Paper contributes to climate change from the cradle to the grave...If we are going to seriously address climate change, we can begin by making the process of paper production more sustainable.
Paper Sourcing
One ton of virgin magazine paper requires cutting down fifteen trees.
Destroying forests for paper eliminates valuable trees that pull carbon
out of the atmosphere. According to the United Nations, deforestation
accounts for a whopping 25% of global carbon emissions caused from human
activities.
Paper Manufacturing
The process of paper production requires large quantities of energy. As the Green Press Initiative reports, paper production is the fourth largest industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
Paper Disposal
As the Environmental Paper Network
reports, paper constitutes more than 1/3 of landfill waste and as it
decomposes, it releases methane gas that has 23 times the heat trapping
power of carbon dioxide. Clearly, paper contributes to our warming
planet.
The Climate-Saving Alternative: Recycled Paper
The Environmental Protection Agency
states that recycling one ton of paper saves 3.3 cubic yards of
landfill - which means less methane emissions. Furthermore, the Environmental Paper Network
explains that the total energy consumed when making pulp from recovered
waste paper is significantly lower than that of virgin pulping. Every
ton of 100% recycled copy paper saves 17 million BTUs over virgin paper,
enough to power the average home for more than two months.
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