Pine Beetle Kill Wood becomes Coveted

Pine Beetle Kill Wood becomes Coveted

Susan Allen
Susan Allen

 

If life hands you lemons, make lemonade? Something of that sort is occurring throughout our Western and Canadian forests. The terrible carnage from the "rice grain" sized pine -beetle, the death of billions and billions of ponderosa and lodge pole pine trees are now being reused, and in some cases even treasured as artifacts. Builders and furniture designers are using beetle-killed logs in their wooden creations and a researcher from Canada has developed a new use for pine-beetle kill wood. He discovered that wood attacked by the pine-beetle becomes an excellent ingredient for producing a concrete like product that has the beautiful esthetics of wood, but is hard, water resistant and strong. Making it perfect for countertops and tiles. Over a million board feet of pine-beetle wood will be on display at the 2010 Winter Olympics at the Speed Skating Venue. The oval roof is almost entirely made up from pine-beetle wood. In fact, so much pine-beetle wood is being processed that before long, Blue Pine, named  for the attractive light blue streaks caused by bark beetles, should be available in your local Lowe's or Home Depot . The harvesting of downed trees also serves a valuable tool to fight forest fires, clearing the land of  what has become a tinderbox of  kindling.  So, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit, what was once regarded as a total devastation has generated a wealth of opportunity and an amazing example of sustainability. I’m Susan Allen.
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