While cruising the lumber aisle at your local home center, you notice that some of it says that it's "certified," "sustainable" or otherwise a greener wood product. But who's checking?
Technology, that's who. Forest managers in Brazil -- where the rainforest is being decimated by clear-cutting and other forestry practices -- have started using microchips embedded in trees to confirm where it was grown, how old it is and who cut it down. This makes the certification process much easier by distinguishing wood from certified forests from wood obtained through illegal logging practices.
"If there is fraud taking place between the forest owner and the mill, then a microchip would be great help in combating illegal logging," said Gary Dodge of the Forest Stewardship Council.
It may surprise you that some of the biggest proponents of the microchip program are loggers. "I think it's a great idea," said one 52-year-old logger. "We don't want to cut down all the forests, on the contrary -- we want to make sure forests remain standing so we can continue working."
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