No one knows exactly how much illegal hardwood enters the United States, but estimates range from $250 million to $375 million worth per year — much of which is used for high-end flooring.

Most illegal hardwood comes from tropical rain forests, delicate ecosystems with high biodiversity. Tropical hardwoods protect the soil — removing them prevents other plants from growing and allows rain to strip away nutrients from the soil. Studies have shown that rain forest deforestation accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gases.

In December 2008, the U.S. government amended The Lacey Act, its oldest wildlife protection statute, to discourage illegal hardwood imports. According to the amendment, anyone involved in the import, purchase or sale of illegal wood is subject to one to five years in prison and $100,000 to $500,000 in fines per violation.

The U.S. Customs Service monitors suspicious cargo, but too much wood is imported into the U.S. to catch every illegal shipment. However, consumers can take steps to avoid the purchase of illegal hardwood. Shaw, a company that supplies easy-to-install hardwood products, provides the following tips for Americans looking to enrich their homes with gorgeous hardwood without destroying rain forests:

Look for hardwood that is made in the U.S. Choosing American-sourced wood not only supports the country’s economy, it helps to ensure that the hardwood is legally harvested from managed forests, which are a truly renewable resource.

Beware of exotic wood products. Woods like Brazilian cherry or mongoy are much more likely to have been harvested illegally than non-exotic woods.

Do your homework. Ask questions before purchasing your floor to make sure it is from a retailer that sources its hardwood products from a trustworthy, legal distributor.

Consider domestic species of hardwood. Although woods like hickory, oak, birch and maple are grown in America, advanced staining techniques allow these species to have the exotic looks many homeowners desire without the risk of purchasing illegally harvested products.

Look for eco-friendly laminate products. Shaw’s Luminiere collection mimics exotic woods like Ipe heartwood and teak, but doesn’t require any illegal harvesting. Better yet, the laminate uses 98 percent less newly harvested wood than most hardwood products and features a high-density-fiber core made from recycled wood.

For more information, visit http://www.shawfloors.com.

A new initiative, called the Marine Recreational Information Program, or MRIP, is improving the way the government estimates how many people are fishing, how often, and what’s being caught.

“Catch and effort” figures, as these estimates are known, are based on information collected by anglers and voluntarily provided to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. Getting this information as accurate as possible is essential, as they are the building blocks of ocean policy.

Anyone who has ever tried to estimate how many grains of sand make up a beach can appreciate the challenge. Actually, using a combination of math and statistical sampling, scientists have come up with a way to approach the problem.

Very similar techniques are used to answer an equally complex yet far more consequential question: How many fish are there in any given area of ocean? Fishermen are the key to finding the answer. They know better than anyone what they’re catching and how frequently they’re out on the water.

The question itself is so important because knowing to the best of our ability the size and health of fish stocks is the linchpin in devising policies that safeguard our oceans’ many bounties—food, livelihoods, recreation, environmental benefits—for future generations.

Plus, scientists tell us that the world’s oceans are in trouble. Threats from pollution, climate change and, in some cases, overfishing are putting never-before-seen pressure on fisheries.

An accurate picture is also important because sportfishing is important to so many Americans. More Americans fish in saltwater (15 million) than play tennis (10 million). And the $30 billion generated by saltwater angling supports more than a quarter million jobs and is the economic lifeblood of many coastal communities.

For more about how fishermen are helping to protect our oceans, visit http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov.

Oil Gone Easy – a natural, bio-remediation product is now available by the quart for homeowners to safely clean oil-stained driveways, concrete, garages, and even soil.

Oil Gone Easy, now available to consumers, is the product that was used to help clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, and other spills on land. It’s been proven to work for oil spills – and now homeowners can use a highly-effective product to clean up oil spills at home.

Oil stains on the driveway are unsightly, and can be tracked into your home — exposing your family to petroleum while damaging your floors and carpets. If you keep tools in your garage such as weed trimmers and lawnmowers, they can drip oil or fuel and leave stains and petroleum smell in your garage.

Up until now it’s been difficult to eliminate oil spills. Common methods such as using rags, sand, or even kitty litter don’t actually eliminate the hydrocarbon contamination, nor do they remove the stain.

Bioremediation is a natural process at oil spill sites where bacteria break down fuels into harmless by-products like water. New products are available now that speed up this process. While bioremediation is EPA-approved, oil-spill tested, and a green method for actually breaking down hydrocarbons, it has only just now become available to consumers

Oil Gone Easy S-200 uses special nutrients to attract microbes to the spill, which then break the oil down into water. It takes about a week to completely remove an oil stain. Oil Gone Easy S-200 “recruits” local bacteria to work on the oil stain and its liquid form encapsulates the fuel spill immediately, preventing it from evaporating (or even washing away in rain) or seeping further into the ground.

It also promptly eliminates the petrochemical odor – and biodegrades quickly after completely removing the oil spot.

For more information visit http://www.oilgoneasy.com.