Bamboo also has relatively low water needs, especially compared to cotton and most other crops. Bamboo does extremely well in impoverished soils. Bamboo roots help retain water in a watershed area due to their tight hold on the soil. It’s been reported that compared to an equivalent stand of trees, bamboo takes in more carbon dioxide, removing this green house gas from the atmosphere, and produces 35 percent more oxygen than trees.

Chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are not needed in the growing of bamboo, as it is seldom eaten by insects or infected by pathogens. In addition to this reduced consumption and impact of petroleum-based chemicals, there is the secondary effect that petroleum consuming and polluting tractors are not used nearly as much as with other crops.

The entire plant is never harvested and re-growth occurs naturally and rapidly. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. It can grow to its full height in three months and then be ready to harvest in three to four years as its thickness fills out. In fact, it’s hard to stop it from spreading, as anyone knows who’s planted it in their back yard.

Bamboo, as a natural cellulose fiber, is biodegradable in soil by microorganisms and sunshine. The decomposition process doesn’t cause any pollution to the environment.