Bamboo

My Top 3

You’ve probably heard by this point that bamboo isn’t a tree at all, but a grass. Bamboo represents a family of grasses that range in size from tiny to huge, and in color from lime green to maroon stripes. It is incredibly fast-growing and versatile, and it has become the unofficial poster material of environmental designers and builders.

Bamboo can be flattened into flooring, molded into furniture, pressed into veneers, sliced up to make window blinds, or hey, you can just build your whole house out of it. Using bamboo in buildings earns architects and builders LEED points.

Most bamboo comes from China and is grown with few or no pesticides. Because it is so fast-growing, it is much easier to maintain healthy bamboo forests. Although, this also means it uses a lot of water and harvesting too fast can deplete soil fertility. Some growers do use pesticides and other chemical inputs, however, so keep that in mind. But for the most part, bamboo is one of the greenest materials around.

Information found at: treehugger.com and stlouisgreen.com e-news