6 ms·
Maybe not totally on topic, but both the OP and the first article the author links in the text claim there are no natural resources, but both are seemingly not
by mod 7y ago
Maybe not totally on topic, but both the OP and the first article the author links in the text claim there are no natural resources, but both are seemingly not addressing one of the most frequently used natural resources: wood. In the text of "there are no natural resources" the words "tree" and "wood" do not appear.
In most cases we are indeed shaping the wood to be what we need, but obviously nature isn't going to grow door frames or rafters for us. It sure grows wood, though. No need to smelt it or refine it or really even figure out how to use it properly. It's not a "highly inconvenient form."
We get sheets and blocks of plastic shipped around that aren't in their final form, but they are the final refined substance, just as wood is.
- mlthoughts2018 7y agoOxygen, water, sun light and time are additional resources that don’t fit the OP article’s narrative.
- throwanem 7y agoNot highly inconvenient? You don't just cut down a tree, rip it into planks, and use them. Their dimensions, and physical properties like hardness and density, change as they dry. That takes either a good deal of time, or a good deal of infrastructure and processing work - the latter of which is actually required, if you want the kind of repeatable, predictable results you need to produce the dimensional lumber with which we're all familiar today. Hell, you can't even burn green wood without a lot of effort, smoke, and the occasional steam explosion - and not very much useful heat. Have you never cut your own firewood? Unless you're smoking meat with it, you want to give it a good long while to dry out, ideally a season or more, before you use it. So, no, by the article's definition, wood is no more a "natural resource" than iron ore. In both cases, ingenuity and effort are required to convert the raw material into a reliably usable form. The same is even more true of plastics, which require a great deal of complex refinement to go from original feedstock to nib or rod or wire or billet that can be cast, machined, or 3D-printed into finished products.
- irrational 7y ago>You don't just cut down a tree, rip it into planks, and use them. Their dimensions, and physical properties like hardness and density, change as they dry. Not to mention that you get very different results depending on how you saw the tree into planks. Flat, quarter, rift sawn wood have all kinds of pros and cons. You will get more wood from flat sawn, so it will be cheaper, but it will be more likely to warp.
- tomcooks 7y agoNot to mention how the moon influences how long the resulting beams will last
- TheGallopedHigh 7y agoInterested in hearing these details
- tomcooks 7y agoStructural beams, for roofs or boats for example, are cut during certain phases of the moon cycles, to ensure they are as void as possible of sap. This supposedly prevents shrinkage and fracturing.
- jacquesm 7y agoAlmost all wood that is intended for use cases where warp is a problem is engineered wood.
- irrational 7y agoDo you mean as in building homes? I suppose that's true, but I do woodworking - things like custom furniture - where warp matters but we don't use engineered wood.
- jacquesm 7y ago
- pazimzadeh 7y agoRegarding that claim - I've always thought it was kind of the opposite: all resources are natural. It's interesting how often two statements that seem completely opposed can both be true.
- criddell 7y agoWhat about water? Isn't it a more obviously natural resource?
- twic 7y agoSand might be a better example.
- naringas 7y agobut you need a decent ax to use them. you cannot use wood with your bare hands
- jacquesm 7y ago> nature isn't going to grow door frames or rafters for us If I'm not mistaken there is a special kind of rake that used to be grown in its characteristic shape out of a single piece of wood.