Pisgah National Forest grows at Linville Gorge The newly conserved property offers a stunning view of Linville Gorge. Nicky Doty photo
More than 200 acres have been added to the Pisgah National Forest at Linville Gorge thanks to a recently completed project by The Conservation Fund.
The nonprofit purchased the 205-acre property in 2018 and transferred it to the U.S. Forest Service at the end of 2020. Support from the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Conservancy and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, together with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Fred and Alice Stanback, made the protection possible.
We lost Detroit
The US municipal debt market is worth almost $4 trillion, and more and more cities and counties are being forced into bankruptcy, further worsening the deteriorating lives of their populations. The urban strategies of the past have been forgotten, and Washington doesn’t care. by John Nichols
After the partial meltdown of a nuclear power plant in Michigan in 1966, the great American poet Gil Scott-Heron wrote an epic soliloquy for the city that had been threatened by the crisis:
We Almost Lost Detroit. It was a shocking idea at the time, that the fifth largest municipality in the US, the great industrial centre of the republic, could be obliterated. Detroit survived the meltdown crisis. But it may not survive the austerity crisis at least not in a form that anyone will recognise: on 18 July, the municipality, unable to repay its $18.5bn debt, was declared bankrupt. Under the protection of US legislation on bankruptcy, it can reschedule its debts
Germany s Kelheim Fibres has become the first viscose fibre manufacturer worldwide to receive Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) certification.
EMAS is a standardised eco management certification system developed by the European Union. The certification includes the globally applicable ISO 14001 standard and goes beyond its requirements by demanding more transparency and continuous improvement: Certified companies report in their annual EMAS Environmental Statement on their environmental goals and their progress in meeting them.
During the audit preceding the certification, the independent environmental auditor thoroughly investigated all departments of the company, from the production itself to the company canteen. He found no non-conformances and was impressed by the competence and the high sense of responsibility among Kelheim s employees, the company said.
John Hart/jhart@theunion.com | The Union
The Nevada City Planning Commission is slated to review the environmental impact of the Commercial Street Boardwalk at its meeting today.
Following former City Councilwoman Reinette Senum’s call on Facebook Wednesday for supporters to attend today’s meeting and defend the boardwalk, the discussion may be contentious.
Constructed in August 2011 by the Nevada County Sustainability Team, Senum and volunteers, the boardwalk is a 50-by-8-foot, wood-planked, deck-like platform built over three street parking spaces to create public space, replete with benches, tables, umbrellas, planter boxes and bicycle parking stations.
After more than two years of gradual improvements, visitors to the boardwalk may not realize that the structure is officially considered a temporary structure, subject to annual Nevada City Council approval. After its initial one-year trial period, the boardwalk was granted a one-year extension in November 2012.