Housing crisis = fewer houses being built = less wood = better for trees, right?

Not so fast says a new report published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO warns that although American loggers are cutting down fewer trees because of the drop in demand for them, the economic downturn might actually be bad for the future of the world’s trees. Apparently, simply cutting down fewer trees is not the only—nor the best—way to fight deforestation. Deforestation is a problem that must be tackled on a global and a local scale. A decrease in American logging may be good for redwoods in Northern California, but because American wood manufacturers practice much more sustainable production methods than their counterparts in other areas of the world, the economic downturn might fuel the rise of cheaper and more environmentally caustic techniques in other countries.

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Post tags: deforestation, forests, housing crisis, reforestation management, sustainable forest management, tree maintenance, tree research

Garbage Dreams, which premiered earlier this month at the South by Southwest film festival, is a documentary that offers an intimate look at Mokattam, a suburb of Cairo known for its poor residents who live among tall piles of garbage. By following the lives of three young men who live and work as garbage collectors in this community, the documentary reveals how a community has supported itself by recycling discarded materials — and how this way of life will change in the future.

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Post tags: community trash collectors, documentary garbage collectors, environmental documentary, environmental film, film waste management, trash collectors