Journey of a 2x4
29/12/11 05:19
British Columbia, in western Canada, is a major exporter of soft wood. B.C. lumber production is far beyond the consumption rate in the relatively lightly-populated province. Traditionally, the largest market for B.C. lumber is the United States, though there has been a small dip in exports to the United States due to somewhat smaller than usual home construction numbers in the midst of the recession. The number two and three destinations for Canadian lumber are China and Japan. China passed Japan in consumption for the first time in 2009, but prior to that year, Japan was the clear number two importer. Sales of B.C. lumber in Japan continue to be strong despite the rapidly growing Chines market. In 2008, B.C. exported $719 million worth of lumber to Japan.
The use of the term “2x4” in the title of today’s blog isn’t quite accurate, since Canadian sawmills have been producing boards to metric dimensions for many years as well as sizing the boards to dimensions in inches for use in Canada and the United States. Nonetheless, a lot of boards come out of BC sawmills, are loaded onto ships and taken to Japan. It is a significant journey for the boards to make - over 4,900 miles. In Japan, the lumber is used for construction of homes, shops, and other buildings.
Now there are quite a few boards heading back to British Columbia.
Shortly after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, observers began to notice floats of debris from the events in the Pacific Ocean. As one might expect the debris is quite spread out and traveling at different rates depending on ocean currents. However, some items of debris have begun to wash up on the shores of British Columbia and Washington. Floats from fishing boats occasionally wash on the shores of Washington, but there have been more than usual. The mayor of Tofiino, on Vancouver Island, reports that residents have recovered a larger than normal amount of debris from the community’s beaches. Among the first items of debris have been plastic water bottles, some with japanese letters clearly visible, clothing items, including socks, and, yes a few pieces of lumber with Japanese export stamps on the boards - showing that they had been originally milled in Canada, exported to Japan and now are returning with the first of the debris from the tsunami.
That’s quite a journey for a piece of lumber!
Experts say that this is just the first of a massive amount of debris that will eventually wash up on the shores of Northwestern United States and Canada. Experts say the main debris float is about 483 km northwest of the Midway Islands. The bulk of the debris may take until 2014 to start arriving. Some experts have reported that the main debris field floating in the Pacific covers an area the size of California. That is going to be a lot of flotsam that will need to be cleaned up and already there are some jurisdictional disputes brewing in Canada over who is going to pay for the clean up. As yet authorities do not know how much, if any, of the debris will be toxic or hazardous.
The massive flotsam field is yet another reminder of the devastating tragedy that struck Japan. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake left as many as 21,000 people dead. The tsunami also swamped the Fukushima nuclear power plant. There have been fears that some of the floating debris could be contaminated by radioactive material, though there is no evidence of such in any of the debris arriving on the shores so far.
Almost everything washing up on the shores of British Columbia has Japanese writing on it. However, that may not mean it is debris from the earthquake and tsunami. Even before the catastrophic events, some waste items made the trip from Japan to the Pacific northwest. corks, water bottles and shampoo bottles are occasionally found by fishermen and others. Fishing floats are also common items to wash up on the shores. However, many US and Canadian fishing vessels use gear that was manufactured in Japan, so Japanese writing on fishing gear does not necessarily mean it has floated all the way from Japan.
We live in a world that is interconnected. Events that occur thousands of miles away have an impact on the lives we live. As the debris arrives in the Pacific Northwest it is impossible to ignore the enormous human tragedy that is connected with these floating items. A sock washing up on the beach may have once belonged to one of the victims of the tragedy. A board may have been part of a home that has been totally destroyed.
Coastal residents can expect to be picking up items for years to come. Some areas will require massive, organized clean up responses. And each piece of debris represents a shattered dream and a lives forever changed by the massive tragedy. Cleaning up is one of the ways of working through the grief of such an enormous loss.
A simple thing like a board might be witness to an incredible amount of history, though it cannot report all of its adventures. Perhaps the board came from one of the trees cut in the early years of the great northwestern pine bark beetle infestation. Areas of British Columbia were cut in patchwork patterns in an attempt to slow the infestation. The harvested lumber was milled and much of it exported. Then the board switched continents. Wood fibre that grew from sunlight and rain that fell on Canada was forming the structure of shops and homes in Japan. In an instant it was swept away and became a part of an island of debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. Now it returns to the continent from which it came.
What stories they could tell, if the boards possessed memory and the ability to speak! What a story we can infer from their presence on the beaches as they arrive!
We are more closely connected than we know with people living in distant locations.
The use of the term “2x4” in the title of today’s blog isn’t quite accurate, since Canadian sawmills have been producing boards to metric dimensions for many years as well as sizing the boards to dimensions in inches for use in Canada and the United States. Nonetheless, a lot of boards come out of BC sawmills, are loaded onto ships and taken to Japan. It is a significant journey for the boards to make - over 4,900 miles. In Japan, the lumber is used for construction of homes, shops, and other buildings.
Now there are quite a few boards heading back to British Columbia.
Shortly after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, observers began to notice floats of debris from the events in the Pacific Ocean. As one might expect the debris is quite spread out and traveling at different rates depending on ocean currents. However, some items of debris have begun to wash up on the shores of British Columbia and Washington. Floats from fishing boats occasionally wash on the shores of Washington, but there have been more than usual. The mayor of Tofiino, on Vancouver Island, reports that residents have recovered a larger than normal amount of debris from the community’s beaches. Among the first items of debris have been plastic water bottles, some with japanese letters clearly visible, clothing items, including socks, and, yes a few pieces of lumber with Japanese export stamps on the boards - showing that they had been originally milled in Canada, exported to Japan and now are returning with the first of the debris from the tsunami.
That’s quite a journey for a piece of lumber!
Experts say that this is just the first of a massive amount of debris that will eventually wash up on the shores of Northwestern United States and Canada. Experts say the main debris float is about 483 km northwest of the Midway Islands. The bulk of the debris may take until 2014 to start arriving. Some experts have reported that the main debris field floating in the Pacific covers an area the size of California. That is going to be a lot of flotsam that will need to be cleaned up and already there are some jurisdictional disputes brewing in Canada over who is going to pay for the clean up. As yet authorities do not know how much, if any, of the debris will be toxic or hazardous.
The massive flotsam field is yet another reminder of the devastating tragedy that struck Japan. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake left as many as 21,000 people dead. The tsunami also swamped the Fukushima nuclear power plant. There have been fears that some of the floating debris could be contaminated by radioactive material, though there is no evidence of such in any of the debris arriving on the shores so far.
Almost everything washing up on the shores of British Columbia has Japanese writing on it. However, that may not mean it is debris from the earthquake and tsunami. Even before the catastrophic events, some waste items made the trip from Japan to the Pacific northwest. corks, water bottles and shampoo bottles are occasionally found by fishermen and others. Fishing floats are also common items to wash up on the shores. However, many US and Canadian fishing vessels use gear that was manufactured in Japan, so Japanese writing on fishing gear does not necessarily mean it has floated all the way from Japan.
We live in a world that is interconnected. Events that occur thousands of miles away have an impact on the lives we live. As the debris arrives in the Pacific Northwest it is impossible to ignore the enormous human tragedy that is connected with these floating items. A sock washing up on the beach may have once belonged to one of the victims of the tragedy. A board may have been part of a home that has been totally destroyed.
Coastal residents can expect to be picking up items for years to come. Some areas will require massive, organized clean up responses. And each piece of debris represents a shattered dream and a lives forever changed by the massive tragedy. Cleaning up is one of the ways of working through the grief of such an enormous loss.
A simple thing like a board might be witness to an incredible amount of history, though it cannot report all of its adventures. Perhaps the board came from one of the trees cut in the early years of the great northwestern pine bark beetle infestation. Areas of British Columbia were cut in patchwork patterns in an attempt to slow the infestation. The harvested lumber was milled and much of it exported. Then the board switched continents. Wood fibre that grew from sunlight and rain that fell on Canada was forming the structure of shops and homes in Japan. In an instant it was swept away and became a part of an island of debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. Now it returns to the continent from which it came.
What stories they could tell, if the boards possessed memory and the ability to speak! What a story we can infer from their presence on the beaches as they arrive!
We are more closely connected than we know with people living in distant locations.