I was driving through midtown a couple of years ago when I saw an elegant backyard in which four chairs where arranged as if they where old friends having a conversation. When we moved into Tulsa our backyard was a blank slate. It had an interesting assortment of trees but also a steep slope down to the creek. We enhanced the existing deck but also found a nice shady area that would be perfect for a couple of chairs. I measured some comfortable chairs, drew up plans, figured material and went to the lumberyard to get some supplies. Since I wanted the chairs to be white against the green lawn I selected a good quality yellow pine. The boards I brought home had their own story to tell.

As I laid out my plans on each board I studied the knots, planning where they would go in my chair and thinking about the limb that had grown there. How it whistled in the winter winds and reached for the summer sun. When I sanded the end grain I counted the annual rings; 10, 20, 30 years of springwood, summerwood and winter’s dormancy. The wood took on a special meaning when I thought about those years before it became lumber. I remembered the pine trees my grandfather planted on his farm in Kentucky. What if this wood had grown on his farm? When I was a kid I would go out to knock the wet snow from their branches. What would I do differently if I had cut one down to build my chair? First, I would make sure I needed the chair. Then I would make sure that I used the utmost care cutting the pattern, sanding it smooth and selecting the best protective finish. More importantly, though, I would go to the place where this one grew and plant a tree for my grandchild.

Sometimes politicians and industrialist portray us as radical do-gooders who drive our cars to a rally protesting a new auto factory. Sometimes they say we would like to go back to a time when we didn’t even have air conditioning. I would like for each of them to consider, as I did, where things come from and how they will be replaced. Wouldn’t we all be a little more considerate when we use resources if we thought about what it took to get those materials for us and what it will take to replenish them? The next time you are considering a purchase consider the real cost: what it means to the forest, what it means to the earth. Also ask yourself; how does this fit into my long-term goals, will this make me more efficient or make me a better neighbor?