ed Logic currently manufactures UltraTouch, a LEED eligible, environmentally safe, non-itch insulation made from natural fibers. It offers acoustic and thermal performance without using fiberglass, formaldehyde or chemical irritants.
Village Begins Global Commerce in Certified Wood Products
Pueblo Nuevo of Durango has become the first community in Mexico to sell its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified lumber to a major international furniture company. In December, they delivered a container of furniture parts to SitWell, a company that manufactures sofas for the international IKEA company.
“This achievement ensures employment for qualified local labor, increased added value for the wood, a direct deal without unnecessary intermediaries and greater direct economic benefits for the community of Pueblo Nuevo, said Juan de Dios Bermúdez, Coordinator of the Market Relations and Forestry Production Program of the Rainforest Alliance in the state of Durango.
A total of 208,863 acres (84,560 hectares) of forests owned by the Pueblo Nuevo community are certified by SmartWood/FSC.
“IKEA is fulfilling its commitment to buy products from soundly managed forests, and the Pueblo Nuevo community is demonstrating its capacity to capture part of the international market's growing demand for certified wood,” explains Abraham Guillén, Head of Market Development for the Rainforest Alliance's TREES Program (Training, Research, Extension, Education and Systems of Certification). “The fact that the Pueblo Nuevo community has caught IKEA's attention to begin a mutually beneficial commercial relationship is proof that community forestry operations in Mexico can be competitive globally, as long as the demand for certified products matches their sustainable supply capacities and available resources.”
As part of this initiative, Durango's community forestry operations have received support from a number of organizations working with the Rainforest Alliance, including the International Program of the US Forest Service and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which have stimulated the development of forestry management capacities, product quality and marketing in Mexico.
Group Sets Site on Energy Independence, Job Growth
An unusual alliance of labor, environmental, civil rights, business and political leaders today laid out a vision for a "New Apollo Project" to create 3.3 million new jobs and achieve energy independence in ten years. Named after President Kennedy's moon program, which inspired a major national commitment to the aerospace industry, the Apollo Alliance aims to unify the country behind a ten-year program of strategic investment for clean energy technology and new infrastructure.
The Alliance also announced that it has received support from 17 of America's largest labor unions, including the United Auto Workers, the Steelworkers and Machinists, as well as a broad cross section of the environmental movement, including the Sierra Club, the NRDC, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Greenpeace.
Dr. Ray Perryman, a corporate economist from Texas who prepared a detailed economic analysis of the proposal for a New Apollo Project said, "If economists agree on anything it's that inventing new technologies and creating whole new industries is what America does best. We are a creative economy, not a commodity economy. The New Apollo Project would keep us on the cutting edge of manufacturing emerging technologies and secure our long-term prosperity."
Perryman concluded that the proposed tax credits and investments would create 3.3 million new, high-wage jobs for manufacturing, construction, transportation, high-tech, and public sector workers, while reducing dependence on imported oil and cleaning the air. Perryman's analysis shows that a New Apollo Project would also position the U.S. to take the lead in fast-growing markets, dramatically reduce the trade deficit and more than pay for itself in energy savings and returns to the U.S. Treasury. Perryman's study was based on an input-output analysis of impacts on key industr