<x-charset ISO-8859-1>Hi Ken Thanks for these posts. The wonder plant, kind of hard to imagine life without it these days. There's a lot of info on bamboo here:
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_tree.html#bamboo Farming with trees: Bamboo I'd really like to make a bamboo still, and I don't see why not. Regards Keith >Hereç“ some more about bamboo from an advocacy group. >The important aspects as far as fuel is concerned is >that it is a grass and doesnç” have to be replanted >after harvesting and it grows very fast, ready for >cutting after 3-to-5 years. A traditional >preservative method is to put in a river or lake for a >month or two where microorganisms eat the edibles, >starch, protein, and the land pests leave it alone >afterwards. A friend here told me his father built a >bamboo home more than forty years ago and itç“ still >like brand new after this water treatment. > >Best regards, > >Ken > >http://www.bambootechnologies.com/allabout.htm > >Bamboo is versatile with a short growth cycle. It can >be harvested in 3-5 years versus 10-50 years for most >softwoods and hardwoods. Bamboo is the fastest growing >plant on this planet. It grows one third faster than >the fastest growing tree. Some species grow as much as >four feet a day. Thanks to its rapid growth, the yield >(weight per acreage and year) is up to 25 times higher >than that of timber. > >Bamboo can be harvested and replenished with virtually >no impact to the environment. It can be selectively >harvested annually and is capable of complete >regeneration without need to replant. There is a 3-5 >year return on investment for a new bamboo plantation >versus 8-10 years for rattan, and even longer for >other timber sources. > >Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood. It is one of >the strongest building materials, with a tensile >strength that rivals steel and weight-to-strength >ratio surpassing that of graphite. It withstands up to >52,000 pounds of pressure psi. With a 10-30% annual >increase in biomass versus 2-5% for trees, bamboo >creates greater yields of raw material for use. One >bamboo clump can produce 200 poles in the five years >it takes one tree to reach maturity. > >Bamboo is a critical element in the balance of oxygen >and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It helps reduce >the carbon dioxide gases blamed for global warming. >Some bamboo even sequesters up to 12 tons of carbon >dioxide from the air per hectare, which makes it an >extremely efficient replenisher of fresh air. It is >the fastest growing canopy for the regreening of >degraded areas and generates up to 35% more oxygen >than equivalent stand of trees. > >Bamboo is a renewable resource for agroforestry >production. It is used to produce flooring, wall >paneling, pulp for paper, fencing, briquettes for >fuel, raw material for housing, and more. In the >tropics it is possible to grow your own home. In Costa >Rica, 1000 houses of bamboo are built annually with >material coming only from a 60 hectare (150 acres) >bamboo plantation. > >Bamboo is a natural control barrier. Because of its >wide spread root system and large canopy, bamboo >greatly reduces rain run off, prevents massive soil >erosion and keeps twice as much water in the >watershed. Bamboo also helps mitigate water pollution >due to its high nitrogen consumption, making it the >perfect solution for excess nutrient uptake of waste >water from manufacturing, intensive livestock farming, >and sewage treatment facilities. > >Bamboo is a pioneering plant and can be grown is soil >damaged by overgrazing and poor agriculture >techniques. Unlike most trees proper harvesting does >not kill the bamboo plant so topsoil is held in place. >Additionally, because of its dense litter on the >forest floor it actually feed the topsoil over time. >This will provide healthy agricultural lands for other >crops for generations to come. > >Current research points to bambooç“ potential in a >number of medical uses. Secretion from bamboo is used >internally to treat asthma, coughs, and can be used as >an aphrodisiac. Ingredients from the root help treat >kidney disease. Roots and leaves have also been used >to treat venereal disease and cancer. Sap is said to >reduce fever, and ash will cure prickly heat. Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ </x-charset>
