Ever heard of a battery made of wood pulp? Here is one, developed by researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, and Stanford University, US. Using nanocellulose broken down from tree fibres, the researchers produced an elastic, foam-like battery material that can withstand shock and stress. “It is possible to make incredible materials from…
Company says not locked into anything, still chasing full pellet production While the political storm continued around them this week, Todd May, general manager responsible for the pellet division at Holson Forest Products in Roddickton, said the company is still working toward getting pellet production running full steam. “One of the comments that we’ve seen…
The Northern Pulp Mill in Pictou County, N.S. is about to shutdown temporarily for changes aimed at bringing it in-line with pollution standards, but opposition groups say the timing still stinks. Starting Saturday, the mill at Abercrombie Point will undergo a “maintenance shutdown” as crews install a precipitator. The company says the ten-storey piece of…
The tallest redwood tree in Muir Woods — a giant that was assumed to have sprouted up to 1,500 years ago in the Middle Ages — is a measly 777 years old, a puerile sprig in the hallowed halls of old growth, an analysis of tree-ring data has revealed. The study, by a Humboldt State…
The prescribed burn in Jasper National Park went ahead as planned and the burn so far accomplished all objectives. Jasper National Park Fire Communication Office Kim Weir said that the fire happenedon May 23. It was located 20 km north of the Town of Jasper and 44 km south west of Hinton. The total area…
Creeping along the base of a cliff in his small open boat John Buchanan is metres from the rock face, peering at a narrow band of bladderwrack kelp just revealed by low tide. “You have to get really close,” says Mr. Buchanan, a train car mechanic and former pulp mill worker who over the past…
The Prince George Fire Centre is dealing with a number of forest fires in the Fort Nelson area. The Fire Centre has responded to eight new fire starts in the past 48 hours, two of which have reached over 200 hectares in size. All but one of the fires were started by lightning, and the…
The Board of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is launching an executive search for a new President and CEO. The current office-holder, David Lindsay, has announced his intention to move on by the end of 2015 to return to the Toronto area to be closer to his family. Lindsay has led FPAC since…
Experts are blaming El Nino for speeding up nature’s clock and forcing firefighters to deploy weeks ahead of normal to battle wildfires across rural Western Canada. They say the natural phenomenon that cycles every two to seven years has been activated early this year and is predicted to accelerate wildfire activity across the northwest. The…
Department says negotiations with RenTech still include Roddickton-based company The provincial government paid about $185,000 last year to help the struggling Holson Forest Products in Roddickton. In 2014-15, it offered up $65,000 for insurance costs on equipment at the company’s processing plant and another $120,000 for an engineering study and new business plan. It comes…