by Rebecca Walker — December 17, 2008 A new booklet from the Forest Foundation, The Wood User’s Guide to Green Building, details the important role wood plays in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, underscores the energy efficiency of wood and shows how well wood rates when compared to other primary building materials.
In a time when sustainable practices are becoming more desirable, the booklet outlines the benefits of building with wood, including scientific data that shows how wood outperforms steel and concrete across a range of environmental performance criteria.
Not only is wood grown using natural energy from the sun, but more than 60 percent of wood processing is powered by wood-based biofuels, a much cleaner source of energy than fossil fuels.
Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, replace it with oxygen and store the carbon, helping to fight global warming. Even after trees are harvested, carbon continues to be safely stored in wood products like lumber and furniture for generations. In fact, about half the weight of wood is stored carbon.
The Guide briefly describes some of general characteristics of the many green rating systems in use today. It focuses primarily on the steps California is taking in developing its green building programs, and also addresses the familiar LEED ratings set by the Green Building Council and the Green Globe ratings as developed by the Green Building Initiative.
The guide can be viewed at The Forest Foundation Web site or ordered by calling The Forest Foundation 1-866-241-TREE while quantities last.
