Rice, straw and coconut the new alternatives to wood

Any claim of environmental improvements which uses the word 'waste' is pretty much guaranteed to be missing something, in my opinion. There is in fact no such thing as waste. There is only a process of wasting.

Straw is fertilizer (properly used). Removing it from the food cycle means you need to add something else back in (probably oil based fertilizer). [Yes currently, much straw is burned, which is a shame, but at least the trace elements are getting back in the soil]. In addition, this will not save ANY wood. The land will be clear-cut in order to make room for rice fields, etc.

We can not consume our way to sustainability.

 

I remember way back when...I saw a science show that was ushering a new era in biodegradable plastics made from shrimp shells. Yeah, it was that long ago that I probably can't cite any links! Anyway, that's one example I can think of over past examples of sustainability. The older I get, the more I think economics will be the only driving force about energy alternatives/ renewables.

 

Hi Corwyn,

I agree. I think southern Missippi Valley bamboo would be a much better choice. Somebody (probably in Wisconsin - Federal Wood Products Lab) needs to invent a way to make bamboo plywood!

I think they could grow Bamboo in the unusable portions of traditional farms in the fertile bottom land next to the drainage south of St Louis.

 

Coconut husks (coir) do not decompose easily. A coconut was designed by nature to have this tough outer shell while bobbing in the ocean.

In the past the fibers were used to make rope and other coir products, floor mats, etc. Now it is being used as a substitute to peat moss. The destruction of peat bogs has a large environmental impact.

Now a good substitute for all these fibers is hemp. Of course there is no way we will make a synthetic building material out of hemp. The gubment would be worried about teenagers burning structures down to get high.

 

If the professor on Gilligan's Island was able to make everything out of bamboo and coconuts including a lie detector, I think we can too!

 

That's a great idea

Plywood

Other than bamboo surfaced flooring I hadn't heard of it either, but thought a bit about the composition of bamboo and it seemed like it wouldn't be hard to do. Mr Google confoirmed that it has been done.