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Looking for a non-structural building material that is as versatile as wood composite, aluminum or fiberboard but far less toxic? That's the promise behind ECOR, a product made from recycled cardboard, wood scraps, even agricultural byproducts such as coffee grounds and corn-stalk fiber.

Ralph Lauren Corporation has developed sustainable sourcing guidelines on wood-based fabrics to ensure its raw materials are not connected to deforestation or human rights abuses. The guidelines were developed in collaboration with the Rainforest Action Network.

Canadian architect Michael Green wants to build a 35-story wooden skyscraper in Paris that would be carbon neutral. He and some partners have submitted the proposal as part of the Reinvent Paris competition, a revitalization project in the city. Green said constructing the building would highlight the advantages of wood in the construction of tall buildings

Conservationists got a mixed bag of news following an international group overseeing the world's species protection initiatives meeting this weekend. On the positive side, officials decided to officially take the giant panda off of the endangered species list, citing steady successes in preserving the bears' natural habitats. But though this is certainly a small victory, pandas are far from out of the woods when it comes to their species' long-term survival.

America's total gasoline consumption could fall by as much as 20% over the next two decades as electric vehicles become more widespread, according to a Wood Mackenzie report. Carbon savings from increased EV use could be offset by increased use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, the report warns.

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has updated the LEED green building rating system in an attempt to stop illegal logging.

Between August 2012 and June 2013, 1,855 square kilometers of the Brazilian Amazon were lost, a yearly increase of 103%. Degradation, where the forest appears intact but has been stripped of many commercial woods, increased 1,078%, albeit over a much smaller area. 

Starbucks opened a new store yesterday at Disneyland Resort in California as an effort to introduce a series of environmentally-friendly coffee shops worldwide. Located at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, the new LEED-certified shop was built totally from reclaimed wood with a large yard surrounded by a green wall with more than 1,000 plants. Customers will experience an interactive environment created by a 10-foot video installation with high technology and nice design.

Illegal logging in Brazil poses a serious problem for businesses producing legal wood products.

The wonderful world of Disney will soon include a piece of Bethlehem. The Walt Disney Co., whose fictional forests created cover for characters from Bambi to Snow White, has finalized an environmental deal involving the 20,000 acres of lush woods surrounding Bethlehem's water reservoirs.

Apple has announced a multi-year project with World Wildlife Fund that aims to protect as much as 1 million acres of responsibly managed working forests in China that provide fiber for pulp, paper and wood products.

An estimated 50 to 80 percent of southern wetland forest is now gone, and that which remains provides ecosystem services totaling $500 billion as well as important wildlife habitat. Logging is considered one of the biggest threats to the 35 million acres of remaining wetland forest in the southern U.S., and conservation organizations are saying this threat is coming largely from the wood pellet biomass industry.

Target announced its new forest products policy, which sets guidelines for the company's purchasing decisions to ensure wood-based products in it's owned-brand products are sourced from forests that are well-managed and credibly certified. Separately, the company also announced plans to work with its value chain to phase out polystyrene foam use in e-commerce packaging.

Online marketplace Etsy received the Petal Certification through the Living Building Challenge for its sustainable headquarters, using reclaimed wood and screening the paints, adhesive materials and about 1,500 other items to ensure they did not contain harmful substances. Etsy is the first tech company to achieve the rating and is now aiming to achieve zero-waste in its workplaces across the globe by 2020.

Using forests to fuel power plants in Southeast US and Europe

U.S. federal authorities recently executed search warrants at two Virginia facilities belonging to Lumber Liquidators Holdings, the largest specialty retailer of hardwood flooring in the United States.

A new Google-powered tool called Google Earth Engine is helping environmental groups and researchers to keep tabs on problems including Amazonian deforestation, overfishing, sea-ice melt and the spread of diseases. The tool's real-time data trove and mapping features make it easier to stay on top of the wealth of data now available, researchers say. "When you visualize it, you can get it at the gut level. ... You can see it happening," says Randy Sargent of Carnegie Mellon University.