[gilbetron]

A benefit of using wood is not composting it in the end. We want to pull carbon out of the air, which trees are good at, but we don't want to let it back into the air when it is done. Adding all the stuff to it increases the longevity, which is helpful.

Steel doesn't pull carbon out of the air, unfortunately.

[munk-a]

If half of the material ending up as "wood" in a building is epoxy or some other treatment, though, the efficacy of using buildings for carbon capture seems quite decreased.

[fy20]

Well epoxy is basically just lots of hydrogen and carbon with a few other elements - it could work quite well as a carbon sink too.

The raw materials to manufacture it are mostly hydrocarbons. Maybe we should be focusing on making "green epoxy" instead.

[gilbetron]

Not if there is more than a doubling in use of wood. The epoxy, or whatever, makes wood a more compelling construction material, and if it results in far more wood construction, it is a net win.