Environmental impact of skateboard gear manufacturing

[Oldguy78]

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Skateboard decks have taken over furniture as the leading cause of the maple deforestation. I've heard this from several sources including this one  http://www.earthtimes.org/green-blogs/eco-friendly-fashion/bamboo-skateboards-bamboosk8-02-Nov-11/

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I can't find the source of their information. Do you know where that data comes from?

edit: Looks like the "Science Channel" is the source of this information... Not sure which documentary though, possibly Alien Encounters.

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I think there’s a strong case for bamboo replacing a lot of other uses for wood, it’s very regenerative and requires less water. Deluxe needs to make a bamboo deck for credibility sake, cause I sure as shit ain’t riding one of these:

Bamboo isn’t a hardwood like maple is. I think it would be good for longboards possibly but I can’t see it giving good pop or lasting nearly as long. It’s funny, I watch a couple of skaters channels on YouTube who are vegan and say they’re always looking for shoes that don’t use animal products but keep going back to suede shoes because they’re better. I respect their honesty about why they make the choices they do. I’m not vegan btw I like eating meat too much lol. I suppose my point is it’s refreshing seeing people how practice what they believe without being preachy or militant about it which, let’s be honest, a lot of vegans can be. Landyachtz has a “one board one tree” program which I like. I think if more of not all board companies or woodshops adopted something like that it would be a good place to start.

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

7 bamboo plys =  no fun. too stiff. i got a free sample deck and couldn't ride it more than a few sessions it just felt dead. maple/ bamboo combos work. habitat had some really nice 6 maple/ 1 bamboo ply decks a few years back.

[rocklobster]

7 bamboo plys =  no fun. too stiff. i got a free sample deck and couldn't ride it more than a few sessions it just felt dead. maple/ bamboo combos work. habitat had some really nice 6 maple/ 1 bamboo ply decks a few years back.

My brother had a bamboo board years ago when they first launched and they were it was terrible. Flat like a plank and the pop wasn't there at all. Probably gotten better over time but I have to think that the wood from skateboarding is probably a fraction of the trees used for furniture or paper.

[Oldguy78]

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7 bamboo plys =  no fun. too stiff. i got a free sample deck and couldn't ride it more than a few sessions it just felt dead. maple/ bamboo combos work. habitat had some really nice 6 maple/ 1 bamboo ply decks a few years back.

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My brother had a bamboo board years ago when they first launched and they were it was terrible. Flat like a plank and the pop wasn't there at all. Probably gotten better over time but I have to think that the wood from skateboarding is probably a fraction of the trees used for furniture or paper.

Exactly. My earlier post said this. Probably like 0.000001% of the world’s population are skateboarders I doubt we have any measurable effect on the planet vs furniture makers or anything else. You want to do good works awesome but don’t over estimate things.

[HyenaChaser]

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7 bamboo plys =  no fun. too stiff. i got a free sample deck and couldn't ride it more than a few sessions it just felt dead. maple/ bamboo combos work. habitat had some really nice 6 maple/ 1 bamboo ply decks a few years back.

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My brother had a bamboo board years ago when they first launched and they were it was terrible. Flat like a plank and the pop wasn't there at all. Probably gotten better over time but I have to think that the wood from skateboarding is probably a fraction of the trees used for furniture or paper.

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Exactly. My earlier post said this. Probably like 0.000001% of the world’s population are skateboarders I doubt we have any measurable effect on the planet vs furniture makers or anything else. You want to do good works awesome but don’t over estimate things.

Let’s hear some suggestions

[ClownOfTheDay]

Doesn't Lithe or one of those companies do like carbon fiber infused board that last longer or something?

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

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7 bamboo plys =  no fun. too stiff. i got a free sample deck and couldn't ride it more than a few sessions it just felt dead. maple/ bamboo combos work. habitat had some really nice 6 maple/ 1 bamboo ply decks a few years back.

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My brother had a bamboo board years ago when they first launched and they were it was terrible. Flat like a plank and the pop wasn't there at all. Probably gotten better over time but I have to think that the wood from skateboarding is probably a fraction of the trees used for furniture or paper.

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Exactly. My earlier post said this. Probably like 0.000001% of the world’s population are skateboarders I doubt we have any measurable effect on the planet vs furniture makers or anything else. You want to do good works awesome but don’t over estimate things.

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Let’s hear some suggestions

I'm not saying that bamboo deck company is factual in there assessment and I do agree that over-exaggeration and fatalism do not help environmentalist arguments but let's be honest here. Yes, skateboarders make up a tiny % of the population compared to people who use furniture but decks are insanely disposable. I can't imagine how many boards pros go through. I know it was 1 or 2 a  month when I was in my prime, as an average skateboarder. I'd say its far to assume skate decks are a significant use of North American maple, a tree that grows relatively slowly.

This Forbes article is quoting the same thing (maybe they got it from the Bamboo skate manufactures without actually researching, who knows). They are also claiming 100,000s of decks are made a month.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2019/09/13/skateboarding-for-sustainability/#76c4e61573a6

[rocklobster]

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7 bamboo plys =  no fun. too stiff. i got a free sample deck and couldn't ride it more than a few sessions it just felt dead. maple/ bamboo combos work. habitat had some really nice 6 maple/ 1 bamboo ply decks a few years back.

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My brother had a bamboo board years ago when they first launched and they were it was terrible. Flat like a plank and the pop wasn't there at all. Probably gotten better over time but I have to think that the wood from skateboarding is probably a fraction of the trees used for furniture or paper.

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Exactly. My earlier post said this. Probably like 0.000001% of the world’s population are skateboarders I doubt we have any measurable effect on the planet vs furniture makers or anything else. You want to do good works awesome but don’t over estimate things.

[close]

Let’s hear some suggestions

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I'm not saying that bamboo deck company is factual in there assessment and I do agree that over-exaggeration and fatalism do not help environmentalist arguments but let's be honest here. Yes, skateboarders make up a tiny % of the population compared to people who use furniture but decks are insanely disposable. I can't imagine how many boards pros go through. I know it was 1 or 2 a  month when I was in my prime, as an average skateboarder. I'd say its far to assume skate decks are a significant use of North American maple, a tree that grows relatively slowly.

This Forbes article is quoting the same thing (maybe they got it from the Bamboo skate manufactures without actually researching, who knows). They are also claiming 100,000s of decks are made a month.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2019/09/13/skateboarding-for-sustainability/#76c4e61573a6

I'm not an expert on the maple tree, so I have no idea how fast it grows to replenish fallen trees, how demanding it is on water, if there are plantations set aside for maple trees (just like paper plantations) and if the mono culture adversely affects the surrounding ecosystem.

The forgotten R of conservation is Refuse (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). Part of being environmentally conscious is refusing to get another board until it's really necessary; easier said than done of course. Also, shorter run or on demand board pressing form the woodshop. I'm sure there are thousands of boards that lie sitting in a shop or warehouse not being bought because the graphic sucks or the size / shape is way out there.

[Oldguy78]

Has anyone seen these “pillage” videos on YouTube? Pros go the Santa Cruz or Creature or wherever and I guess pick out their flow but they always grab like 20 decks 10 pairs of trucks and wheels etc. You have to know that’s not all for them and it’s not all being skated. They’ll say this is a wall hanger or something. Maybe contact your favorite companies and start asking questions. On our own we can stop buying wall hangers or hoarding decks. Maybe we can look into products like a variation on the Powell tailbone but thinner to prevent razor tail and prolong pop. I’m not an environmentalist by any mean for full disclosure. I think that Greta chick is a puppet and AOC’s bullshit about the world ending in 12 years is exactly that, bullshit. I’m 41 and I remember the first earthday I remember scientists saying we’d be in a new ice age in 50 years because of cfcs and such. The whole climate thing is political. Ask yourself this outside of politics when do you hear anything about it? If things were as bad as we’re lead  to believe why isn’t noaa nasa and every scientist on earth screaming about it? I mean one  species of owl gets threatened by a new highway in California I hear about it in Florida. All I guess I’m saying is let’s not just blindly eat what we’re being fed but think about things critically for ourselves and draw our own conclusions. Ok I’ll hop off my soapbox now. Please don’t stone me lol

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

C'mon Old Guy, you really have to have your head in the sand to not see how badly we are fucking the planet. Ever seen the clear cuts in the Northwest, depleted coral reefs, daily species extinction in the Amazon, dead zones in the Gulf of Oman, the amount of plastic in the ocean, wildlife and our own bodies?

Heard about the air quality in Delhi last week?

I get not blindly accepting what's being fed to us by politicians but let's not be completely blind to very real, tangible destruction. You are old not stupid.

[Oldguy78]

Where did I say I didn’t think there was any change happening? And also where did I call anyone stupid? If you want to effect real change go get India and China to do more. I just think it’s more a political tool than anything. What I also find interesting is you didn’t contradict anything I said just pointed out some examples of things you or I couldn’t possibly prove.

Bottom line if your feels are so hurt that skateboards are murdered the planet stop skating. Put your money where your mouth is so to speak. 

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

Holy crap. These things are pretty easily proven. What a clown... "more political than anything." 

I totally accept my part in it. Try to do what I can where I can. With what occupation I do, lifestyle choices and so on but that was not my point in all this.

The point is environmental degradation (not change) is very real and yes, used by some as a political agenda but nevertheless you're a fucking idiot if you think its not 'provable.'

[Oldguy78]

Ouch my feels oh wait I’m an adult not a  millennial snowflake lol. I said what I felt like I need to. Enjoy your echo chamber bruh 😜

[FROTHY]

If we were able to make decks with bamboo that skated like maple, it would have already been done. Bamboo grows like an invasive weed. Super easy to grow.

 Look at a bamboo plant. It's a pole. Great for structural support but youre not getting good flat plywood from that. Fuckin 1st grade shit, jesus lord.

[cuckflip]

Oldguy - your right Greta is a puppet even though I think she genuinely cares about the earths she’s undoubtedly a puppet of the liberal agenda.

And yes climate change is political, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an existential crisis. It really is.

I think you don’t hear a lot of people championing it in a meaningful way because it’s not going to be better recycling that will make the difference, true climate change combat is going to require an economic shift that corporations don’t want to deal with.

Reduce reuse recycle was co-opted by the same corporations pushing climate change denial because it exonerates them from any wrong doing when they are in fact the true problem to be reckoned with.

And a lot of scientists to agree with this, but a lot of science is funded by special interests so there’s also not going to be a consensus.

And no one is saying the world is going to end, it’s just that the planet for younger generations will be increasingly less hospitable due to the effects of climate change.

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

Ouch my feels oh wait I’m an adult not a  millennial snowflake lol. I said what I felt like I need to. Enjoy your echo chamber bruh 😜

It was not very graceful of me to call you a fucking idiot, I concede that. But you are incredibly ignorant and uneducated. Very telling that Snowflake is your only retort... Not really sure what your point is in all this...

That aside, I am older than you... you daft little cunt. 

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

If we were able to make decks with bamboo that skated like maple, it would have already been done. Bamboo grows like an invasive weed. Super easy to grow.

 Look at a bamboo plant. It's a pole. Great for structural support but youre not getting good flat plywood from that. Fuckin 1st grade shit, jesus lord.

Combination. 1 or 2 plys of bamboo with 5 or 6 plys of maple actually works quite well from my experience. Not a perfect solution by any means but a step.

[Oldguy78]

Oldguy - your right Greta is a puppet even though I think she genuinely cares about the earths she’s undoubtedly a puppet of the liberal agenda.

And yes climate change is political, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an existential crisis. It really is.

I think you don’t hear a lot of people championing it in a meaningful way because it’s not going to be better recycling that will make the difference, true climate change combat is going to require an economic shift that corporations don’t want to deal with.

Reduce reuse recycle was co-opted by the same corporations pushing climate change denial because it exonerates them from any wrong doing when they are in fact the true problem to be reckoned with.

And a lot of scientists to agree with this, but a lot of science is funded by special interests so there’s also not going to be a consensus.

And no one is saying the world is going to end, it’s just that the planet for younger generations will be increasingly less hospitable due to the effects of climate change.

. See? You and I can have a discussion. People are saying the world is going to end. That idiot senator Cortez is the main one. She flat out said the we have 12 years left. That’s beside the point. I’m not nor have I ever said that we aren’t impacting the planet I merely suggested it’s not to the level we’re being led to believe. That’s my opinion and be I’m just as entitled to it as anyone else. I recycle I don’t buy crap I don’t need and I spend my money with companies that align with my values when I can. I hike I skate I fish I camp I love being outside and enjoy the wilderness. I care about freedoms and peoples liberty more though. There’s a good chance we are an anomaly in the universe and I think (notice I didn’t say feel) we should do all we can not only to preserve our existence here but explore and branch out as far as we can. I’ve volunteered at more marine laboratory back home in Sarasota with injured dolphins I’ve help mark sea turtles nests I don’t little I reuse what I can but I will not tolerate being called an idiot or fucking stupid by someone who knows zero about me. Let me guess you’re part of the “tolerant” people right? Anyway I gotta go do adult stuff like feed my kid so we can hit the skatepark tomorrow. I’ll leave you all with this 1: glass houses and all that 2: don’t talk out of your ass, know who you’re talking to and what you’re talking about before opening your mouth. My favorite quote “it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt” the name calling white knight cuck (yeah I know now I’m calling names, don’t care) think learn observe before engaging you mental midget. 

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

I agree with some of that.

What I don't agree with is something you mentioned earlier,

"The whole climate thing is political. Ask yourself this outside of politics when do you hear anything about it? If things were as bad as we’re lead  to believe why isn’t noaa nasa and every scientist on earth screaming about it?"

Many scientists are indeed screaming about it. To dismiss the "whole" thing as political is incredibly naive and yes, incredibly idiotic.

[HyenaChaser]

My favorite quote “it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt”

You should take your own advice on that one.

Scrub it.

[smellsdead]

theres some local brewery that plants a pine for every pint you buy...or at least thats their claim.

its not maple but im doing my part one bev at a time

[padded_shorts]

The first Earth day was 50 years ago.

[j....soy.....]

It'd be sick if shops and distros had recycling programs....it's actually a smart idea to get people into stores. 

[jay_nev]

It'd be sick if shops and distros had recycling programs....it's actually a smart idea to get people into stores. 

totally agree. And even a way to pass down semi-used gear to those who could use it. Just increase the longevity of the product.

[Sloppy Krooks]

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Oldguy - your right Greta is a puppet even though I think she genuinely cares about the earths she’s undoubtedly a puppet of the liberal agenda.

And yes climate change is political, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an existential crisis. It really is.

I think you don’t hear a lot of people championing it in a meaningful way because it’s not going to be better recycling that will make the difference, true climate change combat is going to require an economic shift that corporations don’t want to deal with.

Reduce reuse recycle was co-opted by the same corporations pushing climate change denial because it exonerates them from any wrong doing when they are in fact the true problem to be reckoned with.

And a lot of scientists to agree with this, but a lot of science is funded by special interests so there’s also not going to be a consensus.

And no one is saying the world is going to end, it’s just that the planet for younger generations will be increasingly less hospitable due to the effects of climate change.

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. See? You and I can have a discussion. People are saying the world is going to end. That idiot senator Cortez is the main one. She flat out said the we have 12 years left. That’s beside the point. I’m not nor have I ever said that we aren’t impacting the planet I merely suggested it’s not to the level we’re being led to believe. That’s my opinion and be I’m just as entitled to it as anyone else. I recycle I don’t buy crap I don’t need and I spend my money with companies that align with my values when I can. I hike I skate I fish I camp I love being outside and enjoy the wilderness. I care about freedoms and peoples liberty more though. There’s a good chance we are an anomaly in the universe and I think (notice I didn’t say feel) we should do all we can not only to preserve our existence here but explore and branch out as far as we can. I’ve volunteered at more marine laboratory back home in Sarasota with injured dolphins I’ve help mark sea turtles nests I don’t little I reuse what I can but I will not tolerate being called an idiot or fucking stupid by someone who knows zero about me. Let me guess you’re part of the “tolerant” people right? Anyway I gotta go do adult stuff like feed my kid so we can hit the skatepark tomorrow. I’ll leave you all with this 1: glass houses and all that 2: don’t talk out of your ass, know who you’re talking to and what you’re talking about before opening your mouth. My favorite quote “it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt” the name calling white knight cuck (yeah I know now I’m calling names, don’t care) think learn observe before engaging you mental midget.

 

I’m 44, and we have different memories.


2- Greta works with environmentalists in here home, they all came up with the school strike thing to get the media to pay attention.

She’s become a celebrity cause, but if you actually think she’s a puppet for some George Soros bullshit you obviously have no idea how the ultra rich use their funds to sway public opinion.

The CFCs thing? I remember that well, with the ozone layer opening up at the poles. Very well documented by science, and there was something called the Montreal Accords that got us to act globally to reduce CFCs, and the ozone (which forms naturally due to chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere) healed.  That is until recently when scientists found CFCs again and pinpointed the sources to a rogue refrigeration factory in China.

The 12-year end of the world thing you don’t seem to understand either. The world doesn’t end in ten years, no one is saying that.

What happens is that if we don’t reduce emissions enough in ten years and change our course of output we will be locked into a warming cycle that looks to be catastrophic, that will continue to grow and get worse IN THE FUTURE.

That is the meaning of we only have 12 years left.

Here is a graph explaining the situation



And if you are not aware already, the Earth doesn’t warm uniformly, it experiences greater heating the farther you get away from the equator, with the biggest changes happening at the poles.

There is nowhere that will not be affected, but moreso in the north.

This is threatening to all life in Earth, which is why Greta is so passionate about it.

If you care about you kid’s future, it’s worth researching.

(Edited for needless snark)

By the way, I’m a different cuck that the guy you were arguing with befo

[Oldguy78]

Who was the person that founded earth day? He was a politician. Greta’s parents are an opera singer and a film producer/director. Also search YouTube for the rebel media vid about asking her unscripted questions. It’s very telling. If you want to swallow cnn or msnbc full send go for it. I really don’t care. All I’m saying is it’s interesting how you don’t hear anyone but politicians screaming about this and no one is attacking the biggest polluters in the world. AOC has on video said “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t stop climate change” and that’s insane. I really don’t give a shit if you like what I’m saying. Yeah I got the date of the first earth day wrong my childhood memory was flawed. Bottom line is it’s not nearly as bad as we are being told. Yes we need to find better ways to do things but the “crisis” isn’t one. Now this is the last time I’m posting in this thread so you can scream into your echo chamber all you want.

[Sloppy Krooks]

I’m glad you don’t blindly follow CNN or MSNBC but having faith in The Rebel?

Read a book written by an actual scientist, please.

And no one but the politicians are screaming for this? There have been huge marches around the world for Greta’s strikes and other occasions (like the 350 marches) for years now.

You really don’t hear any of this?

You think the CFCs are connected to the global cooling theory?

You believe only politicians want a Green New Deal?

Greta is the puppet is some globalist agenda?

You are reading the wrong information.
It’s easy to say, and it’s hard to find truthful news in a time like ours, but it’s not that hard if you evaluate information from several sources, and see which sources can back up their claims.

People who actually read science have been asking this for decades, it’s not some political issue, it’s a human survival one.

But sure, it’s not bad, believe whatever the Rebel says.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/05/climate-crisis-11000-scientists-warn-of-untold-suffering?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[HyenaChaser]

Protecting the environment should not be a political, partisan issue.

Recycle your trash, conserve resources, and don't spread toxins into the air and water for the reason that you would rather live in a clean environment with a diversity of life instead of a dirty one with humans and cockroaches.

Let's say everything will be fine if humans don't change behavior. I would prefer to not have trash in the ocean, have smog in the cities, or deforestation in the mountains because I want to go swimming in clean water, breath normally walking around town, and to have forests to go hiking through.

[j....soy.....]

Skateparks always just have a garbage can....they should have recycling too....

It sounds super corny but pros also can lead by example....honestly, we see lifestyle pieces about all sorts dumb of shit....having a skater break down ways they can help the environment can make a difference and there's value in it. 

[Fred Gerwer Frank Gall]

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AOC has on video said “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t stop climate change” and that’s insane.

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No one believes the world is going to end in 12 years, not even AOC. I'm not going to defend a politician but that quote is taken out of context.

However, it seems you're bowing out of this debate...