ecology Project coordinates the STOP Genetically Engineered Trees Campaign. The Sierra Club and Dogwood Alliance are part of the Steering Committee for the Campaign. For more information on the campaign, go to: http://www.nogetrees.org.
Look out Fast Food Giant – you know who you are…
As we move into a new decade, we’re excited to kick off the New Year with a new face in the office. In early January, we hired Lindsey Simerly as our new organizer to help take our No Free Refills campaign (targeting the fast food industry) to a whole new level. Lindsey brings a wealth of community organizing experience to our team.
At 23 years old, Lindsey decided to run for City Council in Asheville, campaigning using only her bike for transportation, pushing a progressive environmental and social agenda and generating new interest in local politics from young voters. Since then, she has become a celebrity-like organizer in town, most recently playing a major role in the successfull campaigns of progressive political candidates.
Lindsey couldn’t have joined Dogwood Alliance at a better time. We’ve successfully leveraged change with most of the largest corporate consumers of office paper and some of the biggest consumers of paper packaging. Even some of the big paper producers in the South are making real improvements. But, (IP) and one of its big fast food customers continue to lag behind, and stand in the way of broad sweeping protection for Southern forests.
On the cutting edge of online organizing and with creative, out-of-the-box strategic thinking, Lindsey is a real asset to Dogwood as we gear up for a fun and exciting new campaign that challenges one of the biggest fast food giants in the world to stop destroying Southern forests with their wasteful paper packaging. Stay tuned….our packaging campaign is about to get really fun!
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