We Need To Talk About Clearcutting...
TL;DR
We’ve done some calculations in collaboration with our newest partner, FORMATION AG showing how our patent-pending mycocomposite, zerø-frm is around 6.5x more efficient use of land than framing timber! We also found that an acre of farmland growing hemp for our building materials products draws down 15 tons of CO2e per acre per year, while an acre of plantation forest harvested for timber EMITS 26 tons of CO2e per acre per year (for 13 years after harvest).
OUR LATEST INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP
THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR
I wish we didn’t have to talk about this, but we do. In the U.S., the vast majority of timber harvest occurs on privately managed lands. The forestry industry has a widely held view that clearcut practices are the most efficient method of extraction. While this may be true from a pure profit perspective, the arguments for clearcutting being a viable harvesting technique are definitely NOT supported by the evidence. (Ref.). In the US, clearcutting can account for 75%-85% of the total timber harvest, depending on the region. (Ref 1, Ref 2). I wish we didn’t need to bring this up, but we do!
NOT GETTING ALL OF THE FACTS
We have recently seen a number of articles touting the potential for more timber harvests leading to more buildings made from more lumber as a possible climate solution. (Ref 1, Ref 2) Proponents of this argument cite the amount of carbon stored in wood that would remain locked up during the lifespan of the building. But in light of the fact that clearcutting is the dominant form of timber harvest today, a future where skyscrapers are built from timber would certainly accelerate the “economical” practice of clearcutting.
It shouldn’t take a climate scientist to understand a glaringly obvious issue with this argumentation. Chiefly, trees are VERY efficient at sequestering CO2…and they can do it for decades or even centuries longer than the CO2 locked up in the biomass of timber products. (Ref)
IT’S A MATTER OF EFFICIENT LAND USE
LULUCF considerations are vital to ensuring that our climate actions have an actual impact on our ability to draw-down carbon and regenerate degraded habitats. While trees are left in the ground: forest ecosystems remain intact, watersheds are protected, biodiversity flourishes, and the effects of wildfires are far less impactful. (Ref) Unfortunately, the common timber harvest practices that supply the U.S. timber markets can result in sequestration dead zones.
WE ARE ACTIVELY RAISING TO DEVELOP MARKET READY MVPs USING OUR PATENT PENDING MYCOCOMPOSITE: zerø-frm
We are well on our way to forging a path forward that eliminates the need for timber framing, thereby dramatically reducing pressure on our precious forest ecosystems.
Growing building materials with regenerative cover crops like hemp, and using the most abundant, lowest value portion of the plant (the hurd) to create structural building materials will certainly result in a gigaton of CO2 draw-down all while providing clear, circular economic benefit.
WE CAN DO BETTER!
PROBLEMS WITHOUT SOLUTIONS ARE DEPRESSING
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
- Albert Einstein”
When we focus on the problems, we create despair. But there are times when the solutions have not caught up with the recognition of the problem. But post COP26, there is a groundswell of support for investing in early-stage technologies with the potential to not only mitigate the effects of climate change, but also draw down carbon. COP26 highlighted the incredible opportunities that can come from transforming the built environment into a source of significant impact on both mitigation and draw-down. (Ref 1, Ref 2)
Thought leaders in finance are also recognizing the need for a transformation in the way we invest in our economic future by staying laser focused on climate impact and mutual benefit as true measures of a healthy economy.
okom wrks IS A GIGACORN IN WAITING
A few days ago, I tongue-in-cheekly tweeted that we should start hunting for Gigacorns…[namely] a company whose technology can impact global CO2 emissions by 1 gigaton of CO2 per year while being commercially viable.
On Gigacorns and Sustainability Tech - Christian Hernandez (Jul 6, 2020)
LAND USE COMPARISON
- ONE ACRE -
PLANTATION FOREST
YIELD: 47.5 MBF
NET CO2e: +83 tons
FARMLAND
YIELD: 132 MBF
NET CO2e: -138 tons
AN ACRE OF FARMLAND GROWING HEMP^
Produces 2.75 times more building material*
Draws-down 138 tons of CO2e*
*Than an acre of plantation forest can over a 30-year even-aged growth cycle.
^ (hemp hurd is the main biomass used to create zerø-frm, the strongest mycocomposite in the world)