My Blog

It's been a while since I blogged. I wanted to be cheerful and optimistic. The more I try the harder it's become. Why? Government!

So, for any of you who might read this - there are a minimum of 3 layers of government: Federal, State and local. For some there are 4 - 5 layers - County, city you live in and city you work in. All these layers impose regulations on businesses while implying that these regulations don't affect the population at large. Well, they do. They impact the price of everything you buy to whether or not you'll ever be hired for a job and how much an employer will be able afford to pay you. The government (all levels) have turned companies into arms of the IRS and make them, through regulation, collect funds from individuals and turn them over to the government (all levels). Then the government, with media assistance, convinces individuals that "it's the corporations' fault" - that somehow corporations aren't made up of people who are neighbors, parents, friends...

Start with a small energy example. We now have alot of "environment protection" laws that forbid or make it very costly to use energy - unless "the Government" likes you. For example - Exxon was fined over $600,000 for the death of  62 birds (not on the endangered species list) caught in an oil slick. You're probably thinking they deserve it. At the same time, in CA, wind farms kill 1,000 birds a day including protected golden eagles that carry a fine of $10,000/bird killed and up to 5 years jail time. The 1,000 dead per day has been going on for a year+ yet NOT A SINGLE FINE has been paid by the wind farms AND your tax money, Federal (and State if you're in CA), is paying to kill 1,000 birds a day. So is the environment protected uniformly as you might expect?

In the example above, when you buy gasoline or heating oil (big seller in the Northeast) you are paying not only for the best compliance Exxon can do, including permits, corporate taxes, minute regulations imposed by all levels of government, but also for the fines that are imposed when there's a mistake. You know there'll be a mistake because people do the actual work and people are fallible. The Federal government (and now many state governments) are requiring "environmentally safe" alternative energy supplies like wind. With wind the "government" has decided that killing birds is OK and "good" for the environment - except for maybe the rotting carcasses of the dead birds, including those "endangered" except not protected because the government has not yet slammed the wind industry with fines. Wind also costs you more than oil (and other carbon based sources) to build and operate and won't provide energy when there's no wind and don't forget to add in your tax money that subsidizes this "environmentally safe" (unless you're a bird) energy source.

You can see that Government regulation can be a bit confusing and contradictory. Now let's look at the new regulations that are being added to every aspect of business by the current administration and you'll find a maelstrom of orders, directives and regulations so big you can barely put 16 hours a week into your small business that doesn't incorporate learning about new impositions and reporting requirements that give you: first - reason to freeze hiring, second - reason to freeze pay, third - layoff, fourth - reason to shut down or hold your breath to see if you can survive until the next administration. For these new regulations (many voted bipartisan against by Congress),  I'm giving you an article to read from the National Federation of Independent Business which represents U.S. small business (those that provide 60-70% of all U.S. jobs). It's worth it for you to do the cut & paste if the link doesn't work:

http://www.nfib.com/press-media/press-media-item?cmsid=57977&utm_campaign=FPP&utm_source=SmartBrief&utm_medium=Email

Back in April Maple Landmark, Inc., one of our suppliers of U.S. wood toys and games, sent the above question (essentially) with the following article. We like that they make their toys in the U.S. from U.S. managed forests in VT, but we had never really thought about how their competition, using plantation wood, affected our environment or the possible hazards that could impose:

A lot is said about the eco-benefits of wood grown is Asia, too bad much of it is the incomplete truth. To be sure, the idea of plantation grown trees sounds like a tremendous advantage over imagined alternatives. However, there is always more to the story. For several reasons, North American hardwoods, including our own hard maple, are superior choices.

 

1)      Plantation grown vs. Forest harvested.

Plantation trees, such as rubberwood, are easy to envision as renewable and sustainable. However, what has that done to the natural, historical ecology of that land? It has been forever supplanted. Land was cleared to grow a crop, no differently than jungle cleared in South America. The biodiversity has been eliminated.  

 

When trees are selectively harvested in our northern temperate forests, they are culled from the natural ecosystem. Modern logging techniques allow for minimal damage to the surrounding area and the natural forest continues to thrive and regenerate as it has for thousands of years.

 

Limited harvests actually increase biodiversity since the large trees are less dominant and most wildlife flourish with varied vegetation.

 

The images of a denuded landscape are part of the history of forestry throughout the world and it still happens in pockets, especially in third world countries. Generations of experience in land stewardship has taught better ways of management. In Vermont, forest coverage is increasing and, after the heavy logging of the 1800’s, is nearing that which the colonists saw when they arrived.

 

2)      Chemical safe

Wood products that come from other parts of the world have sometimes been found to be chemically stabilized or treated against pests and fungus. The Forest Products Lab in Madison, Wisconsin says in reference to rubberwood (parawood): "Lumber requires chemical dipping to control blue stain and borer attack."

 

That is not used in general application in this country with our domestic woods. Air-drying and kiln-drying are the accepted ways of removing moisture from raw lumber to be ready for further processing. Maple will take on a “sticker stain” if it is not set up properly to dry. Adding chemicals is not the answer, good mill management is the solution.

 

3)      Transportation

Wood grown and used in manufactured goods in Asia has already traveled over 10,000 miles when it reaches the US market. Most American wood products factories are near their material source. Our main mill suppliers are within 10 miles of our shop and the trees are harvested in the local region.

 

If you think floating goods over the ocean is low impact transportation, you would be wrong. Ships burn some of the nastiest of fuels, especially high in sulfur. The largest of the super freighters are each said to pollute as much in a year as 50 million cars (16 of these ships equals all the world’s cars).  

 

4)      Honest dealing

This from Ethical Corporation: “And China is major importer of illegal timber from forests in Indonesia, Cameroon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. Though accurate figures are hard to come by, the website globaltimber.org.uk says up to half of all timber imported to China in 2004 was illegal.” Corruption in the trade of commodities, such as timber, in undeveloped countries is common. Certifications can mean very little – look at the continuing incidence of lead tainted toys discovered at our docks, practically every week.

 

We will admit that a few years ago there was a case of timber rustling in Vermont, one neighbor got angry at another and cut a few of his maples. 

 

5)      Quality and beauty

While every attempt has been made to talk up the qualities of rubberwood, it just doesn’t match the durability and beauty of our maple. Sometimes called “Asian birch,” I’ve even heard it claimed that rubberwood was in the maple family (not even close). The high-pitched attempted to make it appear to be as-good-as, most likely means it isn’t.

 

The density of hard maple is 740 kg/m3, rubberwood is 600 kg/m3, and for reference, pine is 500 kg/m3.

 

The high incidence of fully painted imported toys is designed to cover the wood, and the defects it may contain. At Maple Landmark, we are actively going the other way, showing off the unmatched beauty of our wood.