American Forests Forestbytes May 2009

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Among our many activities on Earth Day, American Forests and NASA took some time at the National Arboretum to commemorate a milestone in our nation’s history: the first Apollo moon landing.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of that historic event, which American Forests honored with the planting of one of our Moon Sycamore trees.

Moon Sycamores are among the most unique of those that American Forests offers, and they highlight the relationship between American Forests and the American space program. READ MORE .

American Forests Spring 2009
The Spring issue of American Forests magazine is now available, featuring an article on the benefits of shade trees,
an update on a Global ReLeaf project, a piece on the relationship between nature and human infrastructure, and much more! Check it out at www.americanforests.org .

Forever Green
This spring, the popular clothing store Forever 21 will be planting one tree through American Forests for every exclusively designed eco-tote sold in its stores. This partnership will plant thousands of trees to help restore deforested areas around the world. Visit their store today and buy a cute and trendy eco-tote – you’ll be helping the environment, and with this fashionable accessory you’ll look great too! Visit www.forever21.com to learn more.

"Don't Blow It" We Still Need Your Help!
Help American Forests and Schering-Plough plant low-allergenic trees by playing “Don’t Blow It” (dontblowit.com) – an entertaining and educational, online health game with useful tips for nasal allergy sufferers. For each new player of the game, American Forests will plant a low-allergenic tree. We’re doing great, but we have a long way to go to reach our goal of planting 20,000 trees. We need your help! READ MORE

	A Gift for Mom and Mother Nature Still looking for that perfect gift for Mom? Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and American Forests is here to help! This Mother’s Day, get Mom something really meaningful: a healthier planet. If you think that might be a bit beyond your price range, think again. Donating trees through American Forests costs only $1 per tree, and they will be planted in one of our ecosystem restoration projects to clean the air and water, prevent erosion, and provide a habitat for endangered species. READ MORE

	EOS Estates: Trees off the Vine From June through September 2009, each time a customer purchases a bottle of Eos Estate Wine, the winery will donate $1 to AMERICAN FORESTS, which in turn will plant a tree in an area where it is needed to help sustain life. The goal is to have 50,000 new trees planted in the name of Eos Estates customers.READ MORE

	Planting For A Perfect World Origins, the high-performance natural skincare brand, is trying to make it a more perfect world for your skin and the planet. For a limited time only, when you buy the Origins A Perfect World Antioxidant Moisturizer with White Tea, Origins will plant a tree with American Forests’ Global ReLeaf program. READ MORE

Warming Up
We know that global warming will mean an increase in global temperature. We also know that this could lead to greater drought. But what do these two effects together mean for the trees and forests of the world? A recent study has the answers, and they aren’t pretty. READ MORE

The True Cost of (Palm) Oil
One of the larger causes of global deforestation is coming from an unlikely, and sometimes unheard of source: the palm oil industry. The versatile oil is used for cooking, cosmetics, and even fuel, but while the industry is a profitable one, its cost to the environment is great. READ MORE


	A Dowry of Trees Garut, one of the poorer Indonesian districts in West Java, has established an unusual set of regulations to support their reforestation programs. Couples filing for marriage or divorce must now provide trees to the national reforestation efforts. Couples looking to get married must provide ten trees, divorcing couples must give at least one. The marriage or divorce will not be legally sanctioned unless the trees are provided. Though Indonesia retains some of the largest tropical forests in the world, this invaluable resource suffers greatly each year from the effects of development, agriculture, and illegal logging. READ MORE

	NJ Residents Determined to Preserve Beloved Historic Tree On a hill in West Caldwell, New Jersey lives the town’s oldest and most beloved icon: a Cucumber Magnolia tree that has witnessed the town’s growth for over a century. Said to have survived the blizzard of 1888, as well as decades of the town’s growth and development, and once protected by the White House, the majestic tree is sadly starting to succumb to its age. Several branches have had to be braced, and the tree continues to attempt to fight off decay. READ MORE

	Global ReLeaf 2009 To learn more about the many projects that American Forests’ Global ReLeaf will be supporting this year, visit our 2009 project descriptions here. With projects in eight countries and 18 states in the U.S. we’re working our way towards the goal of planting 100 million trees by the year 2020.

	Great Bear Rainforest Protected The British Columbian government recently announced its much-awaited strategy for ecosystem-based management, which will place a special focus on the nation’s valuable but oft-abused temperate rainforests. The strategy will provide protection for over four million acres of rainforest, an area that is more than twice the size of our own Yellowstone National Park. READ MORE

	Chegg Employees Get Their Hands Dirty The great partnership between American Forests and Chegg.com continues to grow. On April 26th, Chegg.com employees and their families volunteered their time to help out with one of our Global ReLeaf projects, showing their continued concern for the environment and action-oriented approach to its improvement.READ MORE


	Springtime in the Capital Two key appointments were recently announced within the USDA: Robert Bonnie is the new Senior Advisor for environment and climate, and Jay Jensen is the new Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and the Environment. Both appointees have a long history of work with the conservation of forests and the environment. American Forests has worked closely with both in the past and is looking forward to engaging them in their new roles at the USDA. READ MORE

	A Voice for Forests in the Climate Change Debate As part of our ongoing advocacy efforts surrounding climate change and forests, and in response to a request for input on their draft energy and climate bill, American Forests submitted comments to Representatives Henry Waxman and Edward Markey. The draft contains titles aimed at increasing the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency standards, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and helping the transition to a clean energy economy. The Committee will be holding markups on the bill over the next month, with a goal of sending it to the full House by Memorial Day. READ MORE

	Rural community partners weigh in - in DC Scores of representatives from American Forests’ partner organizations in Western states just wrapped up an intense week in Washington advocating a rural perspective on major issues of the day from green jobs to biomass energy, and from community forests to open space and climate change. The Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition’s (RVCC) collaborative, place-based work recognizes the inextricable link between the long-term health of the land and the well being of Western rural communities READ MORE

Tree or forest questions? Ask American Forests’ expert.
Email treedoc@amfor.org