HOW LONG WILL TREES LAST US?

This blog is not about tree-hugging – it is a presentation of the undeniable facts of tree availability and annual consumption rates which, unchanged, will eliminate lumber materials globally within ~100 years. The objective here is to generate awareness of how WE can and need to pivot from tree harvesting for building materials and fuel in order to sustain people and OUR planet forever. 

The biggest argument for tree harvesting is the sourcing of building materials for housing. Regardless of whether WE continue to use wood to build housing, it is important to acknowledge that housing is oversized as dictated by city legislation – this needs to change in order to create economic stability and “prosperity” for all citizens through homeownership while “conserving” (where it actually matters), conservatives. While this would slow tree depletion to some extent, it would also increase consumption as single family housing units built per year would undoubtedly increase substantially. Therefore, alternative materials need to be mandated with respect to single family housing construction. The most feasible substitute is a steel frame structure concealed with an environmentally-friendly weather-resistant solid material (such as hemp board). This will do a few things for the economy. Demand for steel will increase, and so, pricing will likely increase. However, with prefabricated manufacturing methods the costs can offset each other. Together, this creates substantial economic opportunity for farming, manufacturing, and environmental conservation and regeneration – WE can revive agriculture and manufacturing as the foundation of the United States’ economy rather than propping it with “inflated” housing and credit interest. Our economy is not solid, it’s not even good – it is rigged by big government and bigger business to funnel money out of circulation into the deep pockets of the “elite” – how dare you.

As for hemp, it has gained popularity over last decade due to the Hemp Farm Bill. Prior to colonization and the forced removal of Native North Americans to Arkansas, and then the Great Plains, hemp was a staple crop, used for building and fastening materials, as well as recreational smoking and food. It was a ploy of the government’s doing to limit hemp farming mostly to Kentucky, with the cash-crops tobacco and cotton replacing it as part of the strategy to “starve” Native North Americans, forcing them out of agriculture, pushing them to become dependent on hunting buffalo (which were also strategically depleted by settlers for fur skins to literally starve the Native North Americans). “We the People” should be ashamed of much that our government has done, along with a great majority of the businesses that shaped what could yet become a truly “great” Nation. There is no excuse to turn a blind eye to tree harvesting, manufactured housing, or hemp farming. We have an obligation to shift priorities, reestablish our values, and consume “responsibly” for the betterment of “ALL”.