Roaming around the streets of Los Angeles, it's impossible not to bump into tall and gorgeously thin, willowy beings. I'm not talking about supermodels.

I'm talking about the utility pole. But in our modern environmental world, is wood still a good idea? 

Here are 5 things to know:

Incredibly, for more than a century, America's electrical and communication infrastructure has been held together by a wooden pole, around 150 million of them across America. Even now, in our super-tech age, wooden poles are still pretty vital. But why?

  1. They first appeared around 1844, thanks to Samuel Morse and his telegraph, who found burying his cables underground ineffective, so he constructed a 40-mile line from D.C. to Baltimore using 700 wooden poles. And it worked. 
  2. Next came electricity. As demand increased from factories and homes, so did the demand for wooden poles, which meant it was important to ensure they met certain safety standards, so they looked the same and lasted for a very long time. As they are to this day, they're treated with preservatives under extreme pressure forcing it deeper into the wooden fibers, extending the life of the utility pole to over 70 years — almost as long as a human.
  3. Steel is certainly more fireproof, but electricity likes the more conductive and grounding properties of metal over wood. Wooden poles also store carbon, unlike steel which is energy-intensive to create. 
  4. The debate between environmentalists is that wood can be good and bad. Some worry about the impact of the preservatives they contain, others about the bases' ability to decay in the ground and their resistance to fire. And speaking of fire poles of any kind, they aren't always the best choice in high wind and fire risk areas, so now many power companies are burying their power lines in those areas instead. Although it's much more expensive on the front end, they might actually save money when it comes to preventing costly fire damage.
  5. Even though burying power lines might be a better idea, wooden utility poles are rather versatile, affordable, light and easy to transport, especially after major weather events and hurricanes. They are quick and simple to install and, most importantly, to climb. And they're a renewable resource that, if managed properly and sustainably, will ensure that the future of the wooden utility pole will be good.