This evening's "Nightly News with Brian Williams" segment "EarthWatch" ended with a report that -- from my perspective -- represented a brilliant idea in tree conservation.
A firm in British Columbia, Canada has started to log trees submerged by the formation of resevoirs for hydroelectric dams. According to the report, there an estimated 300 million trees which can be found and harvested in these resevoirs and used for construction purposes. Due to the lack of oxygen and cold water temperatures, the tree trunks are very well preserved and just ripe for harvesting.
The company uses specially developed equipment, a so-called "sawfish," mounted with cameras, metal arms and saws. Using remote viewing capabilities, they are able to find a tree, attach an airbag to it and remotely operate the chain saw which cuts the tree "down". The company doing this salvage logging is hard put to keep up with the demand for their product.
With the high demand for lumber, and ongoing clearcutting and devastation of our forest, this is an excellent and environmentally sensibile idea. I hope American companies will follow suit.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment