Silk Purses from Sow's Ears: Denim Pine

It is not quite as cold as it used to be in British Columbia, and the Mountain Pine Beetle has moved north to devastate the lodgepole pine forests, where a billion cubic metres of timber are at risk. As the trees die from the beetle infestation, the wood is stained blue by an associated fungus and deemed unmarketable- there is talk of chipping it for a new biofuel plant. Others are trying to make a virtue of necessity- they have labelled it "Denim Pine" and suggest that "It died from natural causes. In fact you'd be helping clear the way for new growth, Employing the local communities of those hardest hit by the beetle's wrath, and helping develop an even better rainforest for our children's children's to enjoy." We find the idea interesting- log homes have always seemed untreehugger to us but if it is already dead, that is another story. It worked for the Chinese Gooseberry (kiwifruit) worked too well for the Patagonian Toothfish (Chilean Sea Bass) why not rebrand beetle and fungus infested lumber? Low rent website at ::Denim Pine