VARDAMAN VIRTUAL FORESTRY COMPANY

The Most Direct Link to Knowledge Workers in the Southeast Forest Economy

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Vardaman Virtual Forestry Company

FRIDAY REPORT OF 01/06/06

The Most Direct, Frequent Link to Knowledge Workers in the Eastern Forest Economy

“A FLOOD OF FOLLY”
by Tim Kern

Our title and quotes are from an article posted on Mises.org on 12/30/05:

“A Washington Post story (Oct 11, 2005) by Gilbert Gaul noted, ‘The pattern of federal flood payments on Dauphin Island [AL] illustrates the growing share going to properties that get hit over and over. Federal data show that 300 buildings with multiple losses account for more than two-thirds of all flood payments the town has ever received - $21.3 million. Katrina could add tens of millions.’

“Gaul continued, ‘Nationally, properties with multiple losses account for about 25 percent of the flood program’s losses while representing 2 percent of all insured property.’

“Now, if we are learning any lessons at all, we shouldn’t be insuring two-time loser property, especially when those risks are undertaken by the very people who have enough sense to stay away from hurricane magnets like Dauphin Island, namely the rest of us…

“What would be the worst thing to happen if the government didn’t subsidize people’s insurance? You’ll need to pick from these, and a few others:

>Middle-class people would stay away from flood-prone areas. Rich people could afford private insurance, making their vacation spots even more-exclusive. Poor people could afford the land, balancing their risk with the opportunity for cheap accommodations. Like in Haiti, except by choice, with other opportunities.

>Insurance rates for all homeowners would drop, because the rich would be paying their own way, and the poor wouldn’t be expecting handouts.

>Property values inland would rise, yet property on those tracts would be easier to insure, and at lower cost.

>Fewer people would ultimately be affected by the floods. The middle class wouldn’t be there in the first place, making voluntary evacuation (of the resultant smaller population) less problematic.

>Rebuilding costs would be lower, as the rich would have enough insurance, and the low-cost housing would either not be rebuilt, or would be built in such a way that a catastrophe would not be as expensive the next time.

>Local governments in flood-prone areas would have fewer obligations to the federal government. They would be able to govern in such a way that best suited the citizens of the area. Paperwork and staff could be cut, freeing more people to do honest work. Government expense would be plummet…”

To read the complete article, click on http://www.mises.org/story/1989

“BACK-BREEDING COULD RESTORE CHESTNUT TREES RAVAGED BY BLIGHT”
by Lori Valigra for NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS

Our title and quotes are from article posted on 12/29/05:

“The American chestnut tree once dominated forests in Appalachia, until an Asian blight virtually killed off the species a century ago. Now conservationists say they can restore the region’s chestnut forests if scientists succeed in their efforts to breed new, blight-resistant strains of the tree…

“Recently scientists have found promise in a method called backcross breeding. The process involves selectively breeding trees that are part Chinese chestnut and part American chestnut with a parent tree that is wholly American chestnut. The goal is to produce an American tree with genes from the Chinese tree that render it blight-resistant…

“Researchers hand-pick male flowers from one tree and use them to pollinate flowers on another tree. It takes several generations to get the proper mix. The first breeding produces a tree that is half Chinese and half American. That tree and its descendents are then back-bred with American parents until the fourth breeding produces a tree that is only one-sixteenth Chinese.

“This tree is then bred with a similar tree to produce an American chestnut with resistance equal to that of the original Chinese parent. These descendents will then be bred with each other to produce what is hoped will be the new line of blight-resistant American trees…

“Fred Hebard, a staff pathologist with the Chestnut Foundation in Meadowview, [VT], says that last year 26 backcrossed trees showed a fairly high level of resistance to blight. But the cankers caused by the blight were larger than he would have preferred. ‘The level of resistance is there, but the canker size is bigger than I expected,’ he said. ‘But we are getting rid of most of the bushiness of the Chinese trees..’

He said the next backcross should increase resistance. It will take another decade or two before chestnuts from the program are planted in the woods with a fair amount of confidence.

“‘I hope the next backcross will be able to be part of the resurgence of the American chestnut tree, but time will tell,’ Hebard said. ‘It won’t be until the trees are 100 feet [30 meters] tall in groves in the woods until we’ll know, and that will be 50 to 100 years from now.’”

To read the complete article, click on http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/12/1229_051229_chestnut.html

PROJECTED AMOUNT OF FORESTLAND TO BE SUBSUMED BY URBAN GROWTH

“Projected Urban Growth (2000-2050) and Its Estimated Impact on the US Forest Resource, by David J. Novak and Jeffrey T. Walton,” an article in the December 2005 issue of Journal of Forestry, contained these figures:

“WHY DOES SKIN WRINKLE WITH AGE? HOW CAN YOU SLOW OR PREVENT THIS PROCESS?”

Our title and quotes are from January 2006 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN:

“Suzan Obagi, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Health Center, offers this answer:

“Wrinkles arise from physical shifts that occur naturally as we grow older – and they are exacerbated by outside influences, such as exposure to sun or tobacco smoke.

“As we age, we gradually lose our collagen, a protein fiber that makes our skin firm; as a result, skin becomes thinner and more fragile. We also begin to lose the elastin that gives skin its elasticity and its glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs, which enable it to hold moisture. The result is drier skin with wrinkles that don’t go away…

“Keeping skin smooth as long as possible means taking care of it. Every day apply a sunscreen of at least SPF 35, preferably one that contains zinc or titanium. After reaching the age of 25, use Retin-A, a vitamin A derivative with the generic name tretinoin, as an antiaging cream. It is a prescription agent that has been used for more than 30 years with excellent results. Although your skin might peel or flake at first, the tretinoin reduces fine lines, the size of pores and brown spots. If tretinoin treatment is not enough, peels and lasers can help build collagens and improve the skin’s appearance. Because the regular sloughing off of skin tells the body to make more collagen, the laser treatments, which go a little deeper, boost that response in the skin.”

For a complete text of this article, visit www.sciam.com/askexpert

OUR BLOG AND YOURS

Do you keep a blog? We hope so, for you read the things we write about and are therefore interested in the subjects that interest us. We are flattered, and we’d also very much like to read what you write about.

We don’t register on big globes of blogs for it may take us all day to examine all of them, and we might not understand much of it. Therefore, we hope you will send us the address of what you’ve written even remotely connected with the forest economy of the eastern United States. We’d also like to have permission to quote you, and we promise not to argue with you, in print or otherwise.

USED BOOK SALES

We offer for sale all used books listed at http://www.vardaman.com/booksale.php.

OUR SYSTEM FOR BUYING OR SELLING LAND OR TIMBER

For details, click on http://www.vardaman.com and then on the red horizontal bar “Buy/Sell Land/Timber.” You can offer to buy or sell timber or land. You must post the general area of your interest; be sure to include the state. You must also post your E-MAIL ADDRESS and the URL of your Internet site. Our tracking report will not report the number of visitors UNLESS you enter your URL. If you are selling, you should post the name of the tract. When you have entered all details, click on “Submit,” and what you just entered will appear on our Internet site at the bottom of the page under the red horizontal bar “Buy/Sell Land/Timber.” Be sure to check for and correct errors.

For each tract posted and whose owner posted his URL, we charge $0.50 for each visit his ad receives. On each Friday at 0900 Central Time, we will e-mail him a bill for $0.50 for each visit his ad received during the week just ended. You can pay us by e-mailing the money to “Vardaman Virtual Forestry Company” at PayPal or mailing it to P.O. Box 12293, Jackson, MS 39236. We will delete your ad when your payments cease.

BUY LAND

For tracts in SC, send e-mail to loblolly@surfbvi.com
For tracts in SC, send e-mail to rich@CHRISTOPHERRADKO.COM
For tracts in MA, send e-mail to leonelmtz65@hotmail.com
For tracts in OR, send e-mail to 7200moore@charter.net
For tracts in OR, send e-mail to ptodd@orclinic.com
For tracts in FL, send e-mail to hot63vdub@hotmail.com
For tracts in TX, send e-mail to reedkimbley@hotmail.com
For tracts in TX, send e-mail to gilmerboy2@yahoo.com

BUY TIMBER

*For tracts in AR, send e-mail to dyork@digitalpassage.com
*For tracts in IL, send e-mail to psftimber@hotmail.com

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