underwater logging... green solution to a paper problem?

I read an article in Wired about underwater logging in reservoirs. It's in the February 2007 issue of Wired, article called Reservoir Logs.

I found it a clever solution to eco-friendly paper supplies and interesting in its technology and design/vision. I'm not sure that it's one of those things that can be called the solution or a solution per se.

Here's a bit from an e-newsletter from Rainforest Alliance:

"Mother Nature never intended for trees to be underwater," explains Christopher Godsall, president and CEO of Triton Logging. But trees -- perhaps as many as 300 million worldwide -- are submerged in reservoirs and Triton has come up with an innovative, eco-friendly method for harvesting them.

Triton has been recovering Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, hemlock and other species that have been preserved by cold water and turning a profit without damaging the surrounding environment. Key to his efforts is the Sawfish, an underwater logging machine invented by the company. Operated by remote control, the Sawfish attaches inflatable air bags to the trees, then cuts them underwater with an electric chain saw. The air bags float the logs to the water's surface, where they are loaded onto barges.

The Rainforest Alliance has certified Triton's milled wood under our SmartWood Rediscovered program, which recognizes environmentally sounds practices for the recovery, recycling and reuse of wood products. The eco-friendly logging method doesn't emit carbon dioxide the way that conventional logging does, doesn't pollute the water and leaves the lake floor undisturbed.