re: China's bullet train that could go from NY to Chicago in 4.5 hours shows how behind US is

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They still use bamboo scaffolding in industrial applications

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This is true...and we still use pine trees.......what’s the point? The frames we use may be made from the soil dug from the earth but the decking and walk boards are pine trees. Bamboo is extremely strong and readily available. It is as good a building material as any plant. Many high end homes in the US have bamboo flooring. Walk into almost any furniture store in the US and you’ll find shite made from banana which is a type of bamboo. Composite structural products made of natural fibers derived from tropical plants are very common in buildings around the world. They literally grow like weeds and are as renewable as any product can be.....the difference between mining iron ore and turning it into steel in order to replicate the strength and structural integrity of bamboo isn’t something we should hold as a point of pride.....