Bob Jurmain, M.F.A., M.Arch., CalabogieFlyfisher bobjurmain37@gmail.com
  • Design Process
  • Philosophy
  • 1st meeting
  • Verbal House
  • Ontario houses
  • British Columbia houses
  • Jurmain Residences
  • Design and Building Blog
  • Tips for future home owners
  • Photography
  • Paintings
  • Fly Fishing Blog

More on wood

12/9/2011

3 Comments

 
"Wood is good" says Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace.  Greenpeace originated at UBC around the time I was there studying architecture.  That is when an earnest  concern for the environment began.  David Suzuki was teaching genetics but also preaching the fears of global cooling which changed to global warming, now simply climate change.  To be fair David, along with other environmentalists  felt that the melting of the ice caps would cool the oceans to a critical threshold which would enact a rapid cooling resulting in a new ice age.  We know that the last ice age about 100,00 years ago happened very quickly.  Large mammals we associate with much warmer climes were frozen in ice. Pretty scary stuff.  We could live with warm beaches in northern Canada but a mile of ice above our heads is a bit hard to adapt to.   Regardless, there was the continuing sense that mankind was having an effect in burning fossel fuels.  To what extent our activities  affect or can affect the weather remains a question but we know we do in terms of pollution.  Everyone agrees on that.  So what can we do?  In terms of architecture, one thing we can do is use more wood.  By the way, ice ages happen on average every 100,000 years, so we are due.

Moore believes wood is the answer to the future of human civilization  ("Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout").  He outlines the history of wood harvesting where we practically decimated all the forests close to the cities, then we learned to farm trees the same way we grow crops.  It might surprise you to learn that China has added more forests than any other country because they realize its value for the environment and in construction.  Its growing middle class needs it.   And this is the irony.  The more harvesting, the more replanting and management is done.  This helps tremendously in carbon capture.  Untended forests create potential fire hazards.  Burning soil during forest fires releases massive amounts of carbon and other pollutents.

Trees are tremendous solar collectors. Wood kept dry and protected from sunlight will last for hundreds of years.    Properly used it is safer than metal construction.  Firemen tell me that metal floor joists are called "widow makers" as they collapse early in a fire situation.  Wood beams and joists stay integral much longer under similar conditions.  But like much in our society popular fears trump common sense and proper science.
3 Comments
Vancouver hardwood floor refinishing link
9/4/2012 08:58:23 pm

A fine quality educational blog! I like the way blogger presented information regarding the concerned subject. Thanks for posting such a nice blog.

Reply
aisen fridge link
9/3/2020 06:45:36 am

Your thing with respect to making will be for all intents and purposes nothing hard to come by of amazing. This instructive article is unimaginably valuable and contains offered myself a superior answer for have the option to my own issues.

Reply
sony led smart tv link
9/3/2020 07:28:18 am

I really like you words and appreciate your article post. Really Cool please keep writing.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Bob Jurmain, M.Arch.,M.F.A.

    Archives

    April 2014
    July 2013
    August 2012
    July 2012
    February 2012
    December 2011
    September 2011
    December 2010

    Categories

    All
    Architecture
    Building
    Building Insulation
    Building-insulation
    Home

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.