4 ms·

I don't get the environmentalist angle. The paper industry is a net carbon sink; much more carbon is captured in growing the forests of fast-growth trees they p

I don't get the environmentalist angle. The paper industry is a net carbon sink; much more carbon is captured in growing the forests of fast-growth trees they plant and cut down than in manufacturing paper or lumber products from it. Every sheet of paper you buy is that much carbon in your hand that would otherwise be in the atmosphere, and will now stay out of the atmosphere as long as it's not burned. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identified exactly this as the most effective man-made carbon sequestration method we have. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-chapter9.pdf http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-cha... So, paper is cheap and producing it is a net positive for the environment. What about the coal-burning power plants generating electricity to shoot lasers at the paper so we can reuse it again? Is the electricity cost to blast off the toner going to be less than the cost of a sheet of paper?

smackay 15y ago
Sure there's plenty of carbon in paper but mining the kaolite used to make it and the paper plant itself generate quite a bit of CO2. The dioxins and other chlorinated by-products of paper-making are also pretty hard on the environment and humans in general.
victork2 15y ago
There's not only the carbon dioxyde that counts. If you have ever been around a paper/cardbox factory you know how much it stinks and how heavily they use chemicals. I don't have time to read the study but you also have to go beyond first order effects. OK growing the trees might be a carbon sink, but what about the second and plus order: the effect on the soil, heavy use of human machinery, use of pesticide. Just FYI the energy used by laser is extremely low except if you are talking about CO2 laser or something. I would be more concerned about the making of such a laser.
mhb 15y ago
The paper industry is a net carbon sink How is that? Neglecting processing-related effects, isn't this zero-sum since they're planting trees and then turning them into paper which eventually decomposes and releases the carbon? A reduction in paper use would leave the existing trees standing.
- krupan 15y ago
  The trees that the paper companies plant would remain standing? I think you missed part of the argument.
qq66 15y ago
On a climate time scale, the paper will decompose into CO2. Paper production just defers CO2 from now until a point only a few hundred years in the future.
- jessriedel 15y ago
  In a 300 years at a 2% growth rate, the world will be 400 times richer. Long term carbon sequestration will be a trivial cost, or will be unnecessary.

smackay 15y ago

Sure there's plenty of carbon in paper but mining the kaolite used to make it and the paper plant itself generate quite a bit of CO2. The dioxins and other chlorinated by-products of paper-making are also pretty hard on the environment and humans in general.

victork2 15y ago

There's not only the carbon dioxyde that counts. If you have ever been around a paper/cardbox factory you know how much it stinks and how heavily they use chemicals. I don't have time to read the study but you also have to go beyond first order effects. OK growing the trees might be a carbon sink, but what about the second and plus order: the effect on the soil, heavy use of human machinery, use of pesticide. Just FYI the energy used by laser is extremely low except if you are talking about CO2 laser or something. I would be more concerned about the making of such a laser.

mhb 15y ago

The paper industry is a net carbon sink How is that? Neglecting processing-related effects, isn't this zero-sum since they're planting trees and then turning them into paper which eventually decomposes and releases the carbon? A reduction in paper use would leave the existing trees standing.

krupan 15y ago
The trees that the paper companies plant would remain standing? I think you missed part of the argument.

qq66 15y ago

On a climate time scale, the paper will decompose into CO2. Paper production just defers CO2 from now until a point only a few hundred years in the future.

jessriedel 15y ago
In a 300 years at a 2% growth rate, the world will be 400 times richer. Long term carbon sequestration will be a trivial cost, or will be unnecessary.