Sometimes we forget that wood is naturally reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable. Wood is the best insulator of all structural building materials. Because of this it requires less energy to heat and cool a home built with wood and therefore helps us conserve the coal and fossil fuels that are used to provide this energy for heating and cooling. Also it takes much less energy to change trees into wood products than it does to manufacture steel, aluminum, masonry or plastic products. The conversion process causes less pollution as well.
Wood is a renewable resource.
Once they are used, they are gone forever. Trees however, are forever. Contrary to what we frequently hear, the United States is NOT running out of trees. A recent case study published by Southern Pine Marketing Council points out that more trees are grown each year in the US than are harvested or lost to disease, insects, and fire. About a third of our country is covered with trees.