Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Beauty of Bamboo One of the World’s Greatest Resources

Bamboo is one of the world’s greatest resources that everyone just recently started to truly utilize. With the popularity growth of bamboo, people are starting to see bamboo products being labeled “Green Products” but they don’t really know much about the material. Bamboo, in fact, is an extremely green resource for a multitude of reasons.

Throughout the ages hardwoods have been the main source of material for furniture, flooring, and housing. A single hardwood tree can take as long as 60 years to reach full maturity, but bamboo can grow up to 4 feet a day and reach maturity in as little as three years, so the bamboo tree can grow back much quicker than any hardwood tree making them a greater renewable resource. Also, a bamboo grove can also produce up to 35% more oxygen than an equal amount of hardwood trees reducing your carbon footprint and helping heal global warming. With the more oxygen being produced and the fact that bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on earth, it is a shame that this material is not being used more that it already is.

Most people associate bamboo with pandas and worry that the bamboo used for sinks, flooring and furniture is taking away a food source from the panda. This is a good association, but not one to worry about, as pandas mainly eat grass. Bamboo and bamboo furniture is made from a much stronger type of bamboo to make the items made last for a long time and not take food away from the panda. There are a total of about 1500 different species of bamboo found all over the globe and all can be used in different ways.

Going green isn’t just a trendy phase going on right now, it is a serious subject that everyone should take part in. Bamboo isn’t just a stylish alternative to hardwood furniture, its an Eco friendly, ozone helping, oxygen producing extremely renewable resource. So when looking for furniture, flooring, sinks, or any other house hold item, please consider a bamboo product.