Consumer action sure as hell isn't the solution to our environmental woes, but it's probably necessary to get there.

Concerning bamboo and hemp, problem is there is so much waste in the wood industry that it will take a long time to diversify. As is, even wood pulp is used in many things. The wood veneer, plywood, cardboard, even paper is made from wood pulp. Most of the later two get thrown away after the first use.

That's not even mentioning plastics of all types.

It costs a lot of money to switch. In a hard economy that's basically out of the question.