Going paperless?

[Nomad]

Paperless future?

[susieq]

Re: Going paperless?

I have gone paperless as much as possible....for several reasons. I like the idea of getting my bills delivered on line. I pay them the same way. Ditto for bank statements, etc.... even the news paper.

I have a real problem with the modern day tree farms. Now days, when forests are are cut down for timber, they are replanted with all one kind of tree...pines. Pines grow faster and straighter, making them more commercially valuable.....and a smorgasbord for pine beetles. When forests were diversified, you didn't have the awful spread of pine beetles like we do now. But elms, maples, walnut, cherry, poplar, etc, don't grow fast enough to satisfy the demand for wood.

The other part of the problem is the lack of recycling programs across the country.
After years of dealing with very limited recycling in our area, which required me to only recycle news paper....and only the non shiny paper at that, so I had to sort the paper and throw out the stuff the recycler wouldn't take.....AND then haul it to them.

Now, I still have to haul it to them but at least they take all paper goods, phone books/catalogs, cardboard boxes. No more sorting. And there are little special dumpsters set up at local schools and libraries for just the paper/cardboard.

Sadly 80% or more of folks don't bother to do any kind of recycling, even when it's available in their area. People talk about wanting to save the world all the time but won't make the effort and recycling is absolutely the one thing everyone could do, that would actually make a HUGE difference.

By recycling paper goods and the other usual things like glass/metal/plastic, (we do have curbside pickup for those things) I have reduced our garbage output (the stuff that actually goes to the landfill) by at least 80%. If I'm not part of the solution, then I'm part of the problem.....

[Tom Ellis]

Re: Going paperless?

Thanks Terry. Dangit, now we all have to get an Ipad.

Tom

[DiLeon]

Re: Going paperless?

Yes and no....books I have a kindle for the books I do not want to read more then once.....how to do books are priceless if the grid goes down. Electric here...goes off once a week...who knows what the future brings. All cardboard, if not stamp heavy is used as a natural weed block in the gardens, it is laid down, watered then cover with mulch. Toilet paper rolls are turned into fire starters, old news papers are used for cleaning windows and table protects during painting and etc....there is not much left for the recycle bin. Bank statements and bills no way,.... the banks are criminal...and if you do not have it in paper,...it is not legal in court at times. I get this,.. we can not send you a written statement....BS send me a written statement, I know email are not worth two cents legally. They have to send a written by law. The problem with the forest and paper is not that they cut the tree down.....the problem is that they are not replanting....it should be a law, that every tree cut down needs a new one planted. It is not that hard to dig a hole and put a tree in it.

[susieq]

Re: Going paperless?

You are ahead of me in that department, Di. I love books and never thought about reading a digital one. Although, with my eyesight going south, the thought of "back lit" text is very appealing.

But I have a ton of books.....they are my treasures. So, not going paperless in that department yet. grin.

[gtech]

Re: Going paperless?

I like both. Paper for when I want to need to use a pencil, a Mac or a tablet for the other times.

GC

[Brian T]

Re: Going paperless?

You cannot begin a harvesting/logging operation in British Columbia without an approved land prescription. Try it and you will be left standing in the street in your underwear.
Excessive soil compaction may cost you your business. Stumps cut too high? You're in trouble, also. The law requires replanting. A substantial portion of your proceeds is withheld until that replant is inspected. We are somewhere beyond 4,000,000,000 new trees. Each of those trees costs more than $4.00 in the ground by the time inspection has passed.

The forest fire cycle puts up a forest of pine of merchantable dimensions in 50-70 years.
So, a lot of the forest is natural regeneration (plus all the planting). While we have always had some Mountain Pine Beetle damage, we got about 10-15 mild winters in a row and the bug population exploded. Now we have more than 18,000,000 hectares of standing dead pine which is not even worth the chainsaw gas to cut it down. Junk.

Paperless? In many ways, for fleeting, short term transactions, it's wonderful. I didn't grow up in a digital world so paper still means a lot to me.

[rickm]

Re: Going paperless?

call me old fashioned but if they want money from me they can send me a bill.

[sappy]

Re: Going paperless?

How much forest products are used for paper? I see these tree farms of fast growing trees that are harvested just for paper. Not to say they don't cut down forest for paper, I just don't know how much. I am old fashion too. We use the computer for some bill paying, but still like the paper. We have a lot of postal workers in our family.

[susieq]

Re: Going paperless?

We will always need paper for some records.... I don't quite trust digital storage yet.
But I cut back where I can. I just unsubscribed to phone books. You can go online here and tell them you don't want them. The last phone books we've gotten, were all business listings anyhow. No residential numbers. We just look it up on line so why deal with the big, bulky phone book that takes up valuable cabinet space....

As for receiving bills, I can foresee the day when it will cost you extra to have a bill delivered to your mail box.

[copeau]

Re: Going paperless?

Just thought, i'm not sure that computers are as easy to recycle as a sheet of paper.

[Nancy-G]

Re: Going paperless?

Me? Me going paperless? Never happen. When I want to make a bank deposit or withdrawal I go INSIDE and stand in line. I never go near an ~shudder~ automatic machine.

[MustangA1X]

Re: Going paperless?

A paperless office and or home are a couple of things that help but to really save paper we need paperless bathrooms.

[susieq]

Re: Going paperless?

Nancy, I never go near ATMs either. I hate those things. Especially for women, it's like making a target of yourself. I rarely have to go to the bank but when I do, it's inside for me too.

Mustang, what are you saying? Time to go back to corn cobs? ouch....
Years ago, I did buy some toilet paper made from recycled paper....it was awful. I've seen it on the market again recently and am sure they've improved it but I can't bring myself to try it again.

[Arthur C.]

Re: Going paperless?

(SNIP) ouch....
Years ago, I did buy some toilet paper made from recycled paper....it was awful. I've seen it on the market again recently and am sure they've improved it but I can't bring myself to try it again.[/QUOTE]

Nancy, speaking of "ouch", I saw an old print ad online a couple of months ago...you know the type, where they show examples of odd, old ads for different products of yesteryear...it was for toilet paper guaranteed to be splinter free! I'd hate to run across their competitors' products!

Arthur