ers don't know could hurt you

as it grows and is accepte( even preferred, by design and construction companies. A message worth telling? You be the judge. In a 1976 study of energy requirements (million

Story at a Glance

A message for sellers of wood products ... wood is the only renewable building rssource ... facts, figures, information and sources to help you.

BTUs, oil equivalent, per ton), the National Research Council's Committee on Renewable Resources for Indusfiial Materials concluded that producing a ton of steel requires 50.3 million BTUs as opposed to 2.9 million BTUs for a ton of softwood lumber, a ratio of approximately 17 to 1.

A 1991 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listing of toxic substances in millions of pounds released and transfened in the manufacturing process shows lumber at 38; peuoleum, 103; plastics, 195; fabricated metals, 207, and primary metals, 757. The perfect manufacturing pfocess does not exist, but some are more gentle on the environment than others.

Wood wins hands down for resource renewability. Once iron ore is mined or oil is consumed to create plastics and resins, the resource is gone. Nature will create new deposits, but a million years is too long to be practical.

Trees are a renewable resource. Timber growth today exceeds harvesting by over 359o. A balance between growth and removal has existed for the last 50 years. Long tenn survival of the industry depends on correct management of land and resources.

New technologies utilize forest resources more efficiently. In door, millwork, plywood and siding operations, our goal is to use the entire tree. Other wood product manufacturers fy to do the same. The need to conserve and use wood to its best advantage has led !o btter products such as engineered wood.

Biodegradability is a final consideration. Wood wins again because it is natural. While wood waste decomposes in a relatively short time, with no harm to the land, uncertainty exists about alternative products.