Wood vs. Alternatives
» Renewability
Renewability
Wood grows where trees live, in the forest. When trees are harvested for products, an opening is created in the forest. There are plant and animal species which make special use of these openings, and they are important to a balanced ecosystem. With proper forest management, this gap is quickly filled with fresh new seedlings or a vigorous growth response from the residual trees that remain.
Nothing ever stops in nature, or in forest ecosystems. Gaps occur, whether created by fire, forest insects and pathogens, timber harvest, or simply old age.
The forester's job is to make the best of these forest openings, whether natural or man-made. The proper application of harvesting and planting across the landscape assures that there is the proper diversity of forested areas and openings so that the ecosystem remains in balance.
Sometimes forest ecosystems are portrayed as static and therefore not renewable. But nature is ceaseless, resilient and adaptive to disturbance--especially California's rich temperate forests. It is best to think of the forests like a running video, instead of a picture from a camera.
No other building material renews like wood. Steel and aluminum must be clawed out of the earth and smeltered using fantastic amounts of energy. Plastic is made from petroleum reserves that are finite and definitely non-renewable. Even concrete and brick must be dug and formed or processed. They cannot be grown. And they are heavy, while wood is light yet very strong and a superior insulating material.
Where there is sun, soil and suitable climate, there is forest. Which means that there is a growth continuum, sort of like our own family tree stretching way back to who knows when--and way, way into the future unknown.
Nothing renews like wood.
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