Pakistan Floods and the Timber Mafia

'Timber mafia' made floods worse - Flood of Misery - Al Jazeera English

Illegal logging is cited as one of the reasons behind the ferocity of floods in Pakistan.

Here is another reason why we like frame moldings that with FSC certified methods and made in the US if possible - this shows the risks associated with uncontrolled deforestation - which is devastating forests worldwide

Recycle your old frame corners into a roof detail??

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/03/garden/03recycle.html?_r=2

check this out... interesting application of materials - I have always wondered what to do with all those old frame corners.... here is a one man's albeit time consuming solution.

photo by Michael Stravato for The New York Times

The ultimate resource to off grid living and experimentation.

Vela Creations is a Husband and wife team that takes off the grid to a new level - blending tradition and new ideas to live in harmony the Planet - would that not be nice? OK - hard to live without all the laptops, Iphones, S/S appliances and fuel efficient hybrid coaches but this is interesting...

great site - with lots of information about everything for concrete to tools to energy systems to livestock. Bravo.

VelaCreations.com -

About the PEFC - overview

The PEFC Council (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certification. The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests.

PEFC is a global umbrella organisation for the assessment of and mutual recognition of national forest certification schemes developed in a multi-stakeholder process. These national schemes build upon the inter-governmental processes for the promotion of sustainable forest management, a series of on-going mechanisms supported by 149 governments in the world covering 85% of the world's forest area.

PEFC has in its membership 35 independent national forest certification systems of which 25 to date have been through a rigorous assessment process involving public consultation and the use of independent assessors to provide the assessments on which mutual recognition decisions are taken by the membership. These 25 systems account for more than 200 million hectares of certified forests producing millions of tonnes of certified timber to the market place making PEFC the world's largest certification system. The other national members schemes are at various stages of development and are working towards mutual recognition under the PEFC processes.

for more information:
www.PEFC.org

Certified PEFC matting from Larson

Larson is going in the right direction with their new line of mat boards - they are created using PEFC certified wood sources (the worlds largest forestry certification program - more on that later) These are an alternative to 100% cotton matting, also an eco-friendly product, and to conventional papermats which are not necessarily.

Larson, has taken an active role in moving its manufacturing operations in a green direction in various manners.

Larson-Juhl is offering a Biltmore line of FSC certified Artique matboards - another first in the industry. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the fastest growing forest certification system in the world. Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers the products come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations.

more research to do here is on the how creating mat boards with "trees" compares to using cotton as the pricing is relatively similar.

Intercom frame

here is a novel approach to recycling old frames - put it around your intercom...a little decor goes a long way - and in this case - does not end up in landfill - good show

Bill Joy speaks on the future of Green investing