Lumber

Seattle, USA, Mar 28, 2011 - The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 is first and foremost a humanitarian tragedy that is difficult to comprehend. Over 10,000 people died during and in the immediate aftermath; more than 400,000 people lost their homes and 100-150,000 buildings were destroyed. The re-building of towns, roads, railways and the power grid in the impacted region northeast of Tokyo will be a lengthy and difficult undertaking.

There has been a lot of analysis in the last few days concerning the impact the massive earthquake, and tsunami in Japan will have on North American timber markets.

A growth in high-rise wood buildings could boost timber production in Brazil and see the country's trees being used for more buildings globally, a Canadian architect has claimed.

Michael Green, an architect at Vancouver-based firm Mgb Architecture, made the claims at the recent Green Cities conference in Melbourne. Green is currently using a grant to design a 30-storey timber building in British Colombia. He said he wanted to use the prototype to prove that high-rise wood buildings were economically viable and offered an investment opportunity.

VANCOUVER, Jan.