The "Greenest" Building Material

Wood...who knew!? At first I was a little surprised by the newly released report from the U.S. Forest Service identifying wood as the greenest building material. I would have guessed concrete, steel or some other alternative material. However, according to the report, 2.1 tons of greenhouse gases were saved for each ton of carbon in wood products verses non-wood materials. Trees and the lumber products made from them sequester carbon from the atmosphere and continue to store it long after a building is constructed. The report calculated that over 100 years, net greenhouse gas emissions of wood-based homes would be 20-50% lower than for homes built out of concrete or steel. Really?! That's a big difference! I'm happy to hear this because it eases a little of my eco-guilt about building a new home and makes me feel more comfortable with our decision to build with wood. Early on in the planning process we had researched building the home with insulated concrete forms instead. We stayed away from it mostly because it was new and quite expensive. Who knows how it would have turned out, but I'm feeling better about our decision now!

concrete forms used for construction of some new homes