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The Outlook
March 2007
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W e l c o m e
This month we celebrate the completion of Dovetail's
Eco-Affordable Housing Project in Aitkin, Minnesota. Congratulations
to the new homeowners and a big thank you to the more that 40 area businesses
that contributed to the success of the project! The project
summary and a virtual tour of the house
are available at our website.
Our reports this month explore the topics of global
warming and tropical
forest certification. In terms of the global warming debate,
we ask: what does that discussion have to do with the debate over fossil
fuels? In terms of tropical forest certification, we look between
the lines and into the data behind claims that certification is not having
an adequate impact on sustainable forest management in the Southern Hemisphere.
Also, the commentary takes a look
at the progress we have made on sustainable forestry and what might still
need to be done.
Plenty to think
about, and just in time for Spring! Enjoy!
- Jeff
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I n T h i s I s s u e:
Dovetail
Commentary:
Sustainable
Forests: Are we there yet?
Dovetail Reports:
Global
Warming: Why Reducing Fossil Fuel Use is Essential Regardless of
the Outcome of the Climate Change Debate
Forest
Certification in the Topics
Is
the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Dovetail
News:
Virtual Tour
of Dovetail's Eco-Affordable House & Project Summary
Green Building
Program Summaries Now Available
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D o v e t a i l C o m m e n t
a r y
All commentaries are available online at: http://www.dovetailinc.org/commentaries.html
Sustainable
Forests: Are we there yet?
Dr. Jeff Howe
March 2007
Over the past
15 years significant strides have been made at both ends of the wood products
channel: in the forest with certified forestry improving forest management
practices, and in the marketplace with a growing number of well-defined
green purchasing guidelines and certification programs. There is no question
these developments have made a difference in both the forests and in the
stores. So, a relevant question is, are we there yet? Have
we achieved sufficient progress to make the concept of sustainability,
sustainable? One approach to answering this question is to look
at what is going on in the US today that impacts the future of forests
and forestry within our borders.
To read the full commentary, click
here.
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D o v e t a i l R e p o r t
s
All reports are available online.
Global
Warming: Why
Reducing Fossil Fuel Use is Essential Regardless of the Outcome of the
Climate Change Debate
Jim Bowyer
As the global warming
debate heads into the 15th round, bold action to reduce fossil fuel use
within the United States is still nowhere to be seen. But there are
a number of compelling reasons to reduce fossil fuel use that have nothing
whatsoever to do with lingering debates over global warming, and that have
major economic and strategic implications for the very near future. It
is long past time to decouple the climate change debate from considerations
of how fossil fuel consumption, and particularly crude oil consumption,
might be drastically reduced.
To download the report, click
here.
Forest
Certification in the Tropics
Is
the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Matthew Wenban-Smith
This
report argues that an objective evaluation of forest certification in
the tropics, and specifically Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification,
shows that the impacts are more significant, quantitatively and qualitatively,
than critics care to recognize. The evidence is that demand for certification
is leading to an increase in sustainable forest management in the tropics.
But certification is no quick fix, and it does not operate in isolation
of more traditional efforts to support sustainable management. Greater
governmental and intergovernmental support would enhance its impact.
To download the report, click
here.
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D o v e t a i l N e w s
Virtual
Tour of Dovetail's Eco-Affordable House & Project Summary
Dovetail's eco-affordable housing
project in Aitkin, Minnesota finished up this month, and the new homeowners
are settling in! Photos of the project
are available at the Dovetail website, including pictures
of the finished interior and some of the local, FSC-certified wood
products that were used. Short videos are also available as a "virtual
tour" of the home. A two-page
project summary is also available that explains the objects and outcomes
of the project as well as some of the green features of the home.
Watch for news about our next projects in the coming weeks!
For photos and information about
the project, click here.
Green
Building Program Introductions Now Available
Dovetail has completed
brief summaries of a number of different green building programs.
The summaries are now available at the Dovetail website. These summaries
offer an overview and introduction to a number of programs, including
BREEAM, BuiltGreen, Green Globes, GreenBuilt Home, and LEED.
To view or download
the Green Building Program Summaries, click here.
Special thanks
to Dovetail Intern, Stephanie Berkland for helping prepare the Green Building
Introductions!
“The Outlook” is the monthly e-newsletter
of Dovetail Partners Inc, a 501c3 non profit corporation.
Dovetail Partners is a highly skilled team that collaborates to develop
unique concepts, systems, programs and models to foster sustainable forestry
and catalyze responsible trade and consumption.
More than
10,000 people receive The Outlook each month.
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