[Greenbuilding] Bamboo flooring -- no magic bullet

[Keith Winston]

Well, these questions have finally been raised in the last couple years. 
I'm not sure what you mean by "since the beginning." And still, today, 
in most circumstances when bamboo is raised, it's all hype and no 
substance. It's still "the worlds fastest growing plant" or some such. I 
just heard it from a world-class green building expert a week ago.

Where have you seen satisfying answers to the questions you mention re: 
bamboo? I think one of the early reports, by Dovetail Partners, was 
linked here when it came out a few years ago (I might have been the 
person who brought it up...). There's an interesting article here:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/09/bamboo_flooring.php#ch01

that points out, amongst other things:

-almost all bamboos have formaldehyde binders.

I hadn't really realized it's not any harder than maple, at best. Of 
course, maple's pretty hard. You're right though, no free lunch.

Keith

> Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:03:41 -0500
> From: "Steve T" <progressivepenguin at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] Bamboo flooring -- no magic bullet
> To: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
> Message-ID:
> 	<7156d5f20706140803v6e57d2d2k9d5542e83bff5fe2 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I agree that bamboo is no magic bullet, but from what I've been reading
> since I first heard about bamboo as a flooring material is that people have
> definitely been asking the hard questions. "What about the fuel used to ship
> it from China?" "What kind of oversight is there in China to ensure that
> bamboo harvesting is sustainable?" "What about the working conditions in the
> bamboo processing plants?"  "What chemicals are used in the processing of
> bamboo floors?"  These questions have been out there from the beginning and
> for the most part the questions have been answered, and bamboo is not the
> perfect Green and Sustainable product.
>
> Personally, I gave up looking for that "truly Green and Sustainable" product
> almost as soon as I began looking.  I use bamboo for our flooring because I
> really like the way it looks and the way it wears.  The fact that it is
> "greener" than other exotic and some domestic woods is an added bonus.
>
>
> On 6/14/07, Keith Winston <keith at earthsunenergy.com> wrote:
>   
>> There's been a lot of discussion on Bamboo on this list, I believe. As
>> to how green it is,
>>     
>
>
>
>   

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