Frighten and frustrated by all you’ve read about what’s going on with the climate and all the arguments going back and forth about it? \u00a0I sure am. \u00a0I’ve read many books on the science of what’s going on as well as books discussing possible solutions. \u00a0I’ve read article after article in newspapers and magazines, \u00a0watched documentaries and special news shows and attended local meetings on various associated topics. It all seems \u00a0so overwhelming which I suppose is why so many people would rather just deny that there’s a problem at all. \u00a0 They are aided in their denial by those who are profiting by the status quo.<\/p>\n
I’m also frustrated with businesses that come up with reasons why what they’ve been doing all along is suddenly “green” or make some very minor movement toward being “green” just to be able to make the “green” claim. \u00a0Everything is marketed as “Green”, “Eco-friendly”, “Organic”, or “Natural” but has anything really change much? \u00a0Probably not.\u00a0I can’t control what other people do but I can control what I do and I am making big changes in how I do things.<\/p>\n
Deforestation is a big concern for me as I’m in the business of using forest products. \u00a0While there are a number of forest product certification programs that claim to make sure logging companies harvest responsibly I have concerns that they really aren’t changing how things are done and as a very small company \u00a0I certainly can’t verify whether they are or not for myself. \u00a0For this reason I now use as much local lumber as possible. Vermont has in place a program that gives property tax breaks to landowners who\u00a0“practice long term forest management” (Learn more about this<\/a>) \u00a0and I buy lumber from a Vermont supplier who harvests lumber from these lands. I also am starting to use lumber from my own land in my furniture. \u00a0Harvesting the lumber myself has prompted me to find uses for the lower grade lumber that is present in all trees and also to find uses for the less popular species of wood. \u00a0A healthy forest requires that all species be thinned and harvested not just the highly valued ones. \u00a0You can see an example of this in some tables I just completed<\/a> for a local restaurant. \u00a0These tables were made from some cherry harvested from my own land. \u00a0The outside boards cut from all cherry logs will have a high percentage of sap wood (white wood in cherry). Often these boards are discarded or used for low value products. \u00a0I plan on offering pieces made from lower grade lumber in addition to my current offerings. \u00a0This lumber makes for a very unique piece of furniture that is no less functional or structurally sound than one made from higher grade lumber.<\/p>\n Another big change I am making is to have solar panels installed to provide power for my shop. These panels will be grid tied which means that any excess power produced will feed into the grid and be credited on my electric bill. \u00a0When my shop needs more power than the panels are providing (on a cloudy day for example) it will come from the grid. \u00a0The solar array is designed so that its yearly power production will be the same as my yearly power consumption.<\/p>\n While what I’m doing will,\u00a0by itself,\u00a0make just barely the slightest difference to the climate I hope that it will give others the courage to make their own big changes.<\/p>\n Richard Bissell Shaker, Mission & Custom Furniture<\/a> since 1982<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Frighten and frustrated by all you’ve read about what’s going on with the climate and all the arguments going back and forth about it? \u00a0I sure am. \u00a0I’ve read many books on the science of what’s going on as well … Continue reading
\nPutney, Vermont<\/p>\n