Our responsibility as writers

I discovered this small tree (see right) on the eighth floor of a well-known downtown building in Montreal. It was love at first sight. This unassuming tree stands alone surrounded by cold marble tiles, cement slabs, and gigantic glass panes. Its remarkably weaved trunk marveled me, making me forget about the haughty building I was in. Unfortunately, we often forget about the important role trees play in our writing world. Look around in your office, your house, your room, and you’ll notice that many things are made out of paper. Yet, we don’t stop to think that these items came from trees. For instance, in the US alone, 749 pounds of paper are consumed per person per year. That’s a massive 187 billion pounds per year for the entire US population. Nearly four billion trees or 35% of the total of trees cut around the world are used in paper industries on every continent. Think about it, FOUR billion trees, and still counting! My blog is not to preach to anyone, but to remind you to be mindful of one’s responsibility as writers. This spring, let’s make it a goal to plant a tree, and don’t forget to print responsibly!

For more information, please visit: http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/earth_answers/earthAnswers.htm