"This has to be one of the most irresponsible & fact free articles regarding material selection I have ever seen.  Sure, magical thinking that market forces will intervene to make up for decades if not centuries old marvels of nature must be nice to assuage one's guilt (if that even exists in the first place) over realizing that so much of these tropical hardwoods are being harvested in careless and non-sustainable manners.  Have you even ever spent time in Central / South America, SE Asia, or Africa to see what the end result of your imprudent viewpoint results in?  I spent a year in Central America in the mid-90's and it wasn't pretty then - I can't imagine how much worse it's become in two decades since.I will continue to use locally sourced lumber whenever possible, knowing that it was at least handled and harvested in much more sustainable manner than what you suggest.The timing of this article coincides with the ushering in of a new US administration that will have a similar viewpoint on all aspects related to scarce and diminishing natural resources.  It's so depressing to see that woodworkers, artisans, and other first-line stewards of one of our most precious resources would without any reflection continue to contribute to a shrinking natural world. "