photo by Sarah McDevitt
Not a simple issue
Figuring out what is a bona fide green material is so confusing. Often there is no simple answer. Take wood. It must be a sustainable material since it’s renewable. Heck, it grows on trees!
But can it be replanted and grown fast enough to meet our needs? And just how is it being replanted and what are the consequences of these practices? Another facet of the question is: what kind of wood and for what purpose? Again, it’s complicated.
Types of logging
Cutting down whole areas of forest—clear cutting—is has devastating effects on wildlife, watersheds, and fisheries, soil conservation, and possibly global warming. Yet it still is practiced in this country, as well as around the world.
A better approach is a tree plantation. When the trees are cut down little trees are planted to replace them. This is a sustainable practice, but it’s not a forest. No other trees grow there and they are not natural habitats —more like a tall field of corn. So wildlife is adversely affected. But it is a way to help produce the wood we need to build our houses.
A third approach is selectively harvesting a few trees in each area of a forest. However the rain forests of the Amazon Basin, Indonesia, Burma, and other places have old growth teak, mahogany, and ipe trees being cut that would take ages to regrow. And it turns out even this small amount of logging can have surprisingly negative effects in rain forests.
FSC vs SFI
How do you tell if your wood is from a sustainably harvested forest? There are two popular certifications in the U.S. to guide you. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative). The FSC is considered much more legitimate than the SFI, but that is a subject for another day.
As I said, it’s a confusing subject with no clear cut answer. But it is worth considering when you are adding a deck to your house (redwood, ipe, or composite?). Or wondering how to reduce the total amount of lumber in an addition or new home.
Where do you stand on the question: is wood a sustainable material?