Vote Hemp

When your job is to air the dirty laundry of the world’s worst loggers, you get asked a lot about alternatives to wood. There are, of course, many.

This week, the California State Assembly (that’s a legislature to all you non-Californians) considers one of the most economically and ecologically promising of those alternatives–Hemp. Sponsored by San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act (AB1147) would lift state ban on production of Hemp through a licensing program for farmers interested in growing the product.

Bi-partisan sponsors of the bill are expecting a close vote on the floor next week. If you live in California and haven’t weighed in yet, be sure to send a letter to your Assembly Member today.

http://ga3.org/campaign/hemp

Hemp, of course, has been around for some time. From around 1900 to 1920 hemp was grown as a commercial crop in California, providing a more sustainable source of fiber for paper, industrial oils, textiles and a host of other products. In fact, hemp is twice as productive as pine by acre as a source of paper fiber. Today, hemp has to be imported from Canada–go figure.

For all you ever wanted to know about hemp, the fast-growing hemp industry, visit our friends at VoteHemp.com.

Side note: Hemp was banned over fears that it was a drug. For an interesting read about the very strange “reefer madness” scare spurred in part by San Francisco’s infamous media magnate William Randolph Hearst in the 1930’s (and its connections to industrial forestry) see this commentary from ABC’s Hugh Downs circa 1990.

There's no Place Like Home

A Picture Share!
Originally uploaded by branto.

At home for the holidays and what to my wandering eyes should appear? The Wizard of Oz playing at Boise's Egyptian Theater. What luck!

How could I resist sharing the snapshot?

If a tree falls...

Urban Forest
Originally uploaded by branto.

It's Tuesday afternoon in downtown San Francisco. Office denizens scurry about the financial district foraging for food. I am with a small flock of displaced marbled murrelets descending on the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein to lodge an urgent plea for the conservation the murrelets 2000 year old redwood forest home, Nanning Creek (see more pictures of the 'fly in' here).
It is the latest chapter in the fight to preserve the world's last remaining stands of ancient redwood forest.

Unfortunately, most folks stopped following the story after Feinstein successfully brokered a deal to purchase and protect 10,000 acres of coastal redwoods from Pacific Lumber back in 1999.

The deal, of course, was a good thing. Without it, those 10,000 acres would be facing the same fate as Nanning Creek. The tragedy is that just six years later, Charles Hurwitz, President of Pacific Lumber's parent company Maxxam is driving the company into a financial nose dive, and taking the forests down with it.

According to a really excellent article by Christopher Helman in the latest Forbes,

"Absent some regulatory relief Maxxam's timber business, according to the latest filings, may be forced to sell off operations and file for Chapter 11. At a recent $33 Maxxam's shares are trading at half what they were six years ago. Any other chief executive would have been booted by now. But Hurwitz controls 76% of the voting shares."

The company is in its final death throws, making a last ditch effort to placate its creditors by liquidating a global treasure.

Nobody--including the hapless 'consumer' who buys the decks and patio furniture that these forests will produce--wants to see an ancient redwood forest fall. What's missing is a critical mass of awareness and action to generate the political leverage to stop it.

Groups like EPIC and WeSave Trees.org are working to keep the pressure on in the courts and in the woods, but they need help to get the word out. Click on the links above to lend 'em a hand and send a letter to the editor of your favorite paper while you're at it.

Our first tree!

Our first tree!
Originally uploaded by branto.

It's official. The holiday season is upon us -- and we have a tree to prove it. And this is not just any tree mind you, it's the best tree in all of San Francisco. We saw them all, so I say this with confidence.

Happy Holidays everybody!

And for your listening pleasure, I encourage you to check out this compilation of Christmas mashups.

Day of Intervention

IMG_2858
Originally uploaded by Toben D.

The folks at Jumpstart Ford spent the afternoon at an adopted dealership--Broadway Ford in Oakland. This was the second time that we've paid these folks a visit. Our small group was one of more than four dozen events at Ford Dealerships across the US, Canada and even London.

The highlight for me was listening to an Iraq war vetran tell stories of her personal struggle to fight a war for oil that she opposed.

Marc from Plugin America was also on hand showing off his solar-powered Electric RAV 4. These guys say it's now possible to drive from Reno to LA on solar power. Thanks to a network ofCharging stations built by Electric Vehichle enthusiasts along the coast. A five hour charge takes them 100 to 120 miles.