Green Options

Paper appears to be high on the agenda of a number of organizations this week. It’s necessary. Paper is so ubiquitous – from tissues to toilet paper to memo pads to catalogs to the mess on your desk - that it is easy to forget, or perhaps more convenient to ignore, that paper manufacturing has significant environmental repercussions.

Paper production is the third largest contributor to climate change, the biggest source of deforestation and has a significant impact on water issues. It’s a dirty business, from the use of toxic chemicals and chlorine bleaches to clear cutting of forests like this one on the North Carolina Coast:

[Creative Commons photo by Matt Musselman]

Winter is close, and cold and flu season is here. That means lots of sniffles and a lot of tissues and over the counter medications. North American goes through about 156,000 tons of tissues each year, most of them during the winter months. Sales for medicines like decongestants also increase this time of year. When we’re sick, it’s easy to put some of this green living stuff on hold in the name of getting well. Here are a few tips for treating your sickness with less of an impact.

OK, so this one’s kind of a no-brainer, but it’s not something that people necessarily intuit on their own. For years, I proclaimed myself a dedicated environmentalist, and yet… every time allergy season rolled around, I would go out and purchase box upon box of “Ultra” tissues, or “lotioned” tissues, or “Super” tissues. All made from trees and going straight into the trash.