In a recent post, I questioned just how green was glass and though it could be recycled over and over again, the cost to the environment may have outweighed any real good produced. Like glass, bamboo has taken on unquestioned attributes due to its strength and durability as well as a quick growth cycle. But due to the high demand for bamboo by American consumers, some bamboo is coming to market harvested prematurely, long before it has reached its mature state to be used in the production of products like flooring and sheet goods, thus resulting in devastating product failure.
It should be noted, that in a resent UN study, several South East Asian communities that once survived for generations on rice production for trade and commerce have replaced this traditional food staple with the growing of bamboo, leaving entire communities without a food or revenue source due to a lack of demand for their eco-centric cash-crop because of a global economic downturn, thus leaving once sustainable communities dependent upon humanitarian relief efforts.
This is not about green-bashing as much as it is about education and personal responsibility. We need to ask questions about the products we purchase and use and not to take anything at face-value and to look beyond the little green symbols in the corner of the advertisement or on the back of the label, because “green” is constantly evolving and what was considered “green“ yesterday, may not be “green” tomorrow and with that said…don’t get me started on the hidden dangers of compact fluorescents light bulbs.
It should be noted, that in a resent UN study, several South East Asian communities that once survived for generations on rice production for trade and commerce have replaced this traditional food staple with the growing of bamboo, leaving entire communities without a food or revenue source due to a lack of demand for their eco-centric cash-crop because of a global economic downturn, thus leaving once sustainable communities dependent upon humanitarian relief efforts.
This is not about green-bashing as much as it is about education and personal responsibility. We need to ask questions about the products we purchase and use and not to take anything at face-value and to look beyond the little green symbols in the corner of the advertisement or on the back of the label, because “green” is constantly evolving and what was considered “green“ yesterday, may not be “green” tomorrow and with that said…don’t get me started on the hidden dangers of compact fluorescents light bulbs.
