[Greenbuilding] bamboo, formaldehyde

[Keith Winston]

I think the most interesting question still hasn't been brought to the 
table. Is bamboo really a fast growing species? Sure, it grows fast in 
HEIGHT, but what we care about is biomass per acre per year, more or 
less (that is, how much flooring is produced by an acre every year, when 
grown in a sustainable way). I'm happy to see other real questions 
coming up about bamboo's (not always) sustainable harvesting and farming 
practices, but this question came up a year ago or more and I still 
haven't assured -- does bamboo actually significantly outperform 
hardwood flooring in it's productivity in sustainable conditions? If you 
add shipping from China, that can't help, and if China is using 
pesticides and fertilizers (perhaps the disadvantage of a fast-growing 
grass is the incentive to speed it up even further: I don't think 
hardwoods are sprayed in this country, although probably only a very 
small fraction are sustainably harvested), then that would seem to 
really puncture the balloon.

As I wrote then, I found myself dumbstruck when I realized I'd just 
accepted the claim that since bamboo was fast growing (in height), 
implicitly it must be 1) more productive per acre and 2) grown at least 
as sustainably as the competition... I still don't know the whole story, 
but I definitely stopped giving bamboo a free ride! Mostly everyone else 
still does, however :-/  I'll be very interested to hear any more info 
people can shed on this.

Keith


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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>
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-- 
Keith Winston
Earth Sun Energy Systems
Hyattsville, MD 20781
301-980-6325
send me mail at 
keith at the company below
www.EarthSunEnergy.com