CONCRETE, Wash. – While some companies look ahead only as far as the next quarterly financial statement, Pacific Rim Tonewoods has embarked on a business plan involving figured maple wood that won’t bring in returns for decades. But having a long view is part of the theme music for this company that specializes in high quality sustainable wood for musical instruments.

The perennial debate over which holiday tree species is better for the environment - real evergreens or artificial trees - gets another going over as news reports publicize a study by Ellipsos, a Montreal research environmental consultancy.