More uses for New England's wood wealth

In the White Mountain National Forest, in New Hampshire

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

The two most forested states are Maine and New Hampshire. (The other New England states also have a lot of woods, some of them remarkably close to cities.) There’s tremendous unused economic potential in them as businesses work on making environmentally sustainable products from this organic material. Consider particle board made from wood chips, and even particle board held together with an adhesive that’s also made from wood.

A story on New Hampshire Public Radio described some of these products:

“ass timber -- thick, strong wood panels made out of layers of lumber and sometimes woodchips. It's seen as a climate- and city-friendly alternative to steel and concrete’’…and cellulose, “a wood pulp so fine that researchers say its uses are almost endless -- it can feed 3D printers or make insulation, thicken paints and food, make car parts and cell phone screens, or even be used in medicine, to create synthetic bones and nerves.’’ It could become a major alternative to plastic, which is made from oil.

There’s also burning wood chips in “biomass’’ projects to generate electricity and for heating. Yes, that’s renewable energy – just keeping growing trees! – but this puts out carbon emissions, albeit from a New England-sourced carbon source.

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