one of the strongest building materials available. There are a few different reasons why bamboo can be a wonderful choice as a sustainable resource. First of all, bamboo has an impressively short growth cycle, growing at a minimum 1/3 faster than the fastest growing tree. Because there are over 1000 different species of bamboo, it can grow in many different environments across the globe. Within reason, it can be harvested every 3-5 years instead of the standard 10-20 softwoods require. Additionally, bamboo helps to balance oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and generates more oxygen than it's equivalent in trees.
However, the popularity of bamboo as a renewable resource in recent years has threatened that man will har
vest it faster than nature can replenish it, even with it's amazing growth cycle. It will cease to be an option as a sustainable and renewable resource if it is depleted. This year, a company called Boo-Shoot Gardens that is located in Mt. Vernon, WA may have found a solution. Boo-Shoot is a biotechnology company that has successfully been able to engineer a way to rapidly multiply bamboo plants based on "tissue-culture"science, after investing 7 years into this research. Using this technology, they are able to provide over 1 million plants to wholesalers per year. This could be an excellent alternative to harvesting bamboo grown naturally, while utilizing it as a wonderful sustainable and renewable resource...Fun fact: Dell developed a bamboo desktop that is 80% smaller than other desktops while using 70% less energy... Check it out: http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2008/04/30/dell-develops-an-ecological-bamboo-computer/
Boo-Shoot Gardens, LLC. : http://booshootgardens.com/Homepage.cfm
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