Re: WIRED ARTICLE ON JULIAN SIMON by ED REGIS

Paul Dietz (dietz@interaccess.com)
Sat, 8 Feb 1997 14:02:12 +0000


>. Old growth is good for large wood beams,
> and for pulping into paper. Granted that some paper companies, like
> Weyerhauser, are experimenting with fast growth pine and cottonwood
> hybrids, but such farms are plagued by problems with soil retention, so
> any given ground is worthless after two or three generations of such
> fast growth trees (6-15 years total)

You are confusing short-rotation trees (hybrid poplars, for example)
with longer term, but still not old-growth, trees. These medium-term
tree farms may have trees grow for twenty years or more before
harvest. If you ever drive in Florida along the bend between the
panhandle and the penisula, you'll pass these tree farms for hours.

Paul