Mel responded to Dave's comments: (Dave Kruger said): >political correctness (can't leave that out!): Wood boats use >up high-quality wood, either from temperate rain forests (cedar strippers) or >tropical rain forests (okume sng boats). <<When I was in Seattle I dropped by Pygmy and paddled a few of their boats. My wife asked about the wood and where it comes from. They claimed that all of their wood comes from tree farms in Israel, not from a tropical rain forest. Specifically planted trees for later harvesting.>> Mel Coincidentally, I'm working on an article for Wavelength Magazine this weekend regarding "Wood Technology in the 21st Century". I'm covering aspects including woodworking safety, as well as ethnical considerations for their upcoming wooden boat issue. My research and interviews with Pygmy and Chesapeake Lightcraft, et al, suggests the Okume plywood is harvested in Africa on plantation grow operations, and the actual plywood, amongst other countries, is manufactured in Israel. No one is actually on-site at the African location, so as of yet, the plywood can not be eco-certified, though attempts are being made. While plantation wood is generally a good environmental practice subject to on-going verification in the above instance, the social consequences and related questions, still to be answered, are even less readily apparent. Cedar strip canoes and kayaks are a bit more problematic, in that generally, end-users prefer the higher grades of tight grain cedar - read, old growth. One high note, is that due to its prized nature, small salvage operations are attempting to extract the countless cedar logs still left in the forest from reckless, wasteful logging practices over the last few decades. Regarding cedar: In my late teens, I worked for a year for a high-pressure company that helicoptered-out blocks of cut-out old cedar (we did the back-breaking cutting and removal with 4' long chain saws and heavy mauls) for shipment of shakes to mostly California homes during the heyday of that fad. I can attest to how remarkably well preserved this wood is after many years lying about. The long-rage implications for quality cedar harvesting of live trees, is still a thorny issue. To be environmentally responsible however, one's efforts are better spent working at the political level and consumer demand level with respect to insisting your wood purchases are from sources where sound-environmental practices are carried out -- rather than worrying about the bit of wood that the end user tallies up constructing a kayak or canoe. My opinion, of course. BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Oct 29 2000 - 14:44:04 PST
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