The American Wood Council’s tall timber code proposals were approved by more than 2:1 at the International Code Council’s public comment hearings. While architects celebrate the potential (in Treehugger) and states move forward regardless (i.e. Oregon), the December vote isn’t a shoe-in.

In other news: tensions escalate around Northern Pulp’s future in Nova Scotia; tariffs on China are causing new home prices to rise in Idaho; Oakland’s suspicious fires have developers bracing for higher insurance costs and considering switching to more expensive steel framing.

Finally, the WWF says 60% of the world’s wildlife has been wiped out since 1970 and Eastern Australia is deemed a deforestation front — the only location in the developed world to make the list.