Todavafter decades of wasteful use of fossil fuelsenergy<br > reserves have fallen to a crisis levelAt government urging<br > many dollars are being spent to develop alternative sources<br > of energyThe searchhoweverhas involved more than<br > looking for ways to harness the sunwindwaterand even<br > garbageIt has also led to a rediscovery of what our fore<br > bears knew as a matter of fact<br > Nature stores massive amounts of energy every year in<br > the form of wood<br > Our ancestorsviewing the sweeping forests of this conti<br > nentfound woodland and forest riches beyond belief<br > Demands of a growing nationhoweverled to masslve<br > assaults upon the virgin forests which had been thousands<br > of years in the makingTotal acreage of USforests fell<br > from 2 billion acres tO 800 million acres by 1900<br > World War I put massive demands upon our remaining<br > forestsand by 1920 forest fires were claiming 30 to 40<br > million acres annuallyFortunatelythrough fire control and<br > careful cutting and restocking of treesour forest reserves<br > have been rebuilt back to 765 million acres<br > Little of this wood is being used to heat the homes of<br >