WHEN computers first became popular we were told the “paperless office” was just around the corner. Turns out a company’s use of e-mail causes an average 40 per cent increase in paper consumption. The demand for ream after ream of white paper is putting a huge strain not only on America’s forests, but the world’s. And it’s forcing the environmental movement to consider the alternatives.
The US currently gobbles up some 200 million tons of wood products annually, with consumption increasing by four per cent every year. The pulp and paper industry is the biggest culprit. US paper producers alone consume one billion trees — or 12,430 square miles of forests — every year, while producing 735 pounds of paper for every American.
The US has less than five per cent of the world’s population, but consumes 30 per cent of the world’s paper. Only five per cent of America’s virgin forests remain, while 70 per cent of the fibre consumed by the pulp and paper industry continues to be generated from virgin wood.
The situation is equally grim around the world: deforestation is rampant; chlorine treatment of paper has spread the noxious carcinogen dioxin into air, water and soil; and recycling efforts — which have been flagging of late — have yet to have any appreciable effect on the world’s demand for wood pulp.
Alternative sources of pulp — including kenaf (a long-fibre relative of cotton), hemp (still illegal to grow for industrial use in the US), wheat straw, corn and rice husks — hold promise but haven’t gotten a strong foothold yet.
Worldwide, global consumption of wood products has risen 64 per cent since 1961. The industry expects that demand will double by 2050, keeping pace with population growth. Recycling has helped, but has not yet made an appreciable difference. “Recycling has yet to dent the world’s appetite for virgin-fibre pulp,” says the Worldwatch Institute.
In Indonesia, the pulp and paper industry is destroying rain forests so quickly that it will run out of wood by 2007, according to a report by Friends of the Earth. An area the size of Belgium is wiped out annually. Only 10 per cent of the trees cut down for paper in Indonesia are farmed, although the industry had supposedly committed to replanting its clear-cuts with fast- growing acacia trees.
Loss of forests isn’t the only issue. Deforestation has released an estimated 120 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the major global warming gas, into the atmosphere. The pulp and paper industry is the third-largest industrial polluter in both Canada and the US, releasing more than 220 million pounds of toxic pollution into the air, ground and water each year.
Much of that pollution is the byproduct of the three million tons of chlorine used annually to bleach wood pulp white. Chlorine bleaching is a major source of the potent carcinogen dioxin, which is routinely discharged into rivers and streams with wastewater. As a result, dioxin is now ubiquitous in our environment, found throughout the world in air, water, soil and food. Every woman alive today carries some trace of dioxin in her breast milk. Dioxin is considered one of the most toxic substances ever produced and has been known to cause cancer, liver failure, miscarriage, birth defects and genetic damage in laboratory animals.
There is a vast potential for a “green” paper industry, including recycled and natural fibres, that could not only spare trees but also produce paper with minimal environmental impact overall, but it needs an infusion of both public interest and research funding. — Samina Iqbal
Eating habits
ADDING fibre to the diet reduces colon cancer, regulates blood sugar and satisfies hunger, states a recent issue of Medicine Digest. The recommended amount is 35 grams daily. Refined carbohydrates as pasta, bread and rice have little fibre. Whole grain foods have three to five grams of fibre per serving are beneficial. These include whole wheat bread, long grained rice, oatmeal and barley. Legumes are also important sources of fibre. Half-a-cup of kidney beans have six grams of fibre. Fruits and vegetables are other good sources of fibre.
A fast food diet has large quantities of fat and very many calories. A sensible selection of foods having a high fibre content will improve health and prevent disease.
A healthy fibre intake can be achieved from dried and regular fruit, with skin, vegetables, whole grains, cereals, beans and peas, wheat germ and unbuttered pop-corn.
Onions are another food ingredient having very good effects on health. Half-a-cup of onions daily help in lowering cholesterol. If eaten in the raw form, it raises HDL or the good cholesterol. There is some evidence that asthma and chest congestion improve by eating onions. They also have a natural anti-infective property and have been used for dysentery. Red, yellow and green onions are the most beneficial, whereas the white ones are not so helpful. They make an excellent non-fat addition to numerous dishes and thus reduce caloric intake.
Sugarless chewing gum is helpful in keeping teeth clean and helps in weight loss. The consistent chewing process increases the body’s metabolic rate and prevents snacking in between meals.
Diet and eating habits are thus important tools for loosing weight. If used incorrectly, it is harmful for health. — Dr Fatema Jawad
