No science, just gut.

If we're guilty at all, it's in an insistence on clear, full-length strips for building. That means bringing down the old boys, and human patience being what it is, they're not as renewable. But we don't really need 'em that way. And yeah, epoxy is a petrochemical, but in the big scheme of things it's a byproduct of humanity's much worse gas-guzzling habits. Better we should use it than a) it goes to a sludge pit somewhere or b) becomes a further-polluting PWC or bass boat. And compared to the alternatives, it's a relatively benign composition - think of the VOC's in vinlyester resins. It also ultimitely keeps our wood use down, since with composite construction we don't need as much wood for structural strength.

Solutions? we could all build SOF with recycled lumber, cotton skins, and linseed oil waterproofing. Of course they'll only last a few years that way, so we'd need another, and another, and another.... there go the resources. Or build S&G from chip board - it's made from farmed wood or mill waste, so the trees don't come down as fast. It'd be a heavy and fugly boat, and we haven't solved the epoxy problem. Oh yeah, and you don't want to be downstream of a chip board mill.

Or we could build as many beautiful craft as we possibly can, and get as many people into the wilderness as we can manage. They'd quickly learn as we have to appreciate great wood (and great woods!) and decide that they are worth saving. Then maybe we'd get rid of some of the just plain waste that really kills trees. Heck, one cigarette butt flipped out an SUV window this summer will bring down more timber than this hobby will across the entirety of human experience. Let's get that guy in a boat, and maybe that butt will end up in the ashtray, or even not lit at all.