Most of the wood
species that have been classified as endangered are from the bands of
rainforests that gird the tropical latitudes of the globe. These are the
earth's "lungs" where much of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is
captured by the trees and exchanged for oxygen. The trees in temperate,
arctic, and Antarctic zones are nowhere near as effective in cleansing
the atmosphere of this "greenhouse gas." If the rainforests are allowed to
die, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the planet-wide
warming it causes will grow at an even faster rate than it is now. The
climate in other zones will warm and rainfall patterns will change,
stressing the forests elsewhere on the earth. There is much evidence
that this is already happening. More wood species will become endangered
and go extinct. The end result is that
craftsmen will have less wood and fewer choices. Woodworking will die
along with the forests.
A clear-cut
rainforest in Brazil.
The rainforests
are suffering because they have been overused and mismanaged. Many are
clear-cut and never regenerate. If you work with endangered rainforest
species and you are sensitive to these environmental concerns, purchase them from an ecologically-aware supplier who
respect the sensitive environments of th wood they sell. These suppliers will have a "Chain-of-Custody
Certification"
or "Smartwood Certification" to prove they purchase their lumber from
loggers and sawyers who adhere to responsible environmental practices.
You can get a
list of certified wood products and companies
from:
Rainforest Alliance
665 Broadway, Suite 500
New York, NY 10012 USA
Beware of lumber
companies who claim good environmental practices in their advertising
and other literature, but don't back it up with certification. This
so-called "greenwash" is becoming more prevalent as consumers become
ecologically savvy and suppliers feel they can't afford the effort
or expense required to become ecologically responsible.
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