Over the past two or three months I have received no less than two dozen emails from my local gas utility telling me that I could help save the environment and help stop global warming by discontinuing paper statements in favor of having my statements emailed. At first, I ignored these annoying emails but after giving it some thought I decided that I should do something to try to set the record straight on this topic. So I composed an email stating a few facts, which I also printed out and mailed (after hunting down a stamp).

The point of my  letter was simply to inform them that it is a rather difficult stretch of the imagination to try to make the case that printed material will somehow harm the environment when in fact just the opposite is true. It is actually fairly easy, armed with just a few facts to make the case that printed material is good for the environment and therefore the use of paper products should be ecouraged not discouraged.

Facts such as:

1. Print is recycleable - roughly 64% of paper in the us is recycled.
2. Waste makes paper - According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "one third of fiber used in paper comes from wood-chip and sawmill scrap and another third from recycled paper.
3. Forests are Replenished - There is financial incentive to replenish forests rather than sell it for redevelopment or convert it for other uses. So in fact when you use paper you actually help to grow more trees. More info.
4. 56% of U.S. forest land is privately owned and these private land owners plant 4 million trees every day which is 3-4 times more than is harvested. There is an excellent Wall Street Journal article by Chuck Leavell which may be downloaded here.

As of yet I have not recevied any response from my gas utility.

Mike