Given the precarious situation of raw materials, Mirage has adopted concret practices such as
well-managed tree cutting in order to maintain a healthy environment today and for years to come.
Wood: A renewable material
When we build with wood, we are choosing a high quality, renewable, and biodegradable material. We can
protect our
environment by purchasing wood or wood-based products. Wood is the only renewable construction material.
Using each tree down to the last branch
A full 95% of every tree cut is used to make products such as construction lumber, plywood, wood chips,
and sawdust.
Even the bark is used in landscaping. The remaining 5% is made up of branches left in the forest to
biodegrade naturally
and enrich the soil, helping saplings to grow.
Careful use of forests
Few people realize that the number of trees the forest industry harvests each year is lower than the
number destroyed by
fire, disease, and insect pests. When we use such things as selective cutting to safeguard the forest,
we actually
increase the available sunlight to the soil, which promotes new tree growth and greater diversity and
resilience of
species.
According to the “
Trees are the
Answer”, website, agriculture and urban development are much more harmful to the environment than
harvesting
wood ever will be. In addition to preserving nature, the forestry industry generates significant
economic and social
benefits for society.
Cutting trees to breathe easier
When trees in a forest age or become too numerous, they stop growing and start to rot, releasing carbon
dioxide. When
mature trees are cut for the purpose of making wood products, however, the carbon dioxide remains inside
them.
Reforestation with saplings begins the air filtration process all over again.
Natural disasters: worse than clearing
When Mother Nature unleashes her fury, she can destroy everything in her path, including forests. For
example, Hurricane
Katrina alone left more than 320 million dead trees in her wake, generating more than 6% of the U.S.’s
total annual
greenhouse gas emissions. In Canada, an insect responsible for killing thousands of pine trees created
fives time more
pollution than a year’s worth of automobile, train, truck, and airplane emissions combined. Both
examples are proof
positive that selective, well-managed cutting is the best approach to maintaining a healthy environment,
for today and
tomorrow.
Hardwood
