All animals, including humans, absorb 02 and exhale CO2

Plants breathe in CO2 and exhale O2. In this way plants and animals have a system of mutual benefit and dependence on each other.

When a plant breathes in CO2 and exhales O2, the plant takes the C-carbon atom and converts it into plant matter through photosynthesis, storing the carbon in the plant.  When the plant dies and decays, the carbon is eaten by bacteria or insects and is released back into the atmosphere as CO2.

This is how a bamboo house becomes a carbon capture and storage system. Planted bamboo sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere and the house acts as a carbon sink, storing the carbon in the bamboo poles, plywood, siding, and flooring. The same is true for wood, paper, cotton clothes and all goods made from plant matter. However, the advantage to building with bamboo is that bamboo grows 3-7 times faster than trees.

Bamboo is a member of the grass family.  The fastest growing bamboo species may grow up to 4 feet a day. Bamboo establishes rapidly after planting, with a mature stand usually reached within 4-6 years.

After reaching maturity, bamboo can be selectively harvested annually with about 15-20% of the total stock removed without clear-cutting, soil erosion, ecosystem disruption, replanting, or reducing the carbon sequestration rate of the plantation. The selective harvesting will actually increase the biomass yield by 20 times versus bamboo left in the wild (Widenoja 2007).

This unique growing capacity makes bamboo a valuable sink for carbon storage. One Bamboo Commons (BC44) house that is 44 feet long will store 15 tons of CO2 equivalent.