Lawmakers Finish Farm Bill as White House Repeats Opposition
Congressional negotiators announced a final agreement on a $300B farm bill Thursday, as the White House and key conservatives continued to signal opposition to the legislation.
Lawmakers Make Strides On Farm Measure
Details of the legislation are expected to be unveiled Thursday on Capitol Hill.
Harkin Calls on EPA to Continue Renewable Fuel Standards
‘There is no question rising food prices are turning into a global concern, but the call for EPA to halt the growth in U.S. ethanol use and cut short the promise of biofuels for our nation’s energy security is without merit.’
Farm Bill Stuck On Sugar-Support Proposal
The initiatives a priority for House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, a Democrat whose rural Minnesota district is among the nation's top producers of sugar beets.
Maine Trucks Roll on D.C.
The Coalition to Lower Fuel Prices In Maine began as one determined voice on a tired Friday afternoon and has grown largely in part to the faith of Maine people. People who want more from life, for themselves, their families, their state and their nation.
TN: IP Plant Explosion Kills Worker
A boiler exploded on Saturday at an International Paper mill in western Mississippi, killing a contract worker and injuring 17 others.
Farm Bill Upends Normal Political Order
Bush/Pelosi are on a collision course over the farm bill. Bush is aligned with liberal activists pushing for reform. Pelosi’s protecting billions in subsidies to the richest farmers.
Beetle-Ravaged Forests Prompt Campground Closures in Rockies
An abundance of aging lodgepole pines that haven't been thinned by fires have allowed populations of bark beetles to explode, infesting nearly 3,600 square miles of forest in Colorado/Wyoming.
ME: Paper Companies with Mills Going Public
Two paper companies with operations in Maine -- NewPage and Verso -- have filed for public ownership.
CAN: Hope Fades for Mill Workers 08
The Supreme Court of B.C. in Vancouver will determine the fate of Nanaimo's Harmac pulp mill this morning.
AZ: Forest Proposes Recreation Fee Changes
Fee changes are proposed at 31 recreation sites. The proposal would remove fees at 2 sites and increase fees at 29 sites.
Agencies Issue Plan to Run Columbia Dams, Preserve Salmon
Salmon advocates blasted them as a step backward, saying they depend not enough on reducing the high numbers of young salmon killed by 14 dams on their way to the sea.
OR: Sea Lions Shot Dead on Columbia River as Salmon Battle Rages
Over the weekend, federally protected sea lions were easy prey for a gunman who shot/killed six sea lions laying in traps meant to humanely catch them.
CO: BLM Defers Leases in Rio Grande National Forest
The BLM announced deferral of 84 parcels from its 5/8 oil/gas lease sale “until additional analysis can be completed.”
VA: State Gets a New Forest
The land, known locally as Brumley Mountain, was purchased from The Nature Conservancy for nearly $3.8 million.
NM: Officials say Wildfire has Burned Nearly 60 Homes
The 50 homes went up Wednesday after the fire jumped containment lines.
CA: Sierra Madre Wildfire is Fully Contained
Farm Bill Conference Includes Measure To Close Enron Loophole
Since 2000, the "Enron Loophole" has exempted electronic energy markets for large traders from government oversight.
New Farm Bill Retains Big Crop Subsidies
Food Scientists Say Stop Biofuels; Pres. Bush Says Opposite
Bush declared the United States should increase ethanol use because of national energy security and high gas prices.
Log Trucker Optimistic About TRUCC Act Following DC Protest
CAN: Pulp Deal Cancellation Jolts Industry
Asia Pulp & Paper terminated a deal Friday to buy three pulp mills from insolvent Pope & Talbot, sending shock waves through the two British Columbia mills where the future of over 800 workers is now in jeopardy.
Al Gore's Climate Solutions Fund Closes $638 Million
The fund will be focused on equity investments in small companies in four sectors: renewable energy; energy efficiency technologies; energy from biofuels and biomass; and the carbon trading markets.
High Energy Costs From Climate Bills
Projected cost increases per household ranged from $76 a year more to as much as $723 a year more by 2030.
House OKs Massive Public Lands Bill
Michaud/Allen voted yes. The massive bill advances water projects across the country, combining 62 proposals related to public lands coast to coast.
ME: Wood-Pellet Industry Shows Great Promise
While the state/federal government have been helpful with grants/loans to get the pellet operations up/running, there's more room for [state] assistance.
WI: Energy Conference Puts Focus on Paper Industry
The purpose of the forum is to exchange ideas and create an open discussion on how Wisconsin's paper industry can implement energy saving ideas.
Haiti Trade Provision Stirs Debate Over Farm Bill
Haiti would benefit from trade preferences Rep. Rangel wants in the farm bill, but the move risks injecting trade politics into legislation already stirring controversy over farm subsidies.
Grain Companies' Profits Soar As Global Food Crisis Mounts
One cause of rising prices is the growing use of crops for biofuels, a trend critics say needs to be curtailed.
McCain Tells Iowans He'd Veto Farm Bill
"I do not support it. I would veto it," he said. "I would do that because I believe that the subsidies are unnecessary."
WA: USFS Plan to Close Some Sites, Save Money
The USFS released a draft report Friday of a two-year analysis of all 359 developed recreation sites in the two forests.
CA: Wildfire Forces Evacuation 100 Homes
Authorities say about 100 homes are being evacuated as a 100-acre wildfire in Southern California's Angeles National Forest creeps closer to neighborhoods in Sierra Madre.
The Real Cost of Tackling Climate Change
Claims on behalf of alternative energy sources do not match up to the scale of energy required, or aren’t cost-competitive in current form.How will we make up the difference?
Farm Bill Leaves Safety Net Intact
A farm bill appears to fall short of Bush's goal of big cuts in subsidies to affluent farmers. Will Mr. Bush will sign it?
Negotiators Reach Tentative Farm Bill Deal
The outline includes an $861M increase for nutrition programs, partially paid for by slashing crop subsidies by $400M and cutting a program to pay farmers for ruined crops by $250M.
House-Senate Conferees OK Farm Bill Outline
"From what I have seen, this deal looks like a nightmare for those who were hoping for a better farm bill," said Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.
Timber Firms Push Farm-Bill Tax Cuts
The proposal would eliminate tax disparities among timber competitors, and would create a new deduction that effectively lowers Weyerhaeuser's top income-tax rate to 15% from 35%.
ALRA: HR 2421 National Land Control Bill
If you own land, you are affected. The Real Goal of HR 2421, the Clean Water Restoration Act is to give Corps and EPA control of all watersheds which means national land use control. It will give the Corps and EPA control over your property.
TRUCC Act Would Require 100% Pass-Thru of Fuel Surcharges
Haggling Over Farm Bill Hurts Those On Food Aid
The House and Senate voted Thursday to extend for one more week the 2002 version of the farm bill. Senate/House negotiators are haggling over various tax incentives.
Kimball Says Wildfire Season Starting Out Busy
Kimbell says a proposal in Congress to establish a fund to pay for catastrophic wildfires would help. The USFS spends about half its roughly $4 billion budget on firefighting.
Work Fast to Salvage B.C.'s Forest Industry
The government must work harder to get rid of unnecessary taxes and the workers must upgrade themselves through training and education - perhaps with significant assistance from the politicians.
CAN: Tembec Idles Machine, Lays Off 40 Employees
Tembec is idling PM3 at its newsprint mill in Kapuskasing, ON mill for an indefinite period of time.
CAN: Catalyst Paper Running Out of Wood Chips
The fibre shortage - caused by B.C. sawmill closures in the wake of the U.S. housing market collapse - offset gains the company made through corporate restructuring/price increases in most of the Catalyst's pulp/paper lines.
IL: Plan to Reverse Global Warming Could Backfire
A proposed solution to reverse the effects of global warming by spraying sulfate particles into Earth's stratosphere could make matters much worse, climate researchers said.
