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FROM THE EDITOR Listen to This Michael "House" Tain writes about a wide range of topics in his Training & Education article in each issue of Arbor Age magazine. Now you can listen to House share his thoughts regarding tree care industry safety in the latest Green Media Internet Broadcast (i.e., podcast) on ArborAge.com. The newly launched Green Media Internet Broadcasts will be an ever- growing archive of conversations with professionals from throughout the green industry. For the safety podcast, House discussed the overall state of safety in the industry, areas that need improvement, training programs, and much more. "It's an industry that needs even more focus on safety," House said. "Part of the reason for that is that it is an industry that is fairly easy to get into, and fairly easy to start doing the work due to a lack of required certification or required regulation." According to House, there needs to be a greater emphasis on safety at an individual level, a corporate level, and perhaps even a national level. "Unwanted regulation and burdensome regulation is certainly not wanted by anyone in any industry," he said. "But when you have folks dying on the job, something needs to happen. "Although many companies have good safety programs and enforce them stringently, there are a lot of companies where there is no safety program at all, and it's just not enforced," he added. "So we've all got to buy into it." House said that training programs and certification make a difference, but unfortunately not as big of a difference as they should. He added that there is a need to get the message of safety out to those who are doing tree work who haven't had training or don't have certification, and also motivate those individuals to pursue training and certification. In the podcast, House delves into ways that companies, and company leaders, can emphasize safety and minimize risk on a daily basis. He also talks in depth about advancements in technology, and how equipment has gotten better, lighter and more user friendly. "When I consider what I climbed with an on almost 30 years ago com- pared to what I climb with an on now, there is very little similarity," he said. "A lot of the stuff with PPE is comfort. If something is uncomfortable and makes my head hurt, I'm probably not going to wear it. Or, if I am wearing it, I'm thinking about the fact that the hard hat is making my head hurt, instead of the fact that I've got a saw running in my hand and I'm 60 feet in the air." House points out how advancements have made gear stronger, lighter, more comfortable and more ergonomically friendly. But I don't want to give away too much of the conversation here in print. This is just a small sample of House's John Kmitta Editor 847-720-5613 jkmitta@m2media360.com 6 Arbor Age / April 2012 insights from the half-hour-long conversation, but hopefully it encourages you to go online and listen to the Internet Broadcast. To access the audio file, visit www.ArborAge.com, and click on the "Internet Broadcast" link in the left-hand navigation bar. The audio is also available through iTunes. 626 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 500 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213-596-7226 Bruce Loria bloria@m2media360.com 1030 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068 www.arborage.com jkmitta@m2media360.com Integrated Content Team Executive Vice President Charles Forman Editor John Kmitta Editorial Direction Richard Brandes Production Team Art Director Adam Lane Production Manager Karen Kalinyak M2MEDIA360 President/CEO Marion Minor Vice President, Finance and Operations Gerald Winkel Vice President, Circulation and Collateral Services Joanne Juda-Prainito Production and Operations Director Mary Jo Tomei Direct Mail List Sales Cheryl Naughton, 678-292-6054, fax 360-294-6054 e-mail cnaughton@m2media360.com Reprint Service Cheryl Naughton, 678-292-6054, fax 360-294-6054 e-mail cnaughton@m2media360.com For subscription inquiries and customer service questions please call: 845-856-2229; 845-856-5822 (fax) ARBOR AGE SALES TERRITORIES Charles Forman, Executive Vice President ph: 213-596-7220 fax: 213-624-0997 gdatz@m2media360.com 626 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Advertising Account Managers Glenn Datz 16267 W. 14 Mile Rd., Ste. 202 Beverly Hills, MI 48025 248-530-0300 Leslie Palmer lpalmer@m2media360.com Publisher's Notice: We assume no responsibility for the validity of advertising claims in connection with items appearing in Arbor Age. Reader Service Numbers are given to facilitate further inquiry. Commercial product names are used for the convenience of the reader. Mention of a commercial product does not imply endorsement by Arbor Age or Bev-Al Communications, or preference over similar products not mentioned. 360 1030 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068 www.arborage.com