Bamboo – the most Chinese of Plants
A plant to save the Planet
Latest plans are aiming at a global direction. Scientists want to use bamboo for the protection of our endangered climate, and they hope it can help to keep nature livable.
First, bamboo is great at preventing erosion. The fact that it also thrives on bad soils helps even more.
Moreover, it can become a valuable source of income in agriculturally disadvantaged regions of China, while also supporting China’s fight against the destruction of its already small amount of arable land.
Climate protection
One of its most attractive qualities is the ability to bind large amounts of carbon dioxide and thus relieve the atmosphere.
Global warming is an important issue. Unlike certain Western industrialized nations, China still works on all fronts to reach the goal of staying below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Sometimes it might look unattainable for this emerging giant. However, one must remember for the sake of honesty that the West´s complaints about the Chinese emerging economy is somewhat unjustified. We are in an amazingly comfortable position. We outsourced all production, that is harmful to the environment, to countries far away. It’s easy but dishonest to point the finger at them.
China, however, is not letting itself be fooled here and is taking the path already taken towards a green future. Bamboo can help.
On the one hand, it binds large amounts of carbon dioxide – unfortunately not methane, which is much more harmful.
On the other hand, bamboo can be used for various beneficial purposes. It serves as a substitute in the furniture industry for a wide variety of woods and can even replace or support steel, concrete and other building materials in some areas.
Overall, bamboo is a raw material that grows fast, protects the environment and is much more robust than any tree.
Scientists suspect that a single hectare of bamboo can store around 300 tons of carbon dioxide. By processing it and thus turning it into long-lasting objects, its carbon storage capacity extends to around 60 years. That makes it almost twice as efficient as the fastest growing trees produced in bulk so far.
Today’s bamboo products do not stay in the small area of once popular garden furniture. Modern production methods make it possible to produce everything from floor coverings to manhole covers and carriages of the highest quality. As a bonus those products will be much more sustainable and thus environmentally friendly.
This will make bamboo one of the most sought-after materials in the not too distant future.