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  • From: "David Ellis" <dellis@ahs.org>
  • To: <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] Mulch Madness
  • Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:43:53 -0400

Thanks for posting the op-ed, Nan.

I have seen a number of articles on this topic, not all of which have agreed
with the degree to which the mulch industry is part of the problem. However,
it's clearly a very important issue and one that could use some investigative
journalism to establish a better understanding of what's really going on.

This is definitely an area where garden communicators, either as a body
(through GWA) and/or individually, can educate consumers and put pressure on
the mulch industry and the big box stores to address this issue. Has anyone
seen any articles about cypress mulch in the Quill & Trowel recently?

David

David J. Ellis
Editor, The American Gardener
dellis@ahs.org


Today's Topics:

1. Fwd: NY Times: Mulch Madness (N Sterman)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 07:37:54 -0700
From: N Sterman <TalkingPoints@PlantSoup.Com>
Subject: [gwl-g] Fwd: NY Times: Mulch Madness
To: gardenwriters-on-gardening <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
Message-ID: <FA4AFC6F-8A19-47C2-84BE-1A509D08720E@PlantSoup.Com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I've never seen cypress mulch in my region (California) but this
might apply to yours and if so, it deserves some PR.

Fascinating and horrifying at the same time

Nan



> OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
> Mulch Madness
> By STEVE FLEISCHLI
> Published: October 12, 2006
> TOWERING cypress once covered much of southern Louisiana ? 1,000-
> year-old trees darkened ancient, moss-laden, water-saturated
> forests. These wetlands not only gave the bayou its flavor, its
> culture and its mystery, they also acted as critical natural ?speed
> bumps? for major storms.
>
> It?s been estimated that every 2.7 square miles of wetlands reduces
> storm surge by a foot, and yet over the last century Louisiana has
> stripped away 1,900 square miles of swamp, an area the size of
> Delaware. Evidence shows that such improper land management,
> reducing the cypress-tupelo swamps to a small fraction of their
> original grandeur, worsened flooding in New Orleans during
> Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
>
> Yet at a time when the nation should be investing billions to
> restore the Gulf Coast?s wetlands for protection against future
> storms, these cypress swamps continue to face many challenges,
> including development, saltwater flowing in and rising water
> levels. The most dangerous threat of all, however, may be garden
> mulch ? the stuff that gardeners usually use to protect their plants.
>
> As they exhaust the cypress forests along Florida?s coast, mulch
> companies are moving into Louisiana with shady operators among them
> grinding up entire cypress forests, 70 percent to 80 percent of
> which will never grow back. This is hurricane protection lost
> forever ? habitat and flood control converted to quick cash, one
> bag of mulch at a time.
>
> The Environmental Protection Agency has finally begun to require
> permits for logging in southern Louisiana, which has still not
> stopped the wholesale clear-cutting of cypress forests.
>
> The situation was further exacerbated by a Supreme Court ruling
> this summer ordering government agencies and lower courts to
> undertake a painstaking, case-by-case analysis of waterways, with
> only those wetlands determined to be of special significance
> afforded federal protection. It?s a move that could effectively
> stymie preservation efforts.
>
> So in the meantime, the safety of our nation?s already depleted
> wetlands comes down to sellers and consumers of cypress mulch.
>
> Big mulch retailers ? like Lowe?s, Home Depot and Wal-Mart ? have
> been slow to take real action about the mulch in their stores. But
> all three companies should put into place formal, meaningful
> policies that guarantee their cypress mulch comes from sustainable
> sources rather than the imperiled swamps of the Gulf Coast. Many
> retailers have done so with lumber and they can do it for cypress
> mulch.
>
> Until then, consumers would do best to avoid cypress mulch
> altogether, switching instead to mulches made from pine bark, pine
> needles or straw. These work just as well and do not have the same
> environmental impact.
>
> Already, several Florida municipalities, after witnessing the
> destruction of their wetlands, have banned the use of cypress
> mulches. In Louisiana, Gov. Kathleen Blanco is exploring her
> authority to carry out a broader moratorium.
>
> Consumers need to remember that their mulch purchases may be
> leaving New Orleans and other coastal communities vulnerable. Every
> bag of cypress mulch for you could mean another sandbag for someone
> else.
>
> Steve Fleischli is the executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance.


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  • Re: [gwl-g] Mulch Madness, David Ellis, 10/13/2006

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