Bamboo is a relatively sustainable and easily produced crop. Once it has become established, it can be harvested, and regenerate without replanting.  This stops the need for yearly  plowing, the cause of most agricultural soil erosion.  If we want to save the rivers adjacent to Cotton fields, (we are currently spending $250,000,000 to restore the San Joaquin River, and trying to keep pesticides out of it). The first thing to do is to substitute something more eco friendly in place of cotton, which presently costs the Tax Payers about $12, 000,000,000 (billion!) per year in direct subsities.

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants...it takes about 5-7 years to establish a mature plantation that can be sustainably harvested.

Bamboo thrives on water, which can be municipal or industrial "waste water" or runoff. The high uptake is transformed into vapor and biomass; purified water is reintroduced into the atmosphere through the growth cycle and during the drying of harvested material.

Large-scale Bamboo plantations may be conducive to symbiotic cultivation of fungal mycelium, and other useful crops that can coexist on wastewater.

Bamboo can be grown in marginal soil conditions near pollution sources, possibly short circuiting most atmospheric Co2 before it can enter the larger atmospheric "fly wheel" (now estimated as effecting the next 100 years, even if all Co2 emissions were stopped today). Imagine the benefits of planting bamboo on public highway right of ways...In the freeway median area, it would serve as a soft green crash barrier and block head lights away from oncomming traffic. Research exists to suggest that a swath 4 ft wide of bamboo can remove about 60-80 tons of carbon per kilometer per year from the air along roads. The harvested material might offset the cost of planting and maintainence.

Bamboo plants can be extremely effective in controlling, both wind and water erosion...this might be useful for stream rehabilitation in conjunction with forestry operations; ie: reducing silt in Salmon spawning grounds.

The ecological benefits, alone, of Bamboo cultivation warrant further study and consideration...

II. Technical developments:

There are many Bamboo based substitutes for many common products. One of the most promising is Textile Fiber. Bamboo textiles can be made softer and stronger than cotton, and are naturally anti-bacterial.

Bamboo can be made into high strength building materials ranging from Laminated floor planks and Structural framing ("Bamlams"), to "Bamply" sheets and woven mat board, greatly exceeding (by 3-4 times) wood in strength.

About 60% (by weight) of all presently harvested (world wide) Bamboo is used for food.  There is a huge potential market for new Bamboo foods and beverages (there is even Bamboo Beer in China). Bamboo shoots and leaves can be used as animal fodder.

Bamboo has been used to replace steel reinforcing in concrete, and to displace concrete in engineered structures, thereby saving weight, material, and energy.

Bamboo pulp can replace some types of paper pulp. The USDA found bamboo to be equal to or better than Southern Pine (presently "farmed" for pulp) and greater in production tonnage per acre.

Bamboo, in the form of Activated Charcoal, holds promise for use in the nano technology of the semi conductor industry.

Bamboo can be made into Ethanol, or Methonol alcohol, and fuel. We need research to determine the efficiency of that aspect of the many uses for Bamboo.

The latest development in Hydrogen production uses Anerobic Bacteria to digest biomass/waste material into pure hydrogen and lignum, (a key soil amendment). This process may allow the projected "Hydrogen Economy" that has been posited as the real key to environmental sustainibility, to actually become economically feasible.  This has huge potential for bamboo, because it grows to full size in a matter of months.  Bamboo produces much more weight per acre than corn, so it can be made into more fuel per acre than corn, and that production will be obtained at a fraction of the cost of corn. 

The Grass Genome has recently been mapped, and that should allow the development of a lot of useful Bamboo varients that can be engineered for spicific uses.  We should be using the new knowledge to create the "Gold Standard" of Biomass Carbon Credits based on the ability of bamboo to sequester atmospheric Carbon at the source of emissions, ie; near refineries, powerplants, highways, airports, and cities.  This sort of research could lead to many unexpected paths of inquiry, while developing new opportunities for employment in new industries. 

III. WTO Agreements

The United States has been producing cotton for export for over 300 years. Over that time, as other countries began producing more cotton, a system of subsidies has evolved to allow US cotton to compete with foreign competition. Recent "Free Trade" agreements and World Trade Organization rulings have made US agricultural subsidies a topic of intense criticism through out the world.  The US has lost four times in the World Court after being sued for its Cotton subsities.  As a result of that, the US Department of Agriculture has said ( Dec. 2006) 
" it would immediately stop accepting applications for payment guarantees under the Intermediate Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-103), which offered credit for up to 10 years. GSM-103 offered a greater implicit subsidy because the longer repayment term presents greater risks, according to USDA.
"Today's announcement demonstrates the U.S. intent to live up to its WTO obligations," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns said in the press release.
The WTO ruling also found that the USDA cotton marketing program, commonly called Step 2, violated WTO obligations against subsidies....

This could mean that Cotton and perhaps other subsidized crops will no longer be grown in the US within a relatively short period of time, perhaps by 2010. As of August 2007, the next Farm Bill that will dictate the subsities for the next five years, contains provisions for Cotton, Sugar, and Corn to recieve Increased subsidies.   The chief U.S. WTO negociator, Mr. Portman, has signaled his disgust, by resigning his post in protest of our wanton violation of our treaty obligation; which we signed in the Hong Kong WTO, DOHA Round in December of 2005.  In any event, it will only postpone the demise of "King Cotton" in the US, as other countries become more competitive