1500 varieties of bamboo grow naturally throughout the world's tropical and temperate climate zones. It is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. It is a giant grass and some species grow four feet in one day. Bamboo can reach full height in one growth spurt in several months. When bamboo is harvested, the root system is unharmed and healthy, ready to produce more shoots. The grass grows buds for three years, and in one tremendous three-month spurt, bamboo shoots reach full diameter and height. Another three years may pass before poles mature from soft starch into hard bamboo. In about 5 to 7 years of growth, when bamboo poles reach their peak strength and hardness, they are harvested before the quality declines.
Harvesting bamboo at maturity is the critical first step to insure strong and durable quality poles. Bamboo produces greater biomass than trees, and generates 30% more oxygen than a hardwood forest of the same size, while improving watersheds, preventing erosion, and removing toxins from contaminated soil. Because of its high nitrogen consumption it is the perfect solution to mitigating waste water from sewage treatment plants, animal farms, and manufacturing.
Bamboo can be selectively harvested annually and is capable of regeneration without the need to replant. Unlike most forestry, proper harvesting does not kill the bamboo plant, so topsoil is held in place. "Timber Bamboo" can grow to 120 feet high, and the stalk can have a wall thickness of three inches. Bamboo poles are two to three times stronger than comparable wood timber. It yields up to twenty times more material than wood and one bamboo clump can produce 200 poles in the five years it takes one tree to reach maturity. Bamboo can be sustainably harvested and replenished with little impact to the environment.
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth. It grows one third faster than the fastest growing tree. Some species grow as much as four feet a day. Thanks to its rapid growth, the yield is up to 25 times higher than that of timber. It can be used to produce flooring, wall paneling, pulp for paper, fencing, fuel, raw material for housing and more.
This makes bamboo a viable alternative to wood. It has roughly the same strength to weight ratio as steel, and twice the compression strength of concrete. It can withstand up to 52,000 lbs. of pressure per square inch, making it an excellent building material. The hollow tube shape gives a strength factor of 1.9 times more than an equivalent solid wood beam. Thousands of homes and major structures are built with bamboo every year in all parts of the world.
As we move forward into the 21st century and the need for sustainable green living becomes greater, a growing movement is taking place. A consciousness about living in a more earth friendly, environmentally responsible way that includes using products and materials that are really eco-friendly and sustainable. As more people begin taking the steps necessary to reduce our carbon foot print, the need for new eco-friendly products and new green technologies will become a driving economic force throughout the world. And bamboo will be a big part of it because of its multiple uses and its versatility. Live sustainable go bamboo.
EnerChi Living Spaces & Gallery. Live green, live sustainable. We specialize in eco-friendly and sustainable fine bamboo furniture and elegant bamboo and organic cotton bedding. The bamboo furniture is like no other furniture you have ever seen. We also offer the best Himalayan salt crystal lamps available. Plus a great selection of Asian table lamps. Hand crafted meditation pillows and products to create a special place. Check out our decorative accessories and a simple formula for creating positive energy in your living spaces using the principles of feng shui. To live green, it is important that we seek out information and products that reduce our impact on the earth.
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