ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF BAMBOO
I feel there is some imprecision about the phrase "renewable resource". Anything that can be re-grown, re-made or regenerated is in the widest sense of the phrase a renewable resource. Theoretically we could allow forests to be flattened and squashed under the debris of centuries and we would have produced some more oil supplies. The same is true of hardwood trees. We could cut an oak down and replant a sapling. In 120 years that sapling would be another mighty oak and the hardwood resource in question would have been renewed. From writing this it becomes very apparent that what we mean by "renewable resource" is actually "quickly renewing resource".
Hardwood trees that take between 60 and 120 years to mature don't fall in this category. Only the longest human lives could hope to see a hardwood go with seed to maturity in a lifetime. On the other end of the scale is wind and sun, two resources which seem endless and instantly renewing. And until the sun burns itself out that is indeed the case.
Bamboo is neither instantly renewing or incredibly slow in its renewal. It is the fastest growing plant on our planet and goes from shoot to maturity in 4 to 6 years. Bamboo can grow 60cms or 24 inches in a single day. This makes bamboo our most renewable plant resource. As such we must take full advantage of its fast growing properties if we as a race are going to survive the next 50 years. In the next 50 years the world's population is set to double. Already we are running out of resources to feed, cloth and house the present population. Imagine double the population with less resources available than today. It is a terrifying prospect. If the extent and nature of our consumption of wood, water, soil and sea life isn't managed more efficiently and in a more self-sustaining fashion now we don't have much of a future as a species.
One of the first things we must do is preserve our forests. They are the lungs of the planet. Chopping down hardwood trees to make flooring seems to me to be one of our most frivolous activities. I can understand that often carpets are undesirable because they are havens for a multitude of allergens, but using oak or maple or teak as a flooring material isn't the only alternative. There are tiles and there is bamboo flooring. Engineered bamboo flooring contains pine and so is not a good alternative. Solid bamboo flooring is better but it not very strong. It dents and marks easily. The best alternative is strand woven bamboo flooring because the bamboo plank is made by compressing strands of bamboo under high pressure. The result is a very strong plank with a Janka Hardness Rating of 3000 PSI (pounds per square inch) meaning strand woven bamboo is twice as dense and thus twice as hard as oak.
Another environmental benefit of bamboo is that it can be grown organically. Bamboo does not require a pesticide to aid its growth because it contains a natural 'kun' substance that fights pathogens and pests. This makes bamboo not only fast growing but resilient and because bamboo can be commercially grown without pesticides it is more environmentally friendly than traditional commercial 'crops'.
Bamboo provides further benefits to the eco-system where it grows. It provides a habitat for wild animals, it provides a food source for such creatures as the Giant Panda. Bamboo, because of its extensive root system, holds soil together and stops top soil erosion. In Japan bamboo is planted on hill sides to stop landslides during the rainy months of June and July. Furthermore, bamboo absorbs five times as much carbon dioxide and releases 35% more oxygen then an equivalent stand of trees.
Bamboo is also incredibly flexible and strong. It makes an excellent wind barrier. For people in the developing world bamboo is vital for so many purposes. It can be used as scaffolding, it can be used as a replacement for iron rods in concrete columns. The young shoots of the bamboo plant can be eaten. They are very nutritious and considered a delicacy in Indonesia, Japan and China.
Bamboo can be used to make furniture and houses. It can be woven into baskets. In India and China bamboo is used in traditional medicines. The list goes on. Bamboo is amazing. It helps the environment by supplying a habitat, cleaning and holding the soil together, producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. It helps local communities by providing a fast growing and quick to replenish source of food, medicine and construction material. It is also an important cash crop for many farmers in South East Asia and China.
As long as the bamboo is managed correctly and in a self-sustaining manner it has an enormous positive impact on the environment and on the lives of the people who live near the bamboo.
It is important that the whole world recognises the environmental benefits of using bamboo instead of precious hardwoods such as oak, teak, maple and pine, to name just a few.
The only environmental drawback for strand woven bamboo flooring is that it still uses adhesives that contain formaldehyde. When the strands of bamboo are heated and compressed they are binded with a low VOC adhesive. This adhesive is low in formaldehyde but not free of the compound that easily becomes a gas and is linked with respiratory and allergy health problems. Columbia Forest Production have made an alternative to formaldehyde containing adhesive. Instead their glue called PureBond is soy-based and mimics the byssal threads used by mussels on the beach to cling to rocks. Columbia Forest Production make a plywood using PureBond. This plywood is recommended for making a subfloor for installing strand woven bamboo flooring. Let's hope that PureBond is soon used in the production of strand woven bamboo to make it a near perfect product.