A first-of-its-kind commercial-scale manufacturing facility for new grades of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp is planned for Domtar’s mill in Dryden, Ont. The project has received $2 million from the IFIT program, and is described as “modified softwood pulp fibre for high-performance composites.” Domtar will develop and commercialize a portfolio of new, premium-value grades…
How important are natural resources to the Quebec economy? Does developing our mines, forests and hydroelectric power lead to greater prosperity? Or should we turn instead to a knowledge-based economy rather than betting on the hewing of wood and drawing of water? Those are some of the questions raised by the second in a series…
It’s hoped that the development could someday help reduce the environmental impact from America’s growing volume of discarded electronics. The flexible and transparent circuit also can be used in wearables and “smart” textiles. Consumers in the United States threw away 2.37 million tons of electronics in 2009, the most recent year for which data are…
Canfor is a Canadian-based lumber company which provides integrated lumber-based products, primarily softwoods, to the US and Canadian markets. The company owns assets in British Columbia, Alberta and the US, primarily in the Southeastern states. Most of their sales go to a diversified set of end-markets and retailers including Home Depot and Lowe’s as well…
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says the province’s firefighting budget has been depleted, but crews will keep working in the north, where flames and smoke have forced at least 3,000 people from their homes. Evacuations started late last week in about a dozen communities around La Loche and La Ronge, which Wall tried to fly into…
Satellite images of the forest fires in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan have shown the extent of the wildfires that have displaced thousands of people this week. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Aqua satellite showed plumes of smoke stretching from multiple points hundreds of kilometres to the southeast. Actively burning areas are outlined in red, while forests appear dark…
Forest fire season is well underway across Ontario’s northern regions, and firefighters typically take advantage of the patchwork of lakes and rivers to draw water to battle the blazes. Sometimes, however, they literally fight fire with fire. Equipment like pumps, hoses and water bombers are common tools of the trade, but so is aerial ignition,…
The Northern Pulp mill in Pictou County is back in operation. Installation of the new 10-storey, $22-million electrostatic precipitator is complete, mill officials said in a news release. “With this precipitator, we have entered a new era of improving the mill’s environmental performance significantly,” general manager Bruce Chapman said in the release. “Northern Pulp now…
Has the emerald ash borer finally met its match? In the latest attempt to halt the beetle in its bark tracks, scientists are introducing a non-stinging wasp to wage biological warfare against the nasty little critter that threatens to lay waste to entire forest canopies, one leafy ash tree at a time. Although scientists admit…
Smoke from northern Saskatchewan wildfires is blanketing much of the province today. The smoke has prompted health warnings from Environment Canada.