Posted on 11/09/2009 7:49:03 AM PST by SmithL
Near Mark Oldfield's desk at the California Department of Conservation sits a ream of copy paper that is more than a routine office commodity.
Made in part from recycled fiber, it is a symbol of the state's green spirit, one ream among thousands backing the department's claim that it is a champion of the environment – and complies with state law requiring it to buy recycled paper.
There is a dark side to those sheets of bright, white paper: the part that isn't recycled comes from trees logged in the biologically rich but endangered forests of Indonesia.
Oldfield, a public affairs officer, was not aware of the connection until contacted by The Bee. Now that he knows, Oldfield said his office will not buy anymore and may try to return the unused reams.
"We're required to buy this type of paper," he said. "And that's what we did."
California has a worldwide reputation as a leader in global warming, more so than any other state. But an ongoing Bee investigation has found some of the state's choices – such as failing to evaluate environmental costs of printer ink cartridge recycling and allowing its employees to travel on the dime of energy companies – raise questions about the effectiveness of its efforts.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
I want paper than is half recycled and half spotted owl.
So if they return the unused reams of paper will that make the trees reappear? Will that assuage their “guilt”?
Jeez, the trees have already been cut down and turned into paper, at least use it.
What a bunch of maroons we have in Sacramento/CA.
SZ
Please include a side of Snail Darter with mine.
Geez, they are plants, not unborn children.
Oh thank God they’re leading the nation in global warming efforts. Of course, this liberal mindset has bankrupted the state, but hey, at least they get to sleep easier at night.
Bunch of morons.
Weren’t computers supposed to help make us a “paperless” society. What happened? It sounds like all the computers and printers did was allow us to print out more paper, faster.
CO2 is fertilizer. Without CO2 nothing would be green. With CO2, the world is more green. Thanks to CO2, the rainforests are expanding now.
Aluminum is one of the few profitably and ecologically sound recyclable. Even glass needs separation by color, and must be clean before melting. Sand is cheap, and transportation costs including fuel, trucks, drivers, etc - make recycling horribly inefficient even in urban areas. Rural areas have crunched the numbers and by far the most efficient way to get rid of garbage is to burn it, but of course that’s anathema to the greenies. Perhaps burning garbage in an electricity generating plant is something they could get behind, but I doubt it.
I’m currently reading “living off the grid”, because I want to develop my own self-sufficient power sources so that ‘bammy & co can’t come along and shut down my electricity because I’m not “in favor” (smart grid - did you think it was for “efficiency”?).
Anyway, this book is written by an insufferable lib who just states as a fact that humans are causing global warming because of power generating CO2 emissions. No caveats, no “most believe”, etc. Just states it as a fact.
I’ll just skim it and glean the useful info and grit my teeth at the lies.
Glass is chemically inert and basically made of melted rocks. When you recycle glass, you are saving rocks. The most eco-friendly thing to do with the stuff would be to dump it into the ocean.
In a twisted way, that’s the beauty of this conundrum the envirostatists find themselves in. They are almost always falling into their own traps and since they’re involved at a high emotional degree, they get spooled up even more.
I love it! Stupid liberals.
For every action there is a reaction kind of thing.
SZ
Penn and Teller covered this on it’s several years old Bullshit episode on recycling.
I used to be an avid recycler in the “think globally but act locally” sort of way. I don’t recycle at all any more. It all goes into the trash.
Except for aluminum cans.
Yes. Extracting aluminum from raw ore is very energy intensive. Much more so than other metals.
Regarding paper recycling: It really isn't good for the environment. The vast majority of pulp sources are from farmed trees, not wild trees. By recylcing paper, you discourage tree farms.
Secondly, look at the caption to the picture in the first post. Paper is being sent to China for recycling...
I've said many times, prior to the 'paperless office' I bought paper by the ream.
Since the advent of the 'paperless office', out of necessity, I am forced to buy paper by the box.
envirohypocrites
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