Do you guys remember when recycled consumer paper cost about 2 to 3 times what paper made from virgin pulp did? Now, you can get recycled paper for the same price, or even less. The same thing happens in other markets, too. Recycled steel cost quite a bit more than steel made from coke, ore, and mineral ingredients 20 years ago, but now the steel industry is pissing and moaning about cheap recycled steel cutting their margins. Hey, Big Beth declared bankruptcy, didn't they?
My point is, enviro-friendly oils will probably do the same, though that's no consolation to Treeman, today. As I see it, the root cause of the problem is that the technology, if we can call it that, is still untested, for the use of vegetable-based chain oils. Not enough heavy users, i.e. logging companies, major timber products companies with their own crews, etc., have tried the veggie products, and the manufacturers have not established a market. A few horse loggers, environmentally concerned arborists, or the Harry Homeowner will not and can not make a difference in how the manufacturers view their consumer base.
Take again, for example, the recycled paper market. It was not until the Fortune 500 companies demanded that their office paper be made of at least XX% recycled base that the price of recycled paper came down. It takes the major users of a product to get attention these days.
Consequently, the only way that the the price of the veggie oils will come down is when the major users embrace the technology, deem it good through experiential evidence, and start buying it because of whatever environmental standard they are certified to, be it ISO 14001, CLI, SFI, etc.
That said, Treeman, what kind of results do you get with the veggie oils? You and I seem to be the only champion of them here, but, unfortunately, my dealers won't even carry them for me, since they have to buy more than I can use in a year, and I don't have the long-term experience with them that I would like. So, I can't get the opportunity to use them, other than sporadically with the two gallons I have tucked away in the barn.
Russ and Others,
Refer to my Thanksgiving weekend post about exhaust emissions vs. bar luve. The environmental impact from exhaust and bar oil are independent. A well-tuned saw can still spew a lot of slowly degradable petroleum-based lube, or a poorly-tuned saw can use all the vegetable oil it wants. Neither has to do with the other.
We should all do what we can, within reason, to minimize our impact on the environment. Let's face it, we are not in a public-friendly industry, and taking a hard-ass standpoint isn't going to help. Granted, the forestry products industry has taken a good turn since HD has marketed the SFI lumber, but unless we each do our part, something's missing. We can't all do it, economically, like I said, but if we can....
I hate to be a down-the-snoot-looking-liberal-thinker, but that's the reality. I could show you several studies that prove that clear-cutting will not be be a viable silvicultural technique for use on public lands in the immediate future due to social inacceptability, regardless of the ecological or siilvicultural importance of its use in replacement of natural fire.
I know we all want to be tough guys, self-reliant, with bruised and greasy knuckles, and we can. But to stay that way, we have to adapt to what society is willing to accept. Trust me, the choice of making a few small changes as opposed to throwing in the hat is well woth the small sacrifice.
