🚀 go-pugleaf

> So you're recommending I put up a redwood fence, made of
> products bought from Pacific Lumber, a division of Maxxam????

=o= I never said anything even remotely resembling that.

> Perhaps a pine fence would be better, since it would rot
> every five years, giving the lumber industry an opportunity
> to cut down some more old-growth forests?
 
=o= I never said anything even remotely resembling that, either.
Also, for your information, softwoods like pine grow quickly,
and usually come from new growth.

=o= (And how long do you really think a plastic picket fence
is going to serve?  From what I've seen, plastic outdoor junk
gets damaged routinely.  A picket fence represents a lot of
easily damaged unrepairable surface area.  You'd be unusually
lucky if five years passed before you're back at Home Depot
buying a new one.)

=o= Now, if you were to ask what my actual recommendations
were, I'd say they would vary depending on your particular
environment. If your heart is set on a picket fence, I'd tell
you the following:

=1= Get a copy of the _Wood_User's_Handbook, by Pamela Wellner
and Eugene Dickey (of the Rainforest Action Network).  They
give rather detailed information on obtaining various types of 
wood that was logged in a sustainable manner.  They even list
some businesses in the Bay Area that specialize in such wood.
(They're more tolerant of some synthetic products than I am,
so of I course I recommend against following their advice to
use those materials.)

=2= Find a picket fence or materials for same made from a good
water-resistant wood.

=3= Find environmentally-sound wood preservative products.
I've tried the products of Auro and Livos, two German firms
(I've also heard of a new American firm called BioShield,
but I haven't tried their products).  You'll find some that
will hold off the biodegrading process for a good number of
years.  Apply those products to the fence.
    <_Jym_>