DHA eNews - Easy Rider 2019: Newron Builds High-Performance Wooden Electric Motorcycle
Peter Fonda's passing this week coincided with Newron Motors' plans to produce a high-end, high-performance wooden electric motorcycle with a cylindrical battery. While not the first electric motorcycle, it is definitely one of the most aggressive designs.
U.S. cabinet suppliers vigorously applauded the Department of Commerce's action to support the tentative imposition of countervailing trade duties on wooden cabinets, vanities, and components imported from China. Commerce found Chinese trade subsidies ranging from 10.97% to 229.24%.
From January to April, China imported 21.8% more logs from New Zealand and 33.8% more from Australia as log imports from Russia and the U.S. fell. Total Chinese log imports rose by 3.95%. Logs imported from the Czech Republic from January through May increased to over 350,000 tons, nearly three times more than last year.
AHEC reports that exports of U.S. hardwood lumber, logs, and veneer were lower in the first six months of 2019 vs. last year.
The public comment period is open for 2019 revisions to ANSI/HPVA EF 2012 – American National Standard For Engineered Wood Flooring. BSR/HPVA EF XXXX is being considered for approval. The publication of this notice begins the public comment period for HPVA and ANSI, which will close on October 14. To request a copy of the proposal for review and comment, email standards@decorativehardwoods.org.
In July, Columbia Forest Products marked the production of 100 million PureBond panels with a celebration with American soybean growers in Salina, KS.
Timber Products Company recently promoted Doug Clark to hardwood sales manager. Doug has been with the company since 2003.
Roseburg Forest Products received incentives of $1.3 million from an Entergy Arkansas program that helps customers reduce energy usage. The Roseburg plant in El Dorado, AR upgraded lighting and fans to save more than 9 million kilowatt-hours per year.
Russia has asked the Chinese government to take action to help reduce illegal logging in Russia by Chinese companies. Russian officials believe that some of the recent wildfires in Siberia were started by illegal loggers to help hide their activities.
A local activist has infiltrated logging companies across Cambodia and recorded reams of damaging evidence. The activist also tracked long convoys of trucks driving out of protected areas across the border into Vietnam through illegal crossings.
Experts estimate that environmental crime removes up to $259 billion from the global economy each year and accounts for 64% of organized crime finances.
The 183 signatories of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species are meeting in Geneva this month to discuss what should be done to protect species at risk of extinction, which might include imposing bans on sales or requiring permits.
The beetle was first discovered in east Tennessee in 2010. In three years, researchers expect that it will have destroyed almost 13% of middle Tennessee's entire tree canopy.
A recent study shows that invasive pests - like the emerald ash borer and gypsy moth - contribute significantly to climate change. Each year, trees killed by these pests release 5.5 teragrams of carbon into the atmosphere, an amount comparable to carbon emissions from 4.4 million cars.
Tree felling in Sweden this July was the highest recorded in nine years. The cause: the growing bark beetle infestation and forest owners clearing their damaged forests.
Forests in France have been severely damaged by long stretches of hot, dry weather that brought the worst bark beetle infestation in two decades to eastern France. Bark beetles typically reproduce twice per year; hot, dry spells enabled them to reproduce three times.
The mostly coniferous forests of the Czech Republic are facing the worst bark beetle infestation in 200 years. Experts have warned that the country's forests could be wiped out.
Only 6% of the largest timber producers and traders who operate in the tropics are acting to assess the impact of client change, which includes new tree diseases and pests due to rising global temperatures.
New research has modeled the impact of both climate change and deforestation in the Amazon. The potential loss of the sequestration of vast amounts of stored carbon would intensify climate change.