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If wood becomes even more in demand, will we plant more trees then we kill? We humans are already destroying our forests as it is.
by fideloper 12y ago
If wood becomes even more in demand, will we plant more trees then we kill? We humans are already destroying our forests as it is.
- nl 12y agoPlantation timber is a pretty eco-friendly material, and can be cheaper than wild timber (especially if you are in a jurisdiction that has carbon accounting).
- peroo 12y agoPossibly, but that won't help the flora or fauna since young, planted forests have completely different ecosystems than the rainforests we're tearing down. Arguably it won't help co2 emissions much either since old forests capture enormous amounts of carbon in the ground, which planted forests don't.
- jobu 12y agoWhile I agree that tree plantations aren't as biodiverse as natural forests, I had been lead to believe that young, fast growing trees sucked in more carbon than mature, stable forests. Do you have any citations for why forests are better, CO2-wise? My google search results turned up a mixed bag.
- phyllostachys 12y agoBamboo, we need to start using bamboo.
- ars 12y agoBamboo has some uses, but it doesn't replace even a fraction of what wood is used for.
- lsaferite 12y agoI guessing the point was we need to go down the path of finding ways to use bamboo instead of wood. Bamboo grows significantly faster than wood and is amazingly strong. If the materials sciences guys could find ways to process bamboo like this is would be a much more sustainable path.
- ars 12y ago> We humans are already destroying our forests as it is. Not for wood. Forests for wood are actually larger than in the past. When forests are cleared it's for farmland, so this won't make any difference.