The Outlook
December 2005

Welcome  

In our December tradition, this edition of the newsletter offers you a listing of our 2005 publications. We covered some varied territory this year, and now we invite you to both visit our website to view the results and drop us a note to let us know what still needs to be explored. Also, in the interest of feedback, if you haven't yet, please take a moment to complete our short survey about forest certification:
http://www.dovetailinc.org/survey.php .

Lastly, in the hopes of giving you a little something to debate with the in-laws over the holidays, we have included a commentary with some thoughts on what real change might look like and how shocking that really may or may not be.

With our best wishes for a a wonderful Holiday Season and the happiest of New Years!

- Jeff      - Phil     - Katie    - Jim    - Patrick

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I n  T h i s  I s s u e:

Dovetail Commentary: A National New Year's Resolution

Dovetail Publications 2005: The Year in Review

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D o v e t a i l   C o m m e n t a r y

A National New Year's Resolution
Dr. Jeff Howe

Remember the song, “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” so popular years ago? Well this year, all I want is some indication that we as a nation have the willingness and understanding that we can make a difference in the world if we really want to. Oh, I will admit that I am as guilty as anyone else. Environmental issues really only bother me when they impact me directly, and I have a difficult time changing my behavior when it seems my individual ability to make a real difference is so small as to be meaningless. I know all the arguments about how every little bit helps, but for me there is a bigger question and it is twofold. Could Americans really make a major reduction in the volume of goods we purchase and Could we do this without having a dramatic negative impact on our quality of life?

Maybe, but even thinking this through as a possibility requires consideration of a series of very different behaviors, the first of which is the choice of where to live.

To read more, click here.

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D o v e t a i l   P u b l i c a t i o n s   2 0 0 5

The Outlook, January 2005
Dovetail Commentary: Making Sure LEED® Leads
Life Cycle Analysis:  A Key to Better Environmental Decisions
Beginner's Guide to Third-Party Forest Certification: Shining a Light on the Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

The Outlook, February 2005
Dovetail Commentary: When 1+ 1 = 3!
Why Not in My Back Yard?
Beginner's Guide to the International Standards Organization (ISO): Fitting ISO with Forest Certification

The Outlook, March 2005
Dovetail Commentary: Adding Value & Getting Your Coconuts
Bamboo Flooring: Environmental Silver Bullet or Faux Savior?

The Outlook, April 2005
Dovetail Commentary: What Green Building has to do with Ants at a Picnic and a Billion Chinese
Paper Recycling in the United States: How Are We Doing Compared to Other Nations?
A Beginner's Guide to Green Building: What the Forest Sector Needs to Know about USGBC & LEED
Global Competition: An Opportunity for Our Domestic Wood Products Industry

The Outlook, May 2005
Dovetail Commentary: I'm Feeling Guilty - and I'm Not Catholic
Bio-Energy: Momentum is Building for Large Scale Development
Chain-of-Custody Certification: What is It, Why do It, and How?

The Outlook, June 2005 
Redesigned Dovetail Website: Check out the Search Engine!
Where we've been - Dovetail Reports To-Date
Where we're going - Dovetail Reports On-Deck
Feedback, Feedback, Feedback

The Outlook, July 2005 
Dovetail Commentary: Baseball, Cowboy Hats, and Marketing 101
The U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry: a Key Player in the Coming Bio-revolution
Organizational Vision & Planning: If you don't know where you're going, any path will get you there!

The Outlook, August 2005 
Dovetail Commentary: Making Flutes From Sticks
Reduced Impact Logging: A Lighter Approach to Harvesting in the World's Tropical Forests
Fundamentals of Marketing: Managing Markets, Products, Channels, and Programs

The Outlook, September 2005
Dovetail Commentary: What A Caveman Would Tell Today's Wood Industry
Are Life Cycle-Based Labeling and a Broadening of Environmental Certification Programs Needed?
How Do the FSC & SFI Standards Address the Forest Service's Four Threats?
Creating Great Plans: Planning Processes that Work!

The Outlook, October 2005
Dovetail Commentary: Beyond Forest Certification
Fast-Growth Tree Plantations for Wood Production - Environmental Threat or a Means of "Saving" Natural Forests?
The Role of Stakeholder Consultation in Forest Certification Assessments: Its Critical Importance and Making it More Effective

The Outlook, November 2005
Dovetail Commentary: Voluntary Environmental Certification: Is regulation the answer?
Seeking Sustainability: Critically Important Issues Remain Off the Table

The Outlook, December 2005 
Dovetail Commentary: A National New Year's Resolution
Dovetail Publications 2005: A Year in Review