While the practice of sustainability and responsibility may not be in line with much of corporate America’s philosophy of infinite economic growth, there are choices you can make that will have a lasting impact on the planet we leave to our children and future generations to come. Small acts of responsibility, like recycling and conserving water may not seem like much at the time, and may not pay dividends in your lifetime, but take pride and comfort in the fact that you are doing your part. That’s really all each of us can do.
Another area where you have the power to enact change is in the wood products you purchase. Most of you probably never gave a second thought to where that new coffee table or bed frame came from. And that’s fine; chances are you weren’t armed with the information compiled here. But after reading the following, you will no longer be able to claim ignorance nor turn a blind eye to these catastrophic environmental concerns. My hope is that by the end of this short essay, you see the huge social and ecological advantages of purchasing wood products that are certified as sustainably harvested, and that you make a concerted, conscious effort to seek out these responsibly manufactured products and also pass this information on to family and friends.
So what exactly does ‘sustainably harvested’ mean, you might be asking. Sustainably harvested wood comes from protected, regulated forests; ensuring ecosystems aren’t impacted by the loss of trees and that replanting occurs after harvesting. The basic tenet is that the amount of goods and services yielded from a forest should be at a level the forest is capable of producing without degrading the soil, watershed features or seed source for the future. Sustainable harvesting also takes into account the potential damage to vegetation and wildlife. While there are a few different methods of harvesting trees in these regulated forests, the most common mimic natural forces such as fallen trees, insect infestation, and forest fires.
We’ve all heard the motto “save the rainforest.” But why does the rainforest need saving and not the forests of North America and Europe? The fact is that while much clear-cutting was done to pave the way for urbanization and industrialization, regulations and governing bodies are now in place to ensure responsible use of the forests in Europe in North America. Most of the world’s rainforests, however, are located in developing countries where establishing governance of and enforcing responsible use of the land is almost impossible. Slash and burn as well as clear-cutting techniques are often used in rainforest areas not for the wood, but to clear space to plant crops that irresponsibly deplete the soil, leaving it infertile and practically useless after only a few yields.
The impact of deforestation on the environment is currently being felt all over the earth. From the regulation of groundwater to the moisture in the atmosphere, a major function of forests is the management of the world’s finite water supply. Cleared areas are more susceptible to flash floods and soil depletion due to run-off and on a larger scale, deforestation has been linked to tsunamis, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, and our current climate crisis or state of global warming.
What you can do as a responsible consumer is to make sure your wood furniture purchases are all products made from sustainably harvested wood. In most cases this isn’t a very difficult task and won’t cost you any extra money. Many retailers, such as eco-furniture.com, only carry wood products from manufacturers whose wood comes from forests managed by one the main third-party certification entities. These include the Canadian Standards Association, the Forest Stewardship Council, and the Sustainable Forest Initiative. As of December, 2006, there were over 2.4 million square kilometers of certified forest, with over 1.2 million of that certified in Canada alone.
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