[APWG] NEWS: A New Leaf: Making Paper From Weeds
Philip Thomas (www.HEAR.org)
pt at hear.org
Tue Oct 7 19:51:18 CDT 2008
Yes, I DID read the article, but still I contend (see my recent post on
a similar topic):
"One problem with this approach is that once you create an industry that
depends on a reliable supply of something like this, there are usually
huge pressures to keep it 'sustainable'--which defeats the purpose."
I have some trepidation about "The Nile Group" in particular, because I
have been personally contacted by them when they were interested in
starting arundo plantations in Hawaii (as they still may be; I don't
know). Is this environmentally responsible? (I'll let you answer that
for yourself.)
...and one final note: "The current commercial use of arundo has been
in the production of reeds for wind instruments. It is a small, limited
market but shows that arundo can be cultivated without posing problems
as an invasive plant." Really? I'm somehow unable to follow this
"logic"...
Aloha,
pt
Olivia Kwong wrote:
> http://www.miller-mccune.com/article/729
>
> A New Leaf: Making Paper From Weeds
> An invasive ecological bad guy may be able to paper over his evil ways and
> absorb some carbon as well.
> By: Lisa Conti | October 07, 2008 | 09:00 AM (PDT)
>
> The giant reed (Arundo donax) is mostly green. It's a weed that looks a lot
> like bamboo.
>
> Native from the Mediterranean to India, the enormous grass colonizes stream
> beds of the coastal United States. Growing in wetlands, it chokes out
> native plants, threatens animal life, is a fire hazard and poses problems
> to existing infrastructure such as bridges. The Plant Conservation Alliance
> has named it to its "Least Wanted" list.
>
> See the link above for the full article text.
>
>
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Philip A. Thomas - pt at hear.org
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