A vastly changing landscape would certainly capture one’s attention. The nation’s trees face an immediate threat from the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), a devastating invasive pest with no natural predators. With up to 70 percent of the U.S. tree canopy at risk of being lost to this pest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is spreading the word about the beetle this summer with a series of TV, radio and print public service announcements (PSAs).
The adult Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is active throughout the summer months and into the fall. This invasive pest was first discovered in the U.S. in 1996, likely arriving here unknowingly inside wood packing material from Asia. The insect threatens recreational areas, forests, and suburban and urban shade trees. The beetle attacks 12 genera of trees, including birch, maple and elm. It is truly a landscape-altering invasive pest. And all states are at risk.
To view the multimedia release visit:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7569951-usda-psa-asian-longhorned-beetle/
The National Climate Assessment: Climate Change Impacts in the United States concludes that warmer and drier conditions have already contributed to increasing wildfire events across the western United States, and future increases are projected in some regions. Already this year, there have been over 44,000 wildfires that have damaged or destroyed almost 8.5 million acres. Long periods of record high temperatures are associated with droughts that contribute to dry conditions and drive wildfires in some areas.
USDA Secretary Vilsack recently stated, “This year, we are experiencing yet another devastating wildfire season, particularly in the drought-ravaged West. Climate change, drought, fuel buildup, insects and disease are increasing the severity of unprecedented wildfire in America's forests and rangelands, which impacts the safety of people, homes and communities. Development close to forests has also increased the threat to property, with more than 46 million homes in the United States, or about 40 percent of our nation's housing, potentially at risk from wildfire.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7607931-fema-national-prepareathon/
Known as some of the toughest men in the country, the lumberjack lifestyle has been a part of American culture for over a century, reaching as many as 500,000 lumberjacks in the forests of Maine and Minnesota in the early 1900s. However, the lumberjacks many people think of today are not the typical axe throwing, wood chopping or crosscut sawing burly men of the logging world, rather, they are now typically spotted in a fitted flannel and trendy lace-up boots with freshly trimmed beards to match: the lumbersexuals.
As part of the Dinty Moore® brand campaign to bring back the true lumberjack, Hormel Foods went to the depths of Minnesota in search of a team of lumbersexuals to transform into real lumberjacks and, ultimately, compete in a professional lumberjack competition this summer. The brand is partnering with STIHL® TIMBERSPORTS® and professional lumberjack Adrian Flygt to train the lumbersexuals in core areas of logging and forestry, giving them the necessary skills to walk, talk and compete like a lumberjack.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7811951-dinty-moore-stew-lumbersexuals-campaign/
The Dreaming Tree Wines, a California wine brand from award-winning winemaker Sean McKenzie and musician Dave Matthews, is proud to announce it has hit $1 Million in charitable donations to environmental organizations The Wilderness Society and Living Lands & Waters in support of reforestation and conservation, a goal it set out to achieve six years ago when the brand was launched.
The Dreaming Tree began with a mission to create sustainably produced and packaged wines, as well as ensure that a portion of proceeds from every bottle purchased benefits organizations on the front lines of environmental conservation by planting trees and protecting the nation’s forests. “The more work we can do like this in towns and cities around the world, the more we can change the outcome of the future of those communities,” says The Dreaming Tree Wines co-conspirator Dave Matthews. “I really feel grateful that there are organizations like The Wilderness Society and Living Lands & Waters that can turn this into a reality.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8127651-dreaming-tree-dave-matthews-wine-environmental-conservation-charity-sustainability/