Bamboo’s sectional anatomy, both as a cane and on a microscopic fiber level, enhances its structural integrity. 2. Bamboo floss is also free of the potentially harmful wax mentioned earlier which is used in many nylon flosses. Bamboo plant is highly sustainable and it is the fastest growing plant in the world! Compared to an equivalent tree mass, bamboo produces 35% more oxygen and research has shown that bamboo can absorb as much as 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year. 1.6 billion people’s livelihoods depend on forests. Human activity resulting from overpopulation is the driving cause behind habitat destruction. Habitat destruction is ranked as the single greatest threat facing our planet’s animals, and the largest cause of extinction. Most redwoods have a 500 to 700 year lifespan, but some can live over 2000 years! To give you an idea of the true strength of bamboo materials, let’s compare it to common building materials. Bamboo facts are interesting because bamboo is an amazing plant with tall stalks and leaves which can be found all over the world. When the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia tore out five acres of bamboo alongside the Chattahoochee River, the State Environmental Protection Division declared they were in violation of environmental rules. Bonus geek-friendly, bamboo Eco-friendly sustainability facts to bore your friends with… Thomas Edison used bamboo in the first light bulb. The fact that bamboo is a grass is the starting point for why it is different and more sustainable than timber from trees. Tropical forests contain at least half our planet’s species whose habitats are being destroyed at an alarming rate. According to reports in a small village in Indonesia, water from the culm (the side branches) is used to treat diseases of the bone effectively. Many redwood lumber companies prefer using this old-growth wood because it is sturdier than the younger trees and can be given a longer warranty. Jul 26, 2020 - Quick & Fan facts about Bamboo Plant! Renewable resource – bamboo can be harvested in one to five years depending on the species. Choosing bamboo would also mean that we would support the local economy and enhance sustainability. Roots and leaves have also been used to treat venereal diseases and cancer. Every year 22 million acres of forested land is lost. Bamboo as an ancient herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years in Asia. Sustainable materials. Therefore, bamboo cultivation creates job opportunities to several people. Yes, bamboo can be a sustainable and eco-friendly resource. Continuous harvesting of this woody grass every 3-7 years, actually improves the overall health of the plant. In China, ingredients from the black bamboo shoot help treat kidney diseases. Bamboo is very strong and grows incredibly fast compared to other types of wood. However, not all bamboo is necessarily sustainable or even environmentally preferable. “Old-growth” refers to the forests that are considered ancient and tend to promote the most biodiversity because of their unique filtration of sunlight. It … Bamboo also self-regenerates using its own roots to replenish the grass after harvest. Typically, 20-25% of the poles in a sustainable bamboo forest or plantation can be harvested each year. Some species have been measured to grow over 4 feet in 24 hours. Buying a bamboo rug will ensure that you save a tree. Bamboo’s dense running rhizome root system has proven to be a great way to prevent erosion – so much so that in some cases its removal can actually harm the surrounding habitat. If the next Avengers movie stars ‘Bamboo Man’, I wouldn’t be surprised. Beyond the tasks of layout and theme selection – which are a vast undertaking by themselves – there are tons of decisions … Shoots are used mainly in Asian food preparations. Intensive harvesting of timber, deforestation, slash-and-burn practices, and urban development all make for fewer places that wildlife can call home. Bamboo can still be grown unsustainably in a minority of instances, so you can also look for FSC certification, or organic certification (a step above FSC). Cali Bamboo's mission is to provide sustainable materials for high quality building products. Bamboo has a high elasticity, which is why it is a perfect choice for use in building construction. Below we quantify the plant’s potential for green economy development. During the time it takes to regenerate, the bamboo plant’s root system stays intact so erosion is prevented. [10] I am a millennial living in Santa Fe, NM with my wife and our two puppies. California Transparency in Supply Chain Act. Without bamboo bolstering the riverbanks, the water was in danger of eutrophication – a harmful excess of chemical nutrients being released in the water from eroding soil runoff. He used a bamboo filament. Today, however, a long-term project is in place to plant groves of bamboo in these troubled areas to maintain land stability. Turning raw bamboo fibers into fabric is the opposite of sustainable. Beware though: it is also made into Rayon in a chemical process that is unsustainable. The precious rainfall supplying their crops and drinking water had also been washing their village down the hillside, forcing small communities to abandon their homes. The high silica content in bamboo fibers make the material difficult for termites to digest. Bamboo; Wood; Hemp; Wool; Linen; Straw; Clay, stone, sand; Beeswax; Coconut; Sustainable Designs. Luckily, the city halted the bamboo removal and agreed to restore the buffer around the river. I did some research andcreated a list of the benefits of bamboo as a sustainable material: 1. For example, when bamboo blooms it dies. It is a type of grass and grows from it’s roots, when it is cut it quickly grows back with most species maturing in 3-5 years. There are many Bamboo plant species and some of them can grow up to 91 cm (35 in) per day and up to 30 meters in height. And the icing on the cake – bamboo produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent size of trees! Bamboo has been picking up a lot of attention lately for being an eco-friendly alternative to other types of materials. Bamboo can be a very sustainable crop: a fast-growing grass, it requires no fertiliser and self-regenerates from its own roots, so it doesn’t need to be replanted. Visit our Instagram profile for more fun facts! Passivhaus; The Duralex tumbler; The Bicycle; The Hypercar; The Guitar; Cast Iron Cookware; Thonet chair; Chinese Chef’s knife; Tweed jacket; Picnic Table; Resources. Pulps are mainly produced in China, Myanmar, Thailand and India, and are used in printing and writing papers. This durability and speed of growth contribute to making bamboo a very popular and sustainable building material. But its use as a fabric is actually where this grass falls short. It requires an intensive and chemical heavy process to produce the fabric. MOSO Bamboo products combine the virtues of the best hardwoods (hardness, looks, stability) with the immense growing capacity of the highly renewable giant bamboo species Moso and can therefore act as the green carbon negative alternative for scarce (tropical) hardwood and in some applications even for high CO2emitting products made from non- renewable resources such as concrete, plastics (PVC) … General. Bamboo is being hailed as one of the most sustainable fabrics we can opt for, but is it as eco-friendly as we’re led to believe? Exotic woods like the mango are often used in Oriental rugs. As a result of a movement towards sustainability, bamboo has become increasingly popular in recent years. Bamboo is a sustainable raw material that can be used very efficiently both from an economic and ecological point of view. As a result, 85% of the world’s species are now classified as “threatened” or “endangered”. Bamboo is a super plant. By providing alternative products made from renewable resources, we can make a difference in the future of our planet. The very dense fibers in each bamboo cane give the plant extreme flexibility, allowing it to bend without snapping. Our product offerings include bamboo flooring, fencing, plywood, poles, and recycled composite decking. In the meantime, there is less oxygen produced, less carbon dioxide consumed, and more soil runoff in the spot where the tree was harvested – all producing harmful environmental effects. Thanks to its unique composition, bamboo is naturally designed for strength…. Today, over one billion people in the world live in bamboo houses. However, this requires chopping down trees that have been around since the Middle Ages! Along the California and Oregon coastlines a massive 96% of the original old-growth coast redwood trees have been logged for use in fences, furniture and construction. Ancient remedies that involve bamboo are still used in many health and body care products today. In Japan, the antioxidant properties of the bamboo skin prevent bacterial growth, and are used as natural food preservatives. Bamboo Fabric vs Rayon. Imagine destroying something that started growing in biblical times just to make a fence! Incredibly, this does not decrease the number of poles per hectare or 100 square acres! School resources; Tools. In industrial textile production, cellulose-heavy bamboo pulp is dissolved in a chemical solution. Unlike trees, the bamboo plant does not die after harvesting, eliminating deforestation. It is a type of grass and grows from it’s roots, when it is cut it quickly grows back with most species maturing in 3-5 years. Bamboo is often labeled ‘the world’s most renewable material’ and is the fastest-growing woody plant in the world. This can severely disrupt the ecology of the river and everything living in and near it. Spoiler alert: the majority of bamboo fabric is the same as rayon! Bamboo vs wood. Bamboo has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than graphite. In terms of the environmental impact, bamboo is fast-growing and therefore is often touted as an environmentally friendly choice. Bamboo facts are interesting because bamboo is an amazing plant with tall stalks and leaves which can be found all over the world. Just east of Nepal and north of Bangladesh, the Bhutanese village of Ramjar had a serious erosion problem. We’re here today to talk about a wonderful material that can help with sustainability. 4. Bamboo is a vast untapped development resource that provides climate-smart mitigation and adaptation solutions. From diverting logging in the rainforest, home to thousands of species. It is also used to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other types of jewellery. By using renewable materials instead of traditional lumber. If you’re part of a yearbook team, you know how overwhelming making those choices can be. In fact, by harvesting the mature plants, the yield and quality of the plantation actually increase. Home Bamboo Agriculture The Top Ten Reasons Why Bamboo can Save the Planet The Top Ten Reasons Why Bamboo can Save the Planet. According to World Wildlife Fund, 18.7 … According to Japanese scientists, bamboo cloth can retain its antibacterial quality even after 50 washings. Bamboo is a type of grass and itself it is indeed eco-friendly and sustainable if it grows in its natural environment. Bamboo’s incredibly thick rhizome root system helps maintain soil integrity. There are over 1000 species of bamboo. Deforestation has dealt an especially heavy blow to Earth’s largest tree, the California redwood. The thickness of the sprouting shoot determines the thickness of the mature stem, as cell … Unfortunately, a mere 4% of the original old-growth redwoods are still standing as a result of a relentless demand for lumber. – U.S. Green Building Council, Green construction has been championed as the way of the future — providing jobs, cutting energy consumption, and making efficient use of sustainable resources. Green is great, but strength is what stands the test of time. Some species have been measured to grow over 4 feet in 24 hours. Cups and saucers, spoons and ladles can all be made from this incredibly versatile material. Often used for its tonic and astringent properties, it is also considered an aphrodisiac. Bamboo. Bamboo mainly goes under the sustainability of materials however it does play a role in other ways as well. Pollution, global warming, and conversion of natural habitat for agricultural use also greatly impact habitats. Posted on February 7, 2020 by admin - sustainability. 1.21 metres: the maximum daily growth of a bamboo pole The plant’s rapid establishment and growth allow frequent harvesting, which limits exposure to disaster, and allows farmers to flexibly adapt their […] Bamboo is very strong and grows incredibly fast compared to other types of wood. One of the best characteristics of bamboo is that it’s extremely renewable and sustainable compared to cotton, wood, and similar plants. In fact, you could consider that bamboo viscose, generic viscose, and rayon are all the same material. It is often used for scaffolding because it proves to be an eco-friendly and cost-effective resource. Rayon is just an older, more generalized term for fabric made from wood or plant cellulose. One of the biggest environmental benefits of bamboo is its ability to absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. In fact, it’s largely been discredited as a solid alternative to cotton. The actual final result is bamboo viscose, or rayon. This durability and speed of growth contribute to making bamboo a very popular and sustainable building material. However, the processed or treated product in the end is the most concerning part. Bamboo dental flosses contain no preservatives, gluten, artificial colors, or sweeteners, though some manufacturers add peppermint or essential oils. Purchasing bamboo products therefore should not impact the panda's food resource. According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80% of Earth’s forests have already been destroyed, and they continue to be wiped out at a rate 10x higher than any possible level of regrowth- more than 17 million hectares a year! Bamboo looks like a sustainable solution for the textile industry. In order for bamboo to be sustainable, it usually should be Moso bamboo (also known as giant timber bamboo) which is not endangered or threatened. NO CHEMICAL PESTICIDES OR FERTILIZERS: Bamboo requires zero in terms of agricultural chemicals to grow and thrive. Green building is a movement dedicated to the transformation of practice in the design, operation of built environments. Some bamboo products are really not eco-friendly at all but others definitely are. Bamboo contains different chemical extractives than hardwood, which make it better suited for gluing. If timber was used instead, it would require the felling of trees from an already diminishing forest. Turns out, when up against other timbers, bamboo shoots above and beyond. Forests are home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity. If the destruction of habitats around the globe does not slow, mass extinctions is sadly imminent. Some facts about the sustainability of bamboo are: According to UNESCO, 70 hectares of bamboo produces enough material to build 1000 houses. By now, nearly everyone knows that we are depleting the natural resources of the only home that we have at a rate that is well past sustainable. Yearbook planning options in 2020 are endless! It is believed that if bamboo were planted on a mass basis it could completely reverse the effects of global warming in less then a decade, while providing a renewable source of food, building material, and erosion prevention. Footprint calculators; Gapminder World ; Sustainability quotes; … In earthquakes, a bamboo forest is actually a very safe place to take shelter, and houses made of bamboo have been known to withstand 9.0 magnitude quakes. Much discussed and criticized, it represents one of the most sustainable, natural raw materials due to its properties and growth rate. Bamboo is a grass, not a tree, which is why it is a particularly sustainable material to use: it grows very quickly (the record is 90cm in 24 hours), matures within 3 years, and regenerates - so the plant is not destroyed and continues to grow after the poles are harvested. Unlike wood, bamboo has no rays or knots, allowing it to withstand more stress throughout the length of each stalk. For thousands of years bamboo has been the go-to building material for most of the world. Trees used for conventional wood take 30-50 years to regenerate to their full mass. The following real-life stories demonstrate just how important bamboo is in preventing dangerous erosion. In fact, when bamboo fibers are used in construction, carbon is stored away for the lifetime of the building. A pole of bamboo can regenerate to its full mass in just six months! Turning rough bamboo grass and shoots into a usable fabric is not an easy feat. For example, bamboo structures will have better air quality if compared to more toxic building materials. Read more about sustainable furniture here». In Hong Kong, bamboo scaffolding is preferred over metal scaffolding because its easily available and cheaper. Bamboo has higher compressive strength than many mixtures of concrete. Some facts about the sustainability of bamboo are: It is grown without pesticides or chemical fertilisers It requires no irrigation The objective is to reduce the negative impacts of built environments while creating healthy, comfortable, and economically prosperous places for people to live, work, and play. In that same amount of time, one bamboo plant – which can be continually harvested every three years — could have been cut and re-grown over 650 times. Can be used in construction material. Another great inventor, Alexander Graham Bell used sharpened Bamboo as a needle on the first record player (phonograph). Bloom Bamboo is an unusual plant in a number of ways. This prevents landslides and keeps nutrients from getting dumped into rivers and lakes where they can harm the ecosystem. Choose the five facts that resonate most with you as a designer and make a list, justifying why each fact is important to sustainable designers. Musical instruments, fishing rods, bicycles, helmets, toys…, Copyright 2008-2020 Econation | All Rights Reserved | Powered by, 1000 Words: A Manifesto for Sustainability in Design, Read more about sustainable furniture here», It is grown without pesticides or chemical fertilisers, It grows rapidly and can be harvested in 3-5 years, It produces 35% more oxygen that an equivalent stand of trees, It sequesters carbon dioxide and is carbon neutral, It is a critical element in the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, It is an excellent soil erosion inhibitor. It can grow up to four feet in one day, no joke. 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