How Green Is Bamboo?

Fast-growing and robust, bamboo is a popular alternative to hardwood. Should you believe the hype? Slate recently performed a bamboo audit. The carbon-sequestering grass has a lot going for it, but buyer beware:  that bamboo floor doesn't seem so green if it was planted at the expense of native forests, grown with pesticides, and sealed with formaldehyde. Explore your options before you buy. Worth considering are Forest Stewardship Council Certified Smith & Fong's Plyboo bamboo flooring and sustainably harvested Madagascar Bamboo products. 

--D.W.

Source:  Slate, Treehugger