5 ms·

The one major issue not addressed is: deforestation. Yes, we can make skyscrapers out of wood, but should we? Where do we get the trees from and will they be re

The one major issue not addressed is: deforestation. Yes, we can make skyscrapers out of wood, but should we? Where do we get the trees from and will they be replaced quickly enough to provide a sustainable future?

dredmorbius 10y ago
This is getting dinged, but it's a serious concern. There are only so many board-feet (or linear meters) of high-quality timber available in a given year, and construction (and reconstruction) of cities was responsible for deforestation across widespread areas -- San Francisco denuded most of the San Francisco Bay Area, for example. Deforestation in Europe from the 1600s onward had a great deal to do with fuelwood consumption, particularly for glass and iron manufacture. Iron used charcoal, at the rate of about 40-80 kg of source fuelwood per kg of produced iron. Structural wood isn't used at quite the same rate, though it remains a concern, particularly for high-yield-strength. Composite timber (plywood, particle board, and other types) reduces the quality requirements somewhat.
spodek 10y ago
I looked at it the opposite: We can sequester carbon in buildings this way. I haven't done any numbers and presume it's probably small for global warming, but I understand that using concrete put huge amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere, so maybe decreasing that contribution would count for a lot.
DrPhish 10y ago
You can replace (replant) trees faster than you log them. How are you replacing the steel you're pulling out of the ground? You can recycle steel, but there is a limited supply and extracting it is energy intensive. We can grow an almost unlimited number of trees, and each one is a carbon sink to boot
- Tempest1981 10y ago
  Does the soil eventually need to be replenished, and are there any limits on that?

5 ms·

The one major issue not addressed is: deforestation. Yes, we can make skyscrapers out of wood, but should we? Where do we get the trees from and will they be re

by drivingmenuts 10y ago

dredmorbius 10y ago
This is getting dinged, but it's a serious concern. There are only so many board-feet (or linear meters) of high-quality timber available in a given year, and construction (and reconstruction) of cities was responsible for deforestation across widespread areas -- San Francisco denuded most of the San Francisco Bay Area, for example. Deforestation in Europe from the 1600s onward had a great deal to do with fuelwood consumption, particularly for glass and iron manufacture. Iron used charcoal, at the rate of about 40-80 kg of source fuelwood per kg of produced iron. Structural wood isn't used at quite the same rate, though it remains a concern, particularly for high-yield-strength. Composite timber (plywood, particle board, and other types) reduces the quality requirements somewhat.
spodek 10y ago
I looked at it the opposite: We can sequester carbon in buildings this way. I haven't done any numbers and presume it's probably small for global warming, but I understand that using concrete put huge amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere, so maybe decreasing that contribution would count for a lot.
DrPhish 10y ago
You can replace (replant) trees faster than you log them. How are you replacing the steel you're pulling out of the ground? You can recycle steel, but there is a limited supply and extracting it is energy intensive. We can grow an almost unlimited number of trees, and each one is a carbon sink to boot
- Tempest1981 10y ago
  Does the soil eventually need to be replenished, and are there any limits on that?