McMahonGoFixIt



Making products in the modern world has become significantly easier with plastics. They are malleable, cheap, and you can tailor their chemical properties to any particular purpose. However, in the movement towards synthetic materials, many seem to have forgotten one of the most basic and trusted of them all: wood. Back in a time where durability and reliability were at the top of the list as opposed to profit, wood was heavily utilized due to its own malleability. Unlike the synthetic alternatives of today, wood is natural and renewable. In fact, America is one of the many countries in which deforestation is not a problem at all like in the tropical regions. In fact, the woodlands in the United States are growing every year in both density and size [2]. If wood were to be more utilized, all of this abundance could be utilized to create more jobs, durable products, and interest in wood as a building material. If tree farms were to be established with the growing interest, the impact would become even greater. As money begins to be generated from the woodland, people will become more reluctant to sell the land [2]. This uses the inherit greed of humanity to help the green movement. Everyone will begin to value nature if there is money to be made from it. Another reason to invest in wood is that it is a natural carbon sink. While natural forests do sequester carbon, there is an upper limit that is related to forest size. When the trees die, the carbon is re-released into the atmosphere. By cutting and processing wood, carbon is permanently being removed from the atmosphere [1]. Therefore, as long as the wood products are not being used and are not decomposing, they are keeping the carbon from re-entering the air. In the event that the materials need to be replaced, wood is able to naturally and easily degrade in the elements. Not only that, but excess or old wood can be used as a fuel source to heat homes, cook food, or a multitude of other tasks. A way for wood to make a major impact currently is for the use in buildings. There are currently government programs that require the use of wood in construction, something that is a bit of a rarity today. In many counties, the use of wood in construction is severely limited [1]. As such, buildings over a few stories cannot be made of wood even though architects love to use it and it is capable of such designs. People can make a difference by voting to allow wooden building materials and purchasing high quality, durable products that incorporate wood into its design. Neither of these options are expensive and can go on to help change our mindset on how we view what the world around us is made up of. After all, can’t go on designing our own environments and be sustainable. Eventually, we must incorporate some of the products that nature provides us with to ensure a symbiotic and sustainable relationship with the earth.

Bibliography:
 * 1) Ritter, Michael A., Kenneth Skog, and Richard Bergman. "Science Supporting the Economic and Environmental Benefits of Using Wood and Wood Products in Green Building Construction." USDA Forest Service (2011). <[].>

Each of the authors of this paper work for the Forest Service and as such are well-educated on the wellbeing and capabilities of our national forests. This paper focuses mostly on the construction aspects of wood and its potential uses. It does so by showing the benefits of a green building, how wood has evolved to be a competitive building material, and the obstacles that currently prevent these practices. Although using wood for small products, the impact possible from construction is much greater making this a very relevant subject. The quotes that sum up this article best are, “Although wood has been used with a good performance record in non-residential building 6 applications such as schools, hotels, strip malls, and offices, the relative market share for wood has been small compared with that of other construction materials.”” A key to maintaining healthy forests is to keep management costs reasonable by developing a market for sustainably harvested green products that advance green building,” and “The latest green building initiatives indicate a clear trend toward requiring green in building construction that includes demand for recycled-content, re-used/refurbished products, regionally sourced materials, and certified wood.” If many of these ideas were to be spread to the public, I believe that real change can be made.
 * 1) Taylor, Adam, Chris Knowles, and Eric Hansen. "Communicating the Green Advantages of Wood to Your Customers." Oregan State University (2009). <[].>

Taylor Adams is an assistant professor of forestry, wildlife, and fisheries from the University of Tennessee. Chris Knowles is an assistant professor of wood science at Oregon State University along with Eric Hansen who is a professor there. The main argument of the text is right in the title, convincing those in the industry to both use wood and make a push for sustainable wood products in manufacturing. The paper argues the economic figures on wood production, the importance of product life cycle assessment, and how to market wood products to customers with helpful facts to win them over. This was very helpful in the presentation because it gave me the arsenal necessary to convince others that wood was a good building material. The three quotes that are most important to this paper are, “ Money generated from wood products can help to ensure the continued existence of the forest by providing the private landowner an incentive not to convert forestland to another use, ““Fortunately, deforestation is not a problem in the U.S. In fact, according to the U.S. Forest Service, forests in the United States are both expanding in area and growing faster than they are being cut,” and “Because the wood products industry gets about half of its energy needs from burning wood, wood products in general contribute much less to global warming than substitutes such as steel or concrete.”