When Claire showed
our class the video of the Feller-Buncher, the logging machine that can cut
down 6.3 trees in one minute, the entire class cringed and went silent (Klepac).
I was awestruck at the destructive force this machine had and the rate at which
it can change a landscape. Our response to the video revealed that our
generation has been programed to defend trees, as if there is no logical
purpose for collecting lumber. However, wood has always been one of our most
useful resources since humans discovered fire, and it is easily accessible in
many countries.
In
the discussion of renewable energy, the more-modern sciences of nuclear and
geothermal energies are great for large-scale power plants, but wood can also
power a steam-generated energy plant. Wood pellets, left over from logging
operations, are a good size for wood burning power plants and are readily
available for many countries (Tweed). For a country needing to import wood, the
transportation would release greenhouse gases, however, in 50 years, the
atmosphere will be cleaner if we transport and burn wood instead of fossil
fuels (Tweed). Burning wood releases 65 to 95 percent less greenhouse gases
than burning fossil fuels, but Thomas Buchholz, a senior scientist at Spatial
Informatics Group, pointed out that trees are a major carbon dioxide sink, so
we will have to manage our forests very conservatively in order to balance the
emissions with the absorption (Tweed). Unfortunately, I don’t believe humanity
can support new technology or legislation unless there is monetary value behind
it, so I don’t see a future where the corporations adhere to scientists’
research and keep their resource consumption in check. For now, wood can power
a small-scale heating system (in a wood-burning stove) for an environmentally friendly
household.
Klepac, John.
"Performance of a Tracked Feller-Buncher with a Shear Head Operating in
Small-Diameter Pine." 2013 Council on Forest Engineering Annual Meeting
(n.d.): n. pag. Forest Service Southern Research Station. USDA. Web.
Tweed, Katherine. "Cleaner Than Coal? Wood Power Makes
a Comeback." Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American,
10 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.
I think you bring up a very interesting dilemma here. The use of coal rather than wood charcoal for smelting, heating, and other industrial purposes is both environmentally friendly and harmful. Verplanck Colvin highlights the fact that mining companies turned away from the use of wood charcoal by the latter half of the 1800s, which he explains helps conserve forests in the Adirondacks and reduces the environmental impacts mining companies have on the environment. Yet, turning over to coal has proven to be harmful to the environment too. If we were to use of wood charcoal again I think you are right, the environmental costs of cutting down trees would have to be weighed heavily against the environmental costs of burning coal. Finding an ideal amount of trees to cut down that reduces the amount of coal being used but does't substantially reduce forest's capability as a carbon sink would also take time and money, and potentially trial and error. This makes it a difficult task to take on and I agree with you, I do not foresee a return to heavy use of wood charcoal anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI think the beginning of your post raises a very important observation of how we view the lumber industry. In class we have continually berated the loggers for their destruction of the Adirondack Park. I also face this struggle when I read about a land void of trees because it is so difficult to accept something so destructive. But in reality, logging is an integral part of our society. I think this is something we all have to keep in mind and instead of scoffing at the logging industry we must encourage economically sustainable ways of harvest.
ReplyDelete