Will We Ever Stop Using Paper?

There are probably 1.5 billion desktop and laptop computers in the world and by most standards it is easier to type the words on computers than to write them on paper. So why do we still need paper products and destroy our forest just to get wood pulp to make paper? This is a very complicated question which needs a complex explanation to satisfy the answer.

The Current Data

It is estimated that the whole world consumes about 300 million tons of paper each year, this translates to 150,000 trees that are lost annually too! It also means that we destroy about 214.2 acres of forest per year, 300 years ago we had 1.6 billion hectares of tropical forest, but now only 50% of that remains. The trees that were cut down could not be replaced in time, since we use more than we can give back to nature. Mother Nature is no sorcerer, no she is not, she follows the laws of the seasons and unfortunately she cannot grow trees in five years for us to harvest.

Are Computers a Viable Replacement?

Through technology we have overcome obstacles that were prevalent in the past, suddenly people are living prolonged lives, our household chores are now done in minutes and our lives became more convenient. The calculator became the computer and it got smaller, but smarter. Technically speaking a computer can serve as a viable replacement for paper, but what seems to hinder us from doing so is our cherished traditions, economy and our ignorance. Although computers are not perfect either, they are vulnerable to shocks, impacts and data corruption. But if handled with care these machines are designed to last for a decade or so and the data they contain can be transferred electronically so that they won’t be lost.

Why Use Paper Then?

Economic-wise the idea of replacing papers with computers is not a very good idea at all, although it can be done in a transitional manner to prevent an economic crash. It would be safe to assume that there must be at least one printing press in every city and these industries heavily rely on paper to keep their business running. They also employ several hundred workers and those people need their jobs to provide for themselves and their families. So if we were to instantly let go of paper to save our forest, we would inadvertently cause a lot of people to lose their jobs and their business and our global economy would take a dive in an hour or so.

Conclusion

Like all transitional period the minute we ultimately decide to let go of paper would take a process for a hundred years or so. However, we are seeing the beginnings of that happening now, especially with the introduction of devices such as the digital full touch screen displays like iPad and similar products. Hopefully we would still be in time to save our trees in the foreseeable future and it is also note worthy that we recycle paper and other materials and use synthetic paper as well.