Monday, April 30, 2007

Temple-Inland Financial Crisis

Austin American Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/04/26/26tin.html

Temple-Inland
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=61680&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=990125&highlight=



Seeing as the article was written the day after the release of the financial report, it is easy to suspect that there would be a lack of real investigative reporting. Many of the terms and all of the reasons used in the story share distinct similarities with those in the report. This article was clearly just a shortened rebuttal of what the company had to say. Considering the nature of the crisis, lacking scandal, lies, sex, and deceit, a mere parroting style is all that is necessary. It is nonetheless, a crisis.

Temple-Inland is in the midst of a major face lift. The different facets of the business are separating to form many individual companies. This is a situation that could make anyone of their stakeholders, be it an investor, employee, or customer quite nervous. When they learned that they had to report a 50% loss in profit, I imagine a predetermined plan of action was implemented with the company's best writer creating a release that was not only well thought out, but also very well researched. A very detailed explanation was presented in the press release pinpointing a whole slew of reasons, all being temporary. I feel that they did a very good job at explaining this massive decline in profit ahead of time as to keep the worries of a failing business at a minimum.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Disclaimer

I think I did this right, that is, I understood the assignment for the schedule to be simply to put it into a new format. This I did and I cut and pasted the information. The info is the work of the UNT writer.

Waterways Schedule

WaterWays 07’
Schedule of Events



Tuesday 13 March

3:30pm – 3:40pm
Env 130

Irene J. Klaver - director of the UNT Philosophy of Water Project and Director of WaterWays will give opening remarks.

3:40pm – 4:35pm
Env 130

Rodney Love - owner of Tierra Designs Rainwater Harvesting/Waterwise Landscaping, Denton, TX will join Irene J. Klaver for a Panel discussion on rainwater harvesting and north Texas drought and water conservation.

4:35pm – 5:30pm
Env 130

Richard Heinichen - owner of Richard's Rainwater, the first company licensed to bottle rainwater in America, and mayor of Tanktown, Dripping Springs, TX will discuss the advantages of rainwater harvesting.

7:00pm
Art 221

Daniel Bozhkov - Faculty at the Yale University School of Art, Columbia University, and the Rhode Island School of Design will give an artist lecture on new installation piece: Rainmaker’s Workshop.

9:30pm
Env 130

Deepa Mehta’s “Water” will show as a philosophy in film series.



Wednesday 14 March

9:00am
Env 115

Kelly Alley - president of the anthropology and environment section of the American Anthropology Association and director of the anthropology program at Auburn University will discuss India’s River Linking Plan: History and Current Debates.

10:30am
Env120

Ramaswamy R. Iyer - former Secretary for Water for the government of India; honorary research professor, Center for Policy Research, New Delhi will discuss water concerns in south Asia: A Broad Survey of the Water Concerns of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, & Bangladesh.

12:00pm
Env 320a

Luncheon

1:00pm
Env 130

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - President of Waterkeeper Alliance and Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper will hold a panel discussion over river cultures and ecological futures with…

John A. McLachlan - Director RiverSphere Project, Weatherhead Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies, Tulane University, New Orleans, Director, Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, Director Katrina Environmental Research and Restoration Network (KERRN).

3:00 pm
Env Atrium

Trio Montuno – reception with live music.

3:00pm
Env 3rd floor

Water on the edge – photography exhibit of 6 photographers.

3:00pm
Env Eagle Exhibit

George Alfred James – Waterways of India photography exhibit.

8:00pm
Union Lyceum

Robert F. Kennedy - Distinguished Speakers SeriesPLEASE NOTE: This Event is Free for UNT Students and $10.00 for the Public.



Thursday 15 March

9:30am – 10:50am
Env 130

Richard Sparks - director of research National Great Rivers Research & Education Center will speak on the Mississippi and Living with Great Rivers:Floods, the Birth of Civilizations, and Contemporary Disasters.

12:00pm
Env 130

Luncheon

Waterways Bios

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.


Son and nephew of the famous deceased politicians, Bobby Jr. has had his own brush with death. In 1983 he was discovered in an airport bathroom unconscious with a heroin needle hanging out of his arm. He immediately volunteered to attend rehab. Around this time, his goals aligned between both his personal and public life. He decided to take the rotten system and make it clean again, as it should be. He came clean off the drugs and took on trying to clean the world; both attempts are going very well. He is now president of the Waterkeeper Alliance and the chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper. Bobby has also led fights against election corruption and co-hosts a national talk show, “Ring of Fire”. The scope of his accomplishments is wide and his influence, extremely beneficial.




Tierra Designs

A wonderful model of the modern trend toward conservation, Tierra Designs represents all that is American and wise. This is a small business, brainchild of Rodney Love, which demonstrates the power of a good idea with a little effort. First we see that it is possible to make your place in this country dominated by giant conglomerate businesses. We can also do so by making our world a little bit better and more palpable. Tierra Designs does so by collecting rain water for future use in flowerbeds, lawns, and even in the sink. This system costs a little more up front, but in the long run ends up saving the homeowner substantial amounts in water bills, all the while, doing a little to help relieve the metroplex’s draw on the water table. The Tierra rainwater collection system is based on efficiency; this means getting more for less.

Waterways Conference

Shall we sit idly by as our most precious natural resource is wasted? Water is not only vital to sustain life, but is also the back bone of agriculture, manufacturing, and power generation. It would be quite difficult to cool a nuclear reactor with Evian or to quench a thirst with the hot liquid discharge of a powerplant.

March 13 - 15, the Waterways Conference is to be hosted at the University of North Texas Environmental Science and Technology building. The purpose is to bring together the worlds leading minds to solve the worlds growing problem of water usage.

Hydrologists, artists, hydro-engineers, politicians, and philosophers will come together at this event to call fourth problems associated with water constraints. The main focus this year will be the valley which shelters nearly one – tenth of the world’s population. The water is running thin in the Ganga – Brahmaputra – Meghna Basin. This watershed extends into India, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh and will soon be poisoned preceding extinction.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will headline the conference. He represents the environmental organizations Waterkeeper Alliance and the Hudson Riverkeeper. Mr. Kennedy will be speaking twice, so if you miss his sociologic panel discussion with John A. McLachlan over the cultures surrounding rivers fear not, you can still catch his speech as the distinguished speaker for the evening.

Awareness is the benefit of this conference. To let the people know what is going on, both affliction and action, what better way to bring events to light than with art. There will be photography and painting, all centered on water, as well as musical performance. Functional art will also be presented as Daniel Bozhkov lectures on his rain gathering system recently installed on the UNT art building. Awareness is the benefit; functionality is the gain.

Through local, national, and global efforts, the people of the world look to preserve their most valuable resource. It is with intellect, creativity, and action that the Waterways Conference aims to help. It is their duty, and it is your duty. We are all stakeholders in the preservation of the world’s fresh water.