Up & Coming Weekly

Deforestation and Good Stewardship From the Editors of Environmental Magazine Which woods are OK to purchase, and which are not, in the interest of preserv- ing forests and not harming those who depend upon them? — Jon Steiner, Boise, ID Deforestation continues to be one of the world’s biggest envi- ronmental problems, especially in fast developing regions like South America, Southeast Asia and Africa. Cutting down large numbers of trees erodes land and silts water- ways, displaces native people and wildlife, and releases tons of carbon dioxide (which is stored in living wood fiber) into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Of course, wood products are essential to modern life. Without wood we wouldn’t have the build- ings, furniture, paper and other es- sentials we make use of every day. That’s why protecting sources of wood has become a leading con- cern among not just environmental- ists but everyone else as well. In response to the problems wrought by increasing deforestation, some Wow, talk about ter- The simplest way to tell if the wood you are considering buy- ing was harvested from sustainable sources is to look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label. Picture credit of “Giles Douglas, courtesy Flickr.” rible timing. Too bad for The Losers (98 minutes) that The A-Team is coming out shortly and that film promises to be superior in every way. Not that The Losers wasn’t a ton of fun and a perfectly decent action movie! However, almost every character in The Losers is coming off as a pale shadow of an ex- isting A-Team player. First there’s Clay, the team’s Hannibal. He is played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan channeling a kinder, gentler Javier Bardem. J.D. is versatile enough, but he really seems overqualified for this role. forward-thinking wood products professionals teamed up with environmentalists, native people’s advocates, community forestry groups and responsible corpora- tions to form the nonprofit Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 1993. Previous attempts to stem the tide of unchecked logging — including international nego- tiations and boycott — were having little effect, so FSC vowed to use the power of market forces to create change for the better. FSC promotes responsible management of forests by certifying forestry op- erations around the globe and promoting its certification system at every step of the wood products distribution chain. Whether you’re shopping for wooden fur- niture, building materials or other items, one easy way to tell if the wood you are considering buying was harvested from sustainable sources is to look for the FSC label on it or its packaging. If it is, you can trust that such products were har- vested sustainably and are not contributing to deforestation-related woes. If you don’t see the FSC logo, you should inquire as to where the wood came from and whether or not it was harvested sustainably. The nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) warns consum- ers to avoid purchasing some tropical hardwoods unless they can be assured that it came from sustainable forestry operations. Many of these woods—in- cluding Big Leaf Mahogany, Spanish Cedar, Caribbean Pine, Ipe, Rosewood, Teak, Ramin, Merbau, African Mahogany, and Okoume—are difficult to man- age sustainably as they typically grow in low densities in natural forests and regenerate poorly after logging. Some woods and wood products may contain FSC-certified wood without bearing the logo, while other woods may be OK without going through the FSC certification process. If you don’t see an FSC logo you should ask. If the store salesperson can’t provide information, then you can’t be sure. Even better than purchasing sustainably harvested new wood is to seek out reclaimed or salvaged wood, as it precludes the need for logging altogether. An added benefit of using reclaimed or salvaged wood—look for it at used build- ing supply stores and even at construction sites where older materials are being tossed—is that it provides incentives for municipal recycling programs. NRDC suggests that if you can’t source used wood, consider recycled plastic lumber or composites if they are applicable for your project. CONTACTS: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), www.fsc.org; NRDC, www.nrdc.org. SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@ emagazine.com. E is a nonprofit publication. 28 UCW MAY 5-11, 2010 Next there’s Aisha, the team’s outsider (the “Amy,” if you will). Zoe Saldana has had her share of powerhouse roles ap- propriate to a hot young up and comer, but the basic issue with her in an action role is more apparent here than anywhere else. She is too darn underfed to be believable kicking the big boys around. I could buy her using a big gun, or even just holding off a big muscular dude with defensive moves. But to believe that her breakable little toothpicks are going to pose a genuine challenge to J.D., whose arms are bigger around than her thighs, is a little too much suspension of disbelief. What’s that? How do I know that his thighs are bigger around than her arms? Well, she spends a couple of strategically timed scenes stripped down to nothing much at all, making sure to highlight all her physical assets from every conceivable angle. Chris Evans plays the team’s faceman, the slick talking womanizer with a penchant for the charming one-liner in the face of danger. He is the team’s lead conventionally attractive scammer, better with the ladies than he is at preparing for surprise battles. Idris Elba has the role of Roque while Columbus Short plays Pooch … but to spell out who the B.A. of the team is might ruin some of the plot twisting that takes place. While there is no obvious HM Murdock (mostly because there is no one quite like Murdock), he is the team wild card. The Losers has a wild card as well … Oscar Jaenada playing Cougar. Cougar has an awesome hat and seems to serve as the long distance support (just like Murdock!). The only thing left to account for is the scenery chewing villain of the week … Max, played by Jason Patric. Jason Patric takes his inspiration more from the clas- sic James Bond villain than the classic A-Team villain, in that he has the noticeable deformity (the source of which is TBA). However, just like your average A-Team antagonist he is surrounded by evil henchmen like Wade (Holt McCallany) who don’t seem to care that he spends every other scene ordering the death of his other evil henchman. How do evil ge- nius super villains manage to retain the services of otherwise intelligent men even after clearly demonstrating a complete lack of concern for their servants? Overall, there are worse movies to spend an afternoon watching. There is a caper, lots of explosions, and sorta kinda nudity, but nothing so graphic it prevents you from enjoying with your parents. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Just Call It the B-Team The Losers (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS

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