British Columbia produces far more lumber , plywood, pulp and paper than its citizens require. In fact, one 13 tonne truckload of logs is harvested from B.C.'s forests each year for every man, woman and child in the province. That's because B.C.'s forest industry produces primarily for export. Nearly 74 per cent of B.C. forest products are destined for foreign markets. B.C. represent close to 50 per cent of total manufactured shipments.
Most people recognize food, water and oxygen as the basic building blocks of human survival.
But there's another, often overlooked element in the hierarchy of materials required to sustain civilization. Each of the 5.7 billion people on the planet consumes an average of 1,700 grams of wood every day. Wood consumption is even higher in Canada, where 30.1 million people each consume 1,700 grams of wood every eight hours. Wood isn't the only building product on the market, but it is one of the most environmentally-friendly choices a builder or architect can make. For instance, producing a tonne of wood requires 126 times less energy than producing a tonne of aluminum.