A friend of the ClimateCorps (now a contributor!) pointed out to us that bamboo may be a good item to include as a global warming solution. Leave the trees to sequester carbon dioxide in their wood mass. Instead of using wood products, use bamboo equivalents where you can.

Technically a grass, bamboo grows much faster than wood. Quoting from an online article by Prof. Chin Ong, on the World Agroforestry Centre website…

Commercial bamboo species usually mature in just three years, after which multiple harvests are possible every second year for up to 120 years. No other living plant grows so tall, so fast. In Thika, giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus) reaches 20m with a diameter of 0.2m in one year.

Currently bamboo can most readily be found (in stores as well as online) in the form of flooring. It is a very durable substance for this use, and while we are sure manufacturers vary in the quality of their product (warranties should give you some idea of quality and durability… read them carefully), it apparently compares extremely favorably with hardwood flooring. It is commonly less expensive than hardwood flooring, and it is by nature far more sustainably grown and harvested.

Here’s a link into The Bamboo Site, a simple site on bamboo flooring, if you’d like to check further. Ask questions about the chemical treatment and glues used, since they can be nasty or nice. We are told that bamboo furniture is also far more sustainable than wooden furniture. Here’s an attractive site called EcoDesignz (with a Co-op America seal of approval). And here’s another good link, to the website of the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan.