The Outlook, August 2009

The Outlook

August 2009

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W e l c o m e


This month, in addition to new reports on environmental comparisons of flooring materials and forest-sector business clusters, I invite you to be a supporter of Dovetail Partners.  As a non-profit organization, we rely on your support to continue to be a trusted source of information.  If you are considering making a gift, but haven’t yet, we want you to know that your support makes a big difference. We know that you appreciate the work that we do, and we want you to know that the collective impact of everyone’s gift is what fuels us.

 

For the past five years, Dovetail Partners has delivered monthly newsletters with news, information and commentary about environmental issues and trends.  With more than 80 reports now available, we have added new insights to debates such as:
- Assessing the environmental impacts of bamboo and other rapidly-renewable materials
- Accounting for long-lived wood products in carbon credit protocols
- Developing effective green building programs and standards
- Responsible bioenergy and biofuels development


Dovetail’s work has been re-printed and cited in publications and media outlets as diverse as a Congressional Research Service Report, Doors and Hardware magazine, the Forest Products Journal, Conservation Magazine, Environmental Design + Construction, Minnesota Public Radio and local Minnesota newspapers like the Aitkin Age, Duluth News Tribune and the Morris Sun Tribune.

 

Here is what some of Dovetail’s newsletter readers have had to say:

- Dovetail reports are exceptionally well done, and constitute one of the best sources of information on energy, green building, and certification. – Madison, WI
- Your reports are outstanding. – Minneapolis, MN
- I really enjoy reading articles by Dovetail. They are the smartest and most relevant reading that I have found anywhere. Keep up the good work!!!!  - Boise, ID
- I really appreciate the work that you do. Your reports are timely, credible and unbiased. –  Portland, OR
- Dovetails Newsletter is the only on-line newsletter that I always read. - Anonymous
- I always look forward to your newsletters and find them very useful. It is rare when I don't find something there to forward to a colleague. – Ann Arbor, MI

 

Each donation helps us leverage additional support and helps us continue to provide timely, well-researched environmental information. We encourage you to make a donation in any size or manner that is convenient for you. Donations can be made via check, credit card or through the transfer of stocks or securities. Please use the donation form at our website or contact us for more information (http://www.dovetailinc.org/content/donate)

 

Donate to Dovetail – today!
http://www.dovetailinc.org/content/donate

 

Enjoy!

 

- Jeff


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If you've missed anything from our previous newsletters and are looking for information about green building, responsible materials, organizational development or certification programs, you can find our full library of information at our website: http://dovetailinc.org/reports.  Dovetail has more than 80 reports available!

 

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D o v e t a i l   R e p o r t s:


Life Cycle Assessment of Flooring Materials: A Guide to Intelligent Selection


Jim Bowyer

 

Homeowners have a number of flooring options from which to choose. Options include ceramic tile, vinyl, linoleum, bamboo, hardwood, carpet made of natural or a variety of synthetic fibers, and more. The differences in environmental impacts between these various options are large. For those interested in minimizing the environmental impacts associated with their choice of flooring material, finding reliable information about the impacts and trade-offs can be daunting.
This report examines available life cycle assessment data for a number of flooring products. Research findings and assessment data from around the world are reported and summarized.


To view and download the full report, click here.

http://www.dovetailinc.org/files/DovetailFloors0809.pdf




Forest-Based Economic Clusters: Models for Sustainable Economic Development

Steve Bratkovich
The concept of “business clustering” has gained increased attention in recent years as public and private sector interests have attempted to identify strategic opportunities for economic development. Cluster development may also be strategically beneficial to emerging bio- bioenergy, biochemicals and related industry development.
In the most general terms, a “cluster” is any instance of closely located (i.e., geographic proximity) and closely aligned operations (i.e., high frequency or number of transactions, or closely related product lines). For a cluster to be maintained, it is also necessary that the parties involved derive mutual benefit. Clusters can be formal (e.g., trade associations, buyer groups, cooperatives) or informal (e.g., friends, family, neighbors) and may or may not include traditional financial interactions (e.g., the cluster may be based upon barter of goods and/or services). One appealing characteristic of clusters is that they often appear to provide benefits of efficiency, enhanced productivity and greater resiliency due to synergies and relationships they support. On the other hand, clusters may also be viewed as creating conditions of co-dependence, which may limit any individual participant’s ability to innovate. Interdependence could also contribute to the quick demise of enterprises due to significant changes in economic, social, or environmental conditions.
In 2008, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities commissioned a study to examine the status of and opportunities for business clustering within the U.S. forest products sector and other closely aligned sectors.* For the purposes of that study, the focus was on forest industry clusters. The study defined an industry cluster as “a group of firms and institutions located in close proximity whose businesses are interlinked through value and supply chains, labor, and use of similar inputs, technology, and complementary products.”
This report discusses some of the findings from the recent study of U.S. forest sector clusters, highlights the conditions needed to increase the likelihood of success of any business cluster, and provides opportunities for new cluster development.
To view and download the full report, click here.
http://www.dovetailinc.org/files/DovetailEconClustering0809.pdf

 




*Funded by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Inc., the project partners were the Forest and Wildlife Research Center of Mississippi State University, the Department of Forestry at the University of Missouri and Dovetail Partners, Inc. The complete project report and materials are available at the U.S. Endowment website: http://www.usendowment.org

 



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Intermediate Treatments - Online Video Forest Tour

  • At the end of July, land managers from Minnesota and members of the Seeing the Forest AND the Trees study group, toured forests in north-central Minnesota managed by the Aitkin County Land Department.

     

    Intermediate treatments include management activities, such as thinning, that occur during the life of a forest stand and can help meet diverse management objectives, including increased productivity.

     

    The tour included a review of intermediate treatments in different forest types, including pine, aspen and hardwood stands. Cut-to-length and conventional harvesting systems were used in the treatments.  One of the key recommendations from the tour is to continue to support forester and logger training activities that increase the understanding and practice of intermediate treatments.

     

  • To view an online 10-minute video of the tour:

    http://www.dovetailinc.org/content/forest-tour


 


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