We have to start with a history of bamboo groves in the U.S. and also the campaign of suppression which transformed this promising industry into xenophobic cautionary tale. It is a fascinating story about the past and the future of forestry and national character, the intersection of dreams, greed, paranoia, and innovation. It’s about the invention of America out of the ingredients of hope, pride and ignorance. It's about the environmental movement and its adherence to a mythic New England aesthetics, in which natural woodland were seen to have a kind of species purity much like communities sometimes are ethnically homogenous, in which temperate deciduous hardwoods earned the names "American Elm," and "Canadian Maple," while hollow core bamboo, which is fifty times stronger than oak, was devalued and even believed to be nonexistent outside Asia.
These are lofty introductory comments, I know, I know. The story of the bamboo revolution is also about beauty in nature, the beauty of forests, the beauty of wood, of bamboo, and a great secret fight which took place over one hundred years ago, when timber companies were allowed to decide just what kind of trees were American, and which were the other kind, undesirable and unwelcome on American soil. Environmentalists, ecological purists, and eco-farming have not even begun discussion forums on the promise of bamboo, which could save many economies, as well as the environment, keep communities in Tsunami prone locations safe and also financially afloat, protect the atmosphere, lower carbon emmissions, lessen environmental allergies in humans, and even protect migrating bird populations. So that's it for now.
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