The Wood User's Guide to Green Building - California Redwood ...

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Wood and Greenhouse Gases — What is Greener than Wood?Global Focus on CO2CO2 gets so much of thegreenhouse gas story spotlightbecause it is closely linked toenergy, and because atmosphericcarbon levels are on the rise.When used in construction, woodretains its stored carbon. It stayssafely out of the atmosphere forthe life of the wood structure,and even then wood can often berecycled.Using wood keeps CO2 out of theatmosphere for a very long time.It’s not just wood framing thatis beneficial. All wood doors,cabinets, flooring, molding andfurniture store carbon dioxide.While wood represents 47 percentof all raw materials used in theUnited States, the energy usedto produce it is just 4 percentof the energy used to make allmanufactured materials. That’sbecause wood is energy-efficient.Not only is wood grown byharnessing solar power, butmore than 60 percent of woodprocessing is powered by biofuels,a far cleaner source of energythan fossil fuels.Energy to BurnBiofuel energy means burningwood and other organic materials– chips, agricultural waste,bark, sawdust – to producesteam. The steam drives aturbine, which turns a generatorto create electricity. BiofuelManaging forests can conserve criticalresources for generations.14
A Northern California biofuel plant turns wood chips and agricultural waste into clean energy.“One of the best ways to address climate change isto use more wood, not less. Every wood substitute– including steel, plastic and cement – requires farmore energy to produce than lumber.”— Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeaceenergy results in relatively lowemissions, whereas burningfossil fuels results in significantcarbon emissions. The U.S.Environmental Protection Agencyconsiders biofuel emissions toBiofuels can help California meet its growingdemand for energy.be “impact-neutral” on globalwarming because burning barkand agricultural waste for energycreates no net emission increase.Although the production ofbiofuel energy has fallen inCalifornia since 1992, increasedrecognition of the importanceof thinning overgrown publicforestlands to reduce the threatof catastrophic wildfires mayhelp revive the industry and, inturn, reduce reliance on importedwood and environmentallyharmful fossil fuels.15
Page 1: The Wood User’sGuide to Green Bui
Page 4 and 5: 4This spread and following page: Bl
Page 6: Introduction — Wood for a Cooler
Page 10 and 11: Wood and Greenhouse Gases — What
Page 18 and 19: Green Building Standards — What a
Page 26 and 27: 26Sustainable forest managementcons
Page 28 and 29: Materials Origin and Impact — How
Page 34 and 35: Conclusion — Sustainability Reign
Page 36: 853 Lincoln Way, Suite 208Auburn, C

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