Paper - Bridge to Knowledge But What About Trees? An Editorial

By sandhya reddy March 25, 2011 - 12:01pm Rate This

Photo: Getty Images

I reached out for the roll of paper towels and tore off one big towel to clean the counter top in the kitchen. I stopped for a second, staring at it in my hand. Then I put it back in the rack. As I reached down into one of the drawers to pull out an old cotton towel, I thought that if every single tree that's been cut down had a soul, they would just declare war against humans for being so brutal and spoiling Mother Earth, which rightfully belongs to every single living being. I wasn't always this prudent and sensitive about this issue of polluting or going green. I didn't pay attention to all the green market campaigns springing up in recent years. I was like many people who don't pay attention to small things like buying and using paper napkin or picking up paper cups or using rolls and rolls of tissue in one single sitting on the potty.

Back in the days people used cutlery, fine china, ceramics, glass, jute, and cotton for daily household items. Pollution was at a minimum. Then came plastics, rubber, metal, and paper. I remember the early eighties when I first came to this country when Tupperware marketing and usage was a fad. After a while paper products such as shopping bags, grocery bags, gift bags, and packing boxes flooded the markets. Using paper products such as towels, plates, cups, and tissues became part of daily life. Most people do not have time to notice how our planet is affected with the making of these products. If we ask an average teenager what he or she thinks of using paper products he or she would probably just shrug and answer, "I don't know". Usage of paper products, like everything else, is taken for granted by many.

Paper has been in use for almost 4,000 years. Ancient Egyptians made the first paper products that were plant-based and called papyrus. In the second century B.C., the Chinese made paper out of fibrous matter. Arabs made paper in the eighth century. But, usage of wood to make paper did not come in until the turn of eighteenth century in England.

It takes:
--24 trees to make a ton of printing paper.
--6 trees to make make one carton of copier paper.
--12 trees to make a one tone of news print.

Rate This

0 comments View Comments

We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.