Paper

Paper is a very fragile and delicate thing, yet it is used multiple times for many different activities. Though societies use many different types of paper in every day life, very rare is it for someone to stop and consider what steps were taken in order for that paper to be produced. While doing research on the different locations in which the trees originate, the amount of trees, or even the type of trees used to produce some of our everyday paper products, I found that companies have many restrictions on letting go of their "secrets." It is extremely difficult to find out any information about a product as simple as paper, partially because of the company's policies, and also because trees are cut down every single day across the world and are not always cut down for a specific reason, leaving no trace to the forests in which they came from. 

From many hours of researching, I finally came across a website which laid out the percentages of forests which were used to make paper, yet even these websites could not explain what kind of paper was produced from each forrest.
Website: http://www.conservatree.org/paperlisteningstudy/Forests/question64.html

• Supposedly, 42% of the total wood harvested each year is turned into some type of paper. 
• In years to come, this number is projected to reach approximately 50%.
• Though that does not seem like much, imagine the amount of paper that is produced and used every year, and imagine the existing 50% which is being cut down for other reasons.

Here is a picture which shows the Life Cycle Analysis of paper in a chart very similar to that which we discussed during class:  Life Cycle of Paper

It may not be much information, but finding out the little bits of how much forest is actually being used helped tremendously in finding the real root of where all paper originates.

Enjoy!

TLR