Building today, benefiting tomorrow The environmental advantages of eastern white pine

f, s rue vERSATLE wooo of choice lLfor both traditional and contemporary design, eastern white pine remains a reliable building resource, skillfully incorporated structurally and cosmetically into a diverse array of projects. On top of its versatility, another added benefit is that the species is an environmentally sound building material.

When looking at the use of different building materials over time, the superior properties of eastern white pine offer multiple environmental benefits. Some notable ones include:

. Produces low energy consumption levels

Produces low CO':emissions

Is biodegradable for disposal

. Is naturally renewable

Offers greater potential for re-use

As the world's only renewable building and natural construction matter, wood has the best environmental attributes among all building materials. Interestingly, while wood products make up 47Vo of all industrial raw materials manufactured in the United States, it only consumes 47o of the total raw material manufacturing energy. When compared with its nonrenewable counterparts, such as concrete and steel, the product lifecycle of wood achieves negative CO' emissions; a critical factor when gauging environmental impact.

Wood also depends very little on non-renewable energy sources for its production, which is important when looking at its lifecycle or "cradle to grave" picture. But, considering architect and designer William McDonough's "Cradle to Cradle" approach to design-using materials that biodegrade and become nutrient for another process after their useful life has ended-wood may in fact be the most environmentally preferred building material we have.

Consider insulation as an example in determining environmental impact and efficiency. To start, we know that the cellular structure of eastern white pine provides a very effective and environmentally friendly insulator against heat and cold. Studies also validate that an inch of wood is 15 times as efficient an insulator as concrete, 400 times as efficient as steel, and 1,770 times as efficient as aluminum.

The use o[eastern white pine is not only energy efficient because it's an exceptional insulator, but versatility allows it to adjust and accommodate where necessary; thereby offering additional environmental benefits. Such benefits are quite apparent when (Please turn to next page) looking at a home sheathed with eastern white pine. a building technique that produces strong and well-insulated structures that require less energy to heat and cool. Combining its superior insulating capabilities with its versatility, eastern white pine meets the most demanding energy needs with less cost and greater efficiency.

In addition measuring efficiency, research experts are also interested in analyzing the environmental impact and performance of building materials. Their findings cc'rntinue to validate wood as superior in its envilonmental performance to both steel and concrete. According to the Athena Model, developed by Canada's Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, when comparing houses constructed of these three different building materials based on the lifecycle assessment-production of greenhouse gases/solid waste, airlwater pollution. and energy use-wood is the most environmentally practical.

Sustainability

Wood Steel

The Athena Model compares wood, steel, and concrete fiom resource cxtraction. to manufacturing, to on-site construction, to building occupancy, to building demolition. and ultimately to the building material's disposal, reuse, or recycling. Based on the findings. wood's high insulziting properties, recycling and resource recovery rates, and low pollution rates in harvesting and milling. constitute it as the most sustainable and environmentally friendly building material.

While all building materials originate in some form from a natural source, ores and petroleum used for nonwood building materials arc non-renewable, meaning once they are used they are gone forever. Wood, however, is renewable and can be regenerated by way of healthy growth and frequent replanting. Impressively, with average reforesting activities leading to an additional 2 billion new trees planted every year in the U.S., the forest products industry is responsible for 4lolo of all replanted forest acreage. So it is both the sustainability of material and enduse that is important to keep in mind.

Overall, with a good strength to weight ratio, reasonable pricing, energy conservation benefits, and workability, eastern white pine's natural attributes make it uniquely suited to both the performance and environmental demands of modern building materials.

For more inlormation on the bene.fits ttnd upplitutions of' eostern white pine, visit easternwhitepine.org. Those lookirtg.for additional tools and resources aboLrt lumber grodcs, t,i,sit the Northeastern Lumber ManufnctLtrers Asso(iutit)tr dl www.nelma.orp.

We wWWd it in red to make a statement:Ihe quality of aur Maine-grown white pine and our Wssion for daing whatever it takes to meet yaur twds and sryifications set an unsuwawd standard, Make your own statement wih Eastern White Pine from Hancock Lumber.