[Greenbuilding] bamboo, formaldehyde

Wed Feb 7 13:41:02 CST 2007

Agreed. I do factor in and discuss the embodied energy of 
transportation. But I'd hoped that formaldehyde was not an issue with 
the "better" suppliers.

I'm not sure, though, I agree with "Choose human health, global 
environmentalism or resource sustainability as your shade of green 
and stick with it." If I read that correctly, you're suggesting 
picking one of the categories to focus on (exclusively?). I think the 
choices depend (A) on the client's priorities and (B) are more 
usually a weighting/prioritizing of some sort.

David
DAVID BERGMAN ARCHITECT / FIRE & WATER LIGHTING + FURNITURE
architecture . interiors . ecodesign . lighting . furniture
bergman at cyberg.com    www.cyberg.com
241 Eldridge Street #3R, New York, NY 10002
t 212 475 3106    f 212 677 7291

At 02:23 PM 2/7/2007, Andrew Pace, CSI wrote:
>One needs to determine the shade of green they are attempting to use as the
>criteria for picking products.  Sure, bamboo is a fast growth species, so it
>definitely scores points for resource sustainability.  But considering how
>far it travels to its end destination, and the fact that all containers
>coming from China are sprayed with pesticides, I have to wonder what
>environmental benefit is actually realized.
>
>There is no perfectly green building product.  Choose human health, global
>environmentalism or resource sustainability as your shade of green and stick
>with it.  Very rarely does a product fit all three categories.
>
>
>Andrew J. Pace, CSI
>Principal
>
>Safe Building Solutions
>"The Nations Premier Supplier
>of Healthy and Sustainable Building Materials"
>
>W292 S4498 Hillside Rd.
>Waukesha, WI 53189
>Phone: (262) 968-5070
>Fax:  (262) 968-5079
>
>www.safebuildingsolutions.com
>
>
>On 2/7/07 1:10 PM, "David Bergman" <bergman at cyberg.com> wrote:
>
> > Interesting -- and disappointing. I though (mistakenly, apparently)
> > that Plyboo had no added formaldehyde.
> >
> > David
> > DAVID BERGMAN ARCHITECT / FIRE & WATER LIGHTING + FURNITURE
> > architecture . interiors . ecodesign . lighting . furniture
> > bergman at cyberg.com    www.cyberg.com
> > 241 Eldridge Street #3R, New York, NY 10002
> > t 212 475 3106    f 212 677 7291
> >
> > At 01:58 PM 2/7/2007, Amanda Tullos wrote:
> >> My understanding of bamboo is that all of it contains Urea-formaldehyde
> >> if it comes from Asia. Both Teragren and Plyboo will confirm that their
> >> in stock bamboo panels contain some amount of added Urea formaldehyde.
> >> The ironic thing is that it is in levels below naturally occurring
> >> levels in some cases. The thing about it that causes problems, so far as
> >> LEED goes, is that the wording for the IEQ point is that no ADDED
> >> Urea-formaldehyde be present, regardless of the amount. Both companies
> >> have special order processes that can supply without the UF, and one is
> >> working toward an off-the-shelf UF-free board to come out as soon as
> >> they can get things rolling (next 2 years?).
> >>
> >> The good news is that the levels were not very high, but I cannot
> >> confirm brands at Home Depot. One sales associate at Home Depot that I
> >> asked about formaldehyde in the flooring said that most manufacturers
> >> have removed it; but, I was very skeptical about this, since they didn't
> >> offer any form of proof.
> >>
> >>
> >> Amanda Tullos, AIA,  LEED AP
> >> Associate
> >>
> >> HEIGHTS VENTURE ARCHITECTS, LLP
> >> 1111 North Loop West, Suite 800
> >> Houston, Texas 77008
> >> P 713.869.1103 x6111
> >> F 713.869.5573
> >> www.hva.cc
> >>
> >> DALLAS
> >> HOUSTON
> >> CHICAGO
> >>
> >>
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