Study validates wood's 'green' status.MEMPHIS Memphis, city, ancient Egypt Memphis (mĕm`fĭs), ancient city of Egypt, capital of the Old Kingdom (c.3100–c.2258 B.C.), at the apex of the Nile delta and 12 mi (18 km) from Cairo. , TN -- A study by the Consortium for Research on Renewal Industrial Materials concluded that wood is the most environmentally responsible material and energy-efficient building material for home construction. The CORRIM CORRIM Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials is a non-profit corporation comprised of 15 research institutions. The independent study found that wood framing uses less overall energy than steel or concrete, has less impact on air quality and results in fewer greenhouse gas greenhouse gas n. Any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming when compared to other construction materials. "There is a significant consumer movement that is interested in green or environmentally conscious construction methods," said James Wilson, a professor of wood science and engineering at Oregon State University Oregon State University, at Corvallis; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1858 as Corvallis College, opened 1865. In 1868 it was designated Oregon's land-grant agricultural college and was taken over completely by the state in 1885. and vice president of CORRIM. "We need to have a good understanding of the overall effects that different types of construction materials have in such areas as energy consumption, global warming, air and water impacts, and solid waste disposal" The CORRIM study included a life-cycle assessment of different construction materials and techniques. Evaluation included forest growth and harvest, extraction of non-wood materials, product manufacturing, transportation, construction, use, maintenance and disposal in an effort to understand the overall effect of various building materials on the environment. Researchers also calculated emissions of carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. , methane and nitrous oxide nitrous oxide or nitrogen (I) oxide, chemical compound, N2O, a colorless gas with a sweetish taste and odor. Its density is 1.977 grams per liter at STP. It is soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and other solvents. to determine the potential of different construction materials to effect climate change. The study analyzed four residential structures, a wood-frame and identical steel-frame house in Minneapolis, and a wood-frame and an identical concrete-frame house in Atlanta last year. The study found that steel framing used 17% more energy and contributed 28% more global warming potential Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. It is a relative scale which compares the gas in question to that of the same mass of carbon dioxide (whose GWP is by definition 1). than wood framing for a typical house built in a cold climate like Minneapolis. Steel construction also produced 14% more air pollution and tripled the level of water emissions of concern. Concrete framing used 16% more energy and contributed 31% more global warming potential than the Atlanta house built with wood. |
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