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Our forests as fuel? The devil is in the details

July 14, 2010 By Nora Johnson

Biomass project in Lambert Creek, Oregon. Courtesy BLM.

Some folks argue that burning trees as an energy source — either for heat or electricity — is a “carbon neutral” resource — one that takes away as much carbon as it releases. It seems logical — new trees grow in the place of those that were cut down, and the new ones can absorb whatever carbon was released when the original tree was cut and later burned. However, as with many things, the devil is in the details. Read more

Help wildlands this Earth Day! Tip #7: Become a citizen scientist

April 19, 2010 By Kathy Kilmer

Caribou migrating through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Photo by Ken Whitten.

From now until Earth Day, we invite you to read our daily staff tips on how you can make a difference for wildlands. One day in early May, a cow from the Porcupine Caribou Herd will begin her northward migration from Canada to the Arctic Ocean. She will be followed by tens of thousands like her, pregnant cows that will trek across hundreds of miles of snow-covered territory to get to their calving grounds in Alaska. Previous Tips Tip 1: Speak up for our nation's forests. Read more

Who’s behind the bogus climate ‘science’ campaign?

September 25, 2009 By Spencer R. Phillips, Ph.D.

An article in today’s Washington Post calls attention to the latest industry front group of climate-change deniers. According to the Post, the men behind the campaign are H. Leighton Steward, a veteran oil industry executive and Corbin J. Robertson Jr., chief executive of and leading shareholder in Natural Resource Partners, a coal resource owner that lets other companies mine in return for royalties. Read more

Ecologist Wendy Loya helps agencies plan for future change

June 23, 2009 By Anne Gore

Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Photo by David Spencer, Courtesy FWS.

Alaska is ground zero for global warming. Temperatures here are rising faster than anywhere else in the world, and the kinds of things scientists have been warning about for years — hotter and drier summers, more wild fires, insect outbreaks, and unusual weather patterns — are already posing some unprecedented threats for the state’s natural resources. Read more

Microbiologist Tom DeLuca studies 'the tiny' to find big answers on climate change

May 14, 2009 By Laura Bailey

DeLuca leading group to field project. Courtesy Tom DeLuca.

Listen to ecologist Dr. Tom DeLuca talk about his research trips to the remote area of northern Sweden and you’ll be treated to an ecological mystery story. Birch forests once filled an open valley in the mountains between Sweden and Norway just north of the Arctic Circle, but sometime around 1000 years ago the trees disappeared. All that remains today is an open vista and the collapse of an ecosystem, says Dr. Tom DeLuca Senior Forest Ecologist with The Wilderness Society. Read more

Science, the Obama Administration and a new era of reason

February 3, 2009 By Spencer R. Phillips, Ph.D.

Ahhh, Science! Hardworking, honest and, until recently, greatly under-valued and disregarded government scientists have been greatly cheered, even moved, by President Obama’s inaugural pledge to “restore science to its rightful place.” The government scientists are not alone. Read more