VARDAMAN VIRTUAL FORESTRY COMPANY

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

All Friday Reports are posted at www.vardaman.com/friday.php

Vardaman Virtual Forestry Company

FRIDAY REPORT OF 8/12/05

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

“IVORY-BILL ‘KNOCK-KNOCK’ PUTS JOKE ON SKEPTICS”
by James Owen

Our title and quotes below came from the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS of 08/04/05:

“The new evidence comes some three months after researchers announced to the world that an ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird thought extinct for 50 years, had been seen in the Big Woods region of Arkansas.

“The rediscovery of Campephilus principalis was hailed as the birding equivalent of finding Elvis alive.”

To read the full article, click on http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0804_050804_ivorybill_2.html In the fourth paragraph, the words “video footage” are underlined. Click on them to see video footage of the birds and Big Woods.

A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 6 GLASSES
By Tom Standage

You’ll enjoy the fascinating histories in this new book. Here’s a sample:

“Six beverages in particular – beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola – chart the flow of world history…

“Certainly no single product is more representative of globalization than Coca-Cola. The global fight with Pepsi continues around the world; the big new battleground is China. But that is just one of the more than two hundred territories where the Coca-Cola Company operates – more than the United Nations has members. Its drink is now the world’s most widely known product, and ‘Coca-Cola’ is said to be the second most commonly understood phrase in the world, after ‘OK.’ No other company can match it for global reach, visibility, or recognition. Coca-Cola consistently tops the list of the world’s most valuable brands, published each year in Business Week magazine…

“Today, carbonated soft drinks are the most widely consumed beverages in the United States, accounting for around 30 percent of all liquid consumption, and the Coca-Cola Company is the biggest supplier of such drinks. Globally, the company supplies 3 percent of humanity’s total liquid intake. Coca-Cola is unquestionably the drink of the twentieth century, and all that goes with it: the rise of the United States, the triumph of capitalism over communism, and the advance of globalization. Whether you approve of that mixture or not, you cannot deny the breadth of its appeal…

“When you next raise some beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, or Coca-Cola to your lips, think about how it reached you across space and time, and remember that it contains more than mere alcohol or caffeine. There is history, too, amid its swirling depths.”

“GREENERY BEGINS AT HOME”

Our title and the quotes below are from the Print Edition of The Economist of 08/04/05:

“Power plants are big, heavily engineered and expensive, and that applies to renewable energy as well as fossil-fuel generation. Bragging rights over who own Britain’s biggest wind farm change every few months, and irritated locals often complain about the huge turbines. Yet there are signs of growth at the other end of the renewables market, too, where small power plants that supply power to individual homes (or small groups of houses) are becoming more popular.

“The most familiar are rooftop solar panels, which have been available for decades. These can either generate electricity or provide hot water. They are reliable (even on a cloudy day) and unobtrusive…

“There is just one hitch: most small-scale renewables do not make financial sense. The government reckons it could take up to 120 years for rooftop solar panels to pay for themselves through cheaper bills (the panel-makers deride this figure as ‘ludicrous’). Windmills do better, but they are still not a profitable investment: British Gas admits that it may be a decade before its first few customers break even…”

To read the complete article, click on http://www.economist.com/printedition/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=4249953.

“GOD VS. DARWIN: NO CONTEST”
by CATHY YOUNG

Our title and quotes are from the 08/09/05 article on REASONONLINE:

“Some arguments made by proponents of teaching ‘intelligent design’ have superficial popular appeal. Which may explain why the idea polls well. One such argument is intelligent diversity: Those who believe that only evolution should be taught in science classrooms are supposedly trying to stifle opposing viewpoints. A related claim is that a left-leaning, elitist scientific establishment, backed by aggressively secularist groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, is using taxpayer dollars to promote its own agenda in the classroom and teach children to despise their parents’ religious beliefs…

“The notion that the teaching of evolution is some kind of left-wing plot is, to put it plainly, absurd. In addition to the people mentioned above, opponents of teaching ‘intelligent design’ as an alternative scientific viewpoint include John N. Marburger III, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. Earlier this year at the annual conference of the National Association of Science Writers, Marburger responded to an audience question by stating point-blank that ‘intelligent design is not a scientific theory’ or even a scientific topic…”

To read all the article, click on http://www.reason.com/cy/cy080905.shtml.

“CORRUPTION AT THE HEART OF THE UNITED NATIONS”

An article with this title was posted on the Internet site of The Economist on 08/09/05. It discussed revelations of Paul Volcker’s first report. Click on http://www.economist.com/agenda/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=4267109 to read its entire text.

CHANGES IN BOOK SALES

This week we sold several batches of books and deleted them from the offering at http://www.vardaman.com/booksale.php. We deleted all empty spaces and added new books beginning at #406.

NEW SYSTEM FOR BUYING OR SELLING LAND OR TIMBER

For the 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 after 05/12/05 and whose owner posted his URL, we charge $0.25 for each visit his ad receives. On each Friday at 0900 Central Time, we will e-mail him a bill for $0.25 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. The new fee schedule does not apply to tracts marked with asterisks::

SELL LAND OR TIMBER

For 107-A. tract in GA, send e-mail to slaseter@comcast.net

BUY LAND

BUY TIMBER

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