Bamboo Research Paper

The broad topic of this paper is environmental sustainability, and the narrowed topic is how environmental sustainability can be achieved with bamboo, particularly in comparison with traditional materials such as wood.

My rationale for researching this topic is to explore the ways that bamboo can be used to sustain the environment and its suitability for that purpose. Although other materials have been proposed in the past as environmentally sustainable, commonly no one can find a worthwhile use for them sufficient to induce the public to buy them or else the properties of the material have inherent weaknesses for the purposes of using them widely in place of traditional materials such as wood and metal. Bamboo has a number of attractive qualities that could help it to rise above the pack and become a cornerstone of environmental sustainability if its uses can be identified and exploited.

1.3 Why Environmental Sustainability is Needed

Modern agricultural methods and the use of wood timber for housing, flooring, paper, furniture, and a variety of other uses have led to a negative impact on our environment. Goodland (190) points out that "Cattle caused or are related to the most environmental damage to the globe of any non-human species (e.g. overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, tropical deforestation for ranches)," noting th

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expansion and contraction also make it superior to wood for flooring, as wood flooring can buckle, stain, and warp under high heat and humid conditions (Shtyster). Bamboo has been used and tested in flooring for years and "is now among the most popular floor coverings at the high end of the market" (Shtyster). It has already been widely accepted in the building community and been included in design projects dedicated to sustainability and "green" construction (Shtyster). Since bamboo flooring reduces the amount of forest hardwood consumed for traditional wood flooring, it "helps preserve the forests and their important environmental functions" (Shtyster). 3.2.2 Construction Bamboo is an excellent construction material, and one billion people around the world already live in bamboo houses (Bansal & Zoolagud). Bamboo is surprisingly durable for use in construction. In a study where bamboo stems were cut and tested, their "average compressive, bending and shear strength" were greater than those of unreinforced concrete and both soft and hardwood timber (Kyakula 43). Thus, bamboo can be used for construction struts and beams, as well as for housing components that receive less load-bearing weight and stress (Kyaku

Category: Economics - B