Well! I’ve managed to contribute to the process of deforestation this week. It’s finals week here at JMU, and just this weekend alone, I’ve managed to print off more than 200 pages worth of stuff for a number of different class assignments. I’ve printed off court briefs, news articles, research information, Web pages, term papers, and more, I’m sure. And this is my eighth semester in college now. That means my eighth finals week. And that’s a lot of paper. Let’s admit it, already. Despite much effort to make our society one that uses much less of it, paper still does make the world go round. Just in my room alone, I have mad amounts of paper. I have reams of paper for the printer in my closet. I have several pads of sticky notes in my desk drawer. Then I have several different phone books in one of my other drawers. All in all, this room is highly combustible, what with all the paper we have lying around. And it only gets worse, because it seems like when you don’t use paper here, it makes different paper pop up there. For instance, you pay with cash (yes, I know that US bills are actually made of cotton and such, but work with me here) at the supermarket. The cashier hands you a little receipt. Pay with plastic, saving that paper money for a little longer circulation and saving some resources, and you’ve used much more paper. Now you have the carbon-copy paper, and a few times longer. Let’s admit it. Our society runs on paper, and so the word “timber” is going to get yelled for a long time to come.
