Seeing the forest and the trees
A tipsheet by Katie Coleman, graduate assistant and editor of EJ Magazine, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. (This tipsheet was gleaned from the 2006 Society of Environmental Journalists national conference.)
Download a printable version of this tipsheet.
Story ideas:
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In the United States, there are 59 catalogs printed for every man, woman and child. Some companies (Dell) care about decreasing the number of trees they fell in this process, others (Victoria’s Secret) don’t seem to care. After Forest Ethics began a shame campaign against Victoria’s Secret in the New York Times, other publications refused to run the campaign ads that poked fun at the company’s lax environmental standards, says Lafcadio Cortesi, Boreal campaign director, Forest Ethics.
Investigate more stats on catalogs’ ecological footprint and talk to companies still printing them, as well as those trying to make a difference. Ask publications why they refused to run the anti-Victoria’s Secret ads.
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Not all forest certification programs are alike. Many say the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which was born in the environmental community, is stronger than the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a product of the woodworking community. Others say FSC and SFI are closer now than they were in the past. (Cortesi)
Write an article comparing and contrasting the systems.
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Several state-owned forests are certified by FSC, SFI, or both. Many tribal-owned forests are also certified. But national forests may be put to the test for the first time in 2007. There may be an announcement about this development in the coming months, according to Alaric Sample, president of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation.
Write about what portion of your local public lands would qualify for FSC or SFI. What portion of public lands are being timbered sustainably?
