BAMBOO

The reason bamboo is potentially awesome is because of it's capability to grow fast. Like a few feet a day fast. If you cut it to the stub, in 6 months it'll be it's full growth again, so you can harvest every 3 years to keep from damaging the surrounding environment.

What? Yeah, I know. I thought the same thing. With that kind of turnaround, you can replenish your wood source quickly. I knew furniture could be made from bamboo, but flooring, cabinetry, fencing, decks, plywood, lumber? That's a new one on me. I don't know what the efficiency ratings on it is yet, still working on that, but it is incredibly strong... so that's gotta be worth something.

And, what's even cooler is if you're really a do-it-yourselfer, you can grow bamboo the bamboo on your own. Just make sure there are no panda bears around.