Why would you want to build using Wood?

Why on earth a wood house?

Everybody knows that wooden houses are for children, doggies, and weirdos who live in the backwoods. Yes, they have seen the light, and now also modern intelligent people realize wood is the world’s best building material. Soon, we will have wooden bridges, arenas, houses, kindergartens, and even skyscrapers all over.

You’re going to love it.

So, has wood come into fashion? Hmmmm. Since when did it ever fall out of fashion? It’s always been the best building material whichever way you look at it.

Now get your brain around this. Relative to its weight, wood is the world’s strongest building material. That’s the way nature made it which is why building with wood is quick, easy, and economical (as all do-it-yourself women know, it’s a piece of cake) and because nature made wood so strong and flexible, tall wooden buildings remain standing even during earthquakes.

Now, here’s something for your heart.

Wood is beautiful, feels good, and has a wonderful scent, creates and excellent indoor climate and acoustics, and keeps you warm, but don’t take our word for it. If you “wood” give it a try.

Here’s something for your conscience. 

Wood is the most environmentally friendly material. It’s the only building material made by the sun, and with carbon from the air, so wood stores carbon and reduces the greenhouse effect, and it’s the only renewable material in perpetual supply forever and ever (from properly managed forests of course), and should wooden houses be demolished, you don’t end up with waste, nooooo! For wood can be recycled or burned. Thus using the solar energy stored in the wood to replace using coal, oil, and gas. Brilliant! Which is why modern intelligent people choose wood, caring

Invest in wood for wood is good

Wood - Nature's Genius

Wood - nature's genius

Are you also fed up?

Fed up with being told that everything is going to hell?

What with CO2, the greenhouse effect, flooding, drought, hunger, exhaustion of natural resources, mountains of rubbish, and the pure hell of toxic pollution.

Well, don’t worry because there is a solution, wood.

Yes, trees and wood products are the way forward because wood is the world’s most environmentally friendly raw material.

Get this. Trees and forests are a source of raw material that grow every year, and forests are much prettier than coal mines and oil drilling platforms, but you may ask isn't it wrong to cut down trees? No, luckily cutting down trees is absolutely fine if forests are managed with the purpose of producing wood for manufacture and when we cut down trees, new ones are planted in their place. Furthermore, plantation forest areas are expanding; increasingly increasing by many 000's square kilometers each year.

Wood products are also healthier for the climate because trees take CO2 out of the atmosphere and store it in their trunks, then later in wood products. So, we are reducing the greenhouse effect every time we use wood in houses, bridges, furniture, and cars, and when you dispose of wood products the story still isn't quite over, burn them, for there’s energy stored in the wood, and by doing so you release only as much CO2 as the tree consumed when it grew thus replacing the use of coal, oil and gas, preventing CO2 emissions and resulting in no waste which is why wood is the world’s most environmentally friendly raw material; a resource that both grows and produces clean energy instead of waste which is more than you can say about metal or plastic, concrete, coal, oil and gas now isn't it.

So use wood for wood is good.

Invest in wood for wood is good

http://www.silvinvest.co.uk/investments

What Does Timber's 2013 Outlook Mean for Housing? (SHW, TOL, WY)

What Does Timber's 2013 Outlook Mean for Housing? (SHW, TOL, WY)

WWF - Industry key to conserving forests as demand for wood projected to triple by 2050

WWF - Industry key to conserving forests as demand for wood projected to triple by 2050

Frankfurt, Germany — By 2050, rising population and demand, as well as an increase in use of wood for bioenergy, could triple the amount of wood society takes from forests and plantations per year, according to the latest instalment of WWF’s Living Forests Report. The report, presented today at the international paper conference Paperworld in Frankfurt, projects paper production and consumption may double in the next three decades, and overall wood consumption may triple. 

“A scenario of tripling the amount of wood society takes from forests and plantations needs to motivate good stewardship that safeguards forests – otherwise we could destroy the very places where wood grows,” says Rod Taylor, Director of WWF’s Global Forest Programme. “Wood, if sourced from well managed forests or plantations, is a renewable material with many advantages over non-renewable alternatives. The key challenge for forest-based industries is how to supply more wood products with less impact on nature. This challenge spans the whole supply chain, from where and how wood is grown and harvested to how wisely and efficiently it is processed, used and reused.”

WWF’s forest conservation target is zero net deforestation and forest degradation by 2020, which means no overall loss of forest area or forest quality. The target requires the loss of natural forests to be reduced to near zero, down from the current 13 million hectares a year, and held at that level indefinitely.

“WWF’s research suggests that it is possible to achieve zero net deforestation and forest degradation while sustaining a vibrant wood products industry that meets people’s needs,” says Emmanuelle Neyroumande, Manager of WWF International´s global pulp and paper work. “But the longer we delay our actions the more difficult and costly the solutions will be. We need wiser consumption, more efficiency, responsible forestry practices, good governance and more transparency.”

For paper in particular, the Living Forests Report outlines a variety of solutions:

More recycling in countries with low recovery rates: Even with higher global paper consumption in the future, society would need less virgin material than today if recycling rates increased. A 2020 scenario shows that an increase of paper production by 25 per cent could still require less virgin fibre input if the current global level of 53 per cent recycled fibre use is increased to 70 per cent. Paper recovery rates vary greatly between countries. Therefore, efforts to increase recycling in countries with low recovery rates and high consumption growth have particular potential to reduce pressure on natural forests. 

Resource efficiency and fairer consumption patterns: More efficient processing and manufacturing can help produce more products with a given amount of wood. Also, the current consumption patterns of rich nations (10 per cent of the world’s population consuming 50 per cent of the world’s paper) cannot sustainably be followed by developing countries. Richer nations can reduce wasteful paper use, while poorer nations need more paper for education, hygiene and food safety. 

Plantations to reduce pressure on natural forests: Even with more frugal use and greater recycling and efficiency, net demand for wood is likely to grow. Maintaining near zero loss of natural forests after 2020, without significant reductions in consumption, would require up to 250 million hectares of new tree plantations by 2050, which is nearly double the amount of plantations today. Therefore, well-managed plantations, particularly on currently degraded land, contributing to restore ecosystems, will play an increasingly important role.

Well-managed forests: Growing demand will also certainly push production further into natural forests. The report indicates that by 2050 up to 25 per cent more forests might be commercially harvested than today. Forest certification will continue to be an important tool to improve forest management practices via a market driven mechanism. 

The energy challenge: By 2050, annual wood demand for energy could reach 6-8 billion m3, which would require more than twice the wood removed for all uses today. This clearly poses a challenge for sustainable land-use planning. WWF sees an important role for bioenergy to provide diverse alternatives to fossil fuels, plus new incomes and increased energy security for rural communities. However, for these benefits to be realized, its use must be carefully planned, implemented and monitored for environmental and social sustainability. Badly managed bioenergy production can destroy valuable ecosystems, undermine food and water security, harm rural communities and prolong wasteful energy consumption. 

Humanity will likely use more wood in more ways in the coming decades. Given the massive projected increase in wood and paper demand, forest-based industries are key to conserving forests. For wood to play a positive role in a “green” economy based on renewable resources, production forests need to be managed to the highest ecological and social standards, and the use and recovery of wood products must become more efficient. 

Interview with MD - Agarwood Investments.

http://www.silvinvest.co.uk/agarwood-investments.html

Stories to Watch 2013

http://youtu.be/eTr6IaSzMZU

Re|Source 2012: Knowing the Unknowns: a bumpy road ahead?

Check out the excellent video regarding Commodities and Resources currently and envisioned and the impact on business, population and national security

FANTASTIC INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

FANTASTIC INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Agarwood is the heartwood found at the centre of Gyrinops and Aquilaria trees. These trees are large evergreen species found naturally in certain parts of Southeast Asia including Cambodia and Thailand. The valuable heartwood is created when the centre of the tree is infected with a certain type of mould. This produces a one-time chemical reaction inside the trunk itself transforming the core into a dark, dense timber that is saturated in heavily scented resin.

The final result of this reaction, also knows as Oud, has such an attractive and strong scent that it is highly sought after for use in the production of incense, perfumes and essential oils across the world and is also used in the development of some more traditional medicines.

Different Types of Oud

Depending on the type of tree grown and the location of the plantation, the resulting Oud can have a varying range of qualities to fulfil the differing requirements for this product

.

Oud al Seyufi is the darkest of all the resins created in the region and is derived from some of the best Agarwood found in the plantations of Thailand and Cambodia. Thanks to its age and high quality, though the aroma of this product is initially very heavy, it soon transforms into a sweet, strong smell that is perfect for use in creating some of the most highly sought after fragrances of today.

Oud al Safii comes from Agarwood grown on the border between Thailand and Cambodia. With woody undertones, this attractive scent is able to remain on the skin for longer which builds longevity in the perfumes it is used to create. Oud al Safii Thai is a lighter, oily resin which is grown within the Thai province of Trat. The zesty aroma and pure form of the final product makes this ideal for the production of essential oils and related products.

Though most Oud is supplied in a syrupy liquid form, it is also possible to produce Oud Powder and Wood-chips. The wood-chips themselves can be burned directly to produce a wonderful aroma while the powder is used to create incense sticks in order to release its delicious scent.

The Benefits of Managed Plantations

Though Gyrinops and Aquilaria trees are found naturally within the plantations regions, the development of managed sites for Agarwood has not only made is it possible for a sustainable and continuous source of this valuable product to be developed, but it also enables the facilities themselves to oversee the entire Oud extraction process. By keeping the entire procedure on-site, the expert management team are able to maintain a level of quality control that is not possible in the wild and ensure the level of supply is able to meet the increasing demand for such a highly valued product.

From the growth of the initial seed through to the final supply, such control ensures the final product delivered to the marketplace is in its purest form, thus maintaining the best price for the commodity and a high rate of return for all those that choose to invest.

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