Seesawing Across the Forty-ninth Parallel: The International Diffusion of a Wood-based Technology

T echnological innovation has been a major force influencing natural-resource use in the twentieth century. In the forest products industry, advances in technology haveoffset changes in species availability and growing stock, averting severe dislocations and scarcity. Thus technological progress has effectively thwarted the "Malthusian" limit on forest resources: ''As preferred species, sizes, and qualities of wood have become depleted due to increased demand, processing technologies have been adjusted to work with more abundant species and materials previously thought to be unusable,"! One technological development that has had a profound influence on the forest products industry is the invention of structural particleboard (SPB). Structural particleboard, a reconstituted wood panel made with exterior grade resins, has properties suitable for structural and exterior applications. It can be substituted for construction-grade plywood for most uses and is available in two distinct