AIR POLLUTION & FOREST DEATH
In 1969, while a forestry student at the University of Maine, Gerry Hawkes was awarded the St. Regis Paper Co. Scholarship, the most prestigious forestry scholarship in the Northeastern U.S., for "the student expected to contribute the most to the future of forestry". Later that year he drove through Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and was shocked by the moonscape that stretched for miles downwind of the INCO nickel smelter. All vegetation was dead. Ever since this eye-opening experience, Gerry has been studying and observing the effects of air pollution on forest ecosystems and challenging the forestry profession to recognize the severity of the damage that is occurring to our trees and forest ecosystems.
By the mid-1980's, it was so obvious that air pollution damage to forest ecosystems was increasing that Gerry put aside his career as a forestry and appropriate technology consultant serving domestic and international clients and turned his talents for problem solving to developing new solutions to reduce pollution. This effort has resulted in several patents, the founding of Bike Track, Inc. in 1993 and a focus on practical ways to reduce air pollution.
In 2004 Gerry founded Forest Savers LLC, with the goal of making it an employee owned company, that utilizes a unique brush cutting and shredding system (patents pending) to efficiently reduce fire prone brush in the urban/wildland interface while not damaging the larger trees.
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Please see
AIR POLLUTION AND FOREST HEALTH NOTES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
There is a lot of information here, so please allow this page time to load.
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To see local observations just click on VERMONT
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Since virtually all scientists and much of the public now agree that there is an urgent need to curb emissions of greenhouse gases and since the volume of news regarding the serious environmental consequences has become overwhelming, it now makes sense to devote as much time as possible to working on ways to slow and mitigate the damage rather than sounding the alarm. Therefore these pages will be left on the Web, but little new information will be added.
- Gerry Hawkes ~ February 2006
LINKS TO OTHER SITES
Appalachian Voices - A non-profit organization of concerned citizens, natural resource professionals, and scientists dedicated to protecting the forests and ecology of the Appalachian Mountains through research, education and positive solutions.
Bibliography of articles on the effects of air pollution on trees and forests by William Grant, Ph.D.
Clean Air Trust - Working to achieve a strong and effective Clean Air Act
The Dying of the Trees by Charles E. Little (review #1)
AMERICA'S TREES ARE DYING by Charles E. Little (1995) (review #2)
The Dying of the Trees by Charles E. Little - Earth Times (review #3)
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GUEST ARTICLES
A two part series by Michael Caduto on forest health and forest fragmentation:
The Forest and the Golden Seeds by Michael Caduto
An Op-Ed on the importance of preserving the 12,500-acre core reserve in the West Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Northeast Vermont~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Where we are located in Vermont - When you look at these photos, you will see why the health and vitality of our trees and forests is so important to us.
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