Forest Fortitude: Preserving Our Best Defences with Bamboo

As many of us learned in grade school, forests and trees hold an unparalleled importance to all living things. They work to regulate carbon dioxide in the air, providing the oxygen balance essential for the survival of both ourselves and the earth we live on. And, as many of us learned from Al Gore in an Inconvenient Truth, mass pollution and deforestation causing global warming (a build up of carbon dioxide emissions in the air) is threatening that balance.

Forests are one of our best weapons against global warming. They convert carbon dioxide, which is responsible for global warming, to oxygen, which is necessary for life. And bamboo forests do it better than the alternatives. Bamboo produces 35 per cent more oxygen than a similar-sized group of trees. Many advocate the use of bamboo for this exact reason.

Bamboo is also a good weapon against deforestation. Deforestation occurs when a substantial amount of forest is permanently destroyed and cleared. The result is damage to land quality, the water cycle, and, as we’ve already addressed, this planet’s climate.

Luckily, bamboo doesn’t need to be replanted. You cut it and it comes back by itself. Its roots stay in the ground and maintain the stability of the soil. No erosion occurs. And the whole plant grows back way faster than other wood sources. In fact, most bamboo stalks will grow back in 59 days and mature within seven years. Meanwhile, a hardwood forest takes up to 50 years to grow back.

Consider looking up other ways to help protect our planet’s forests, like using bamboo or gas burning stoves and fireplaces in place of wood. Join a group that replants trees or even start one yourself. Ultimately, we need our forests. They are as necessary as they are beautiful.