Benefiting from the Forest

People need trees. They give us fresh air and clean water. They provide homes for hundreds of wildlife species. They inspire us and enrich us with their beauty. And when carefully managed, trees are a renewable, recyclable and reusable resource.

• We all use wood. Each person on planet Earth uses wood and products made from wood every day—in homes, other buildings, paper products, furnishings and tools. Ice cream, cosmetics and more than 5,000 other products contain ingredients from trees. Half of the wood used around the world is burned for cooking and heating.
• Wood is good for communities. Well-managed forests provide family-wage jobs and tax revenue for many communities. Forest products are the second-largest manufacturing industry in the Pacific Northwest. In 2000 the industry employed more than 100,000 people in Washington and Oregon.
• Wood is a great insulator. Wood insulates better than either steel or aluminum. In addition, it requires much less energy to manufacture wood products than non-renewable resources. For example, steel studs for wall construction require nine times the production energy of wood. Concrete floors take 21 times more energy than wood.