cymana,
I totally agree on not supporting destruction of the tropical environments to support any type of industry. One interesting aspect of the Ipe (or Pau Lope) is that according to several sources, it appears that the harvesting of the Ipe timber is carefully managed to protect the surrounding forests and provide for a sustained population of the species. One site even claims that the harvesting methods are approved of by the National Audubon Society and the Smithsonian Institute (
www.paulopedecking.com/The-Environment.html). Whether these claims are valid or not is something which I would want to check into further before making any type of purchase. I've got a feeling that getting the truth on many of the practices in the tropics could be a real challenge!
