I’ve made no secret of the absurdity (and the hypocrisy, in my opinion) of opposing fossil fuel production in this country, while supporting the policies that allow us to import those very same fossil fuels from other places. In fact, I’ve described those policies as the “height of duplicity,” and the epitome of “Not-In-My-Backyard.”
I still stand by that criticism, mostly. I say “mostly,” because I’ve just learned that we do the exact same thing with lumber, to a degree that’s no less befuddling. Our reliance on wood is extraordinary, and we’re blessed to live in a country with over 800 million acres of forest. That’s literally a third of America, covered in trees. Unfortunately, we’ve decimated out timber industry. Today, we act as if forest land and timber reserves are in short supply. They are not. In fact, according to Mike Albrecht, President of The American Loggers Council, our forests are burning and rotting at record levels, due to decades of mismanagement, and we are, at the same time, squandering one of our most valuable resources.
Obviously, some people will doubt this claim, but one thing is indisputable: In spite of our unprecedented abundance, America imports more wood products than any other nation. In other words, we could easily be “wood independent,” just as we could easily be “energy independent.” And yet, we choose not to. We choose instead, to rely on other countries to provide us with the raw materials we need.
The question is why, and I suspect the answer will not sit well with everyone. Nevertheless, here is my whole conversation with Mike Albrecht.
If you touched wood today, it’s worth your time.