Michigan State University: It is OK to Cut Trees!
Posted at 12:30 PM on May 14, 2020
The Michigan State University Extension contains a nice article focusing on sustainable forestry practices and some common misconceptions about them. It's not the freshest article, having been published in 2014, but the information contained within is still relevant in 2020. Below is an excerpt.
From It is OK to cut trees!, by Bill Cook; published in the Michigan State University Extension
The common perception that cutting trees causes negative consequences is not supported by science when the harvest is done consistently with sustainable forestry practices.
According to Michigan State University Extension, trees provide essential raw material for thousands of products that Americans use every day. As a nation, we are huge consumers of wood. Wood is the most environmentally-friendly raw material available, by a long-shot. Metals, coal, oil and concrete all have significantly larger environmental, energy and carbon footprints than wood.
Trees are renewable. Unlike other raw materials, they keep growing back, at least in North America. With management, forests have better odds than other raw materials for remaining healthy, vigorous and continuing to produce all the values we have come to cherish, including wood.
You can continue reading the rest of the article on the Michigan State University website by clicking the button below.