Can Bamboo Flooring Really Help Save The Worlds' Environment?
By S.A. Smith, Fri Dec 9th
Probably not on its own, but its an excellent example of howconsumers can vote with their buying dollars to sway marketdemand to bring more environmentally friendly products into themarketplace. Bamboo is a rising trend in home and a greatalternative to traditional hardwood floors. It is the mostenvironmentally friendly natural hardwood alternativeyou can select for your home, it is a renewable resource, isstronger than steel, and has a greater resistance to expansionand contraction problems associated with temperature andhumidity changes. The bamboo grass is one of the fasted growing plants on theplanet, only takes 5 years to grow to maturity, and can provide25 times the bio mass of a comparable stand of trees. Bamboo isharvested every 5 years, and starts to re-grow immediately withnew shoots when harvested. Bamboo is also strong and has atensile strength exceeding mild steel. It can withstand up to50,000 pounds of pressure per square inch versus some steels50,000 psi ratings.
Bamboo is also become a very trendy interior designstatement with its rich and beautiful golden earth tones. It isimportant to shop around for a quality bamboo productthat contains no formaldehydes in its binding compounds. Manyoffshore brands use cheaper binding agents that may containformaldehydes, and this can cause indoor air pollution problemsdown the road as all
chemical compounds will slowly releasetheir toxins into the air. So why look to bamboo to save the environment? Bamboo is anexcellent replacement product for much of the hardwood speciesthat are being harvested in our global equatorial rainforests.Once harvested, these hardwood species often never grow back dueto the thin layers of soil and lack of sunlight under the junglecanopies, and if they do grow back it can take up to 200 years!Our global rainforests are the lungs of our planet and provide asignificant contribution to our global oxygen production, secondonly to the ocean. By selecting bamboo you reduce the consumption demandfor rainforest hardwood materials, and in the process help saveto the environment for our future generations. For moreinformation and tips on bamboo visit:http://www.laminateflooringzone.com/bamboo-flooring.htm
About the author: About the Author S.A. Smith is a freelance writer, contributor, and editor of theLaminate Zone and can be reached athttp://www.laminateflooringzone.com |
