Our Carbon Footprint: How Do Paper Products Fit In?

A household carbon footprint refers to the overall amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by all the energy and materials consumed by those who live in a home as they go about their daily lives. It is a common measure of the contribution of a single household to climate change. Understanding your carbon footprint can show opportunities for decreasing your consumption of energy and materials, and in turn, reducing your production of carbon emissions.

By far the largest source of human-induced carbon emissions is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline, diesel and natural gas. In GHG inventory and carbon footprint studies, the use of fossil fuels is usually the cause of elevated GHG emissions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests that the average American household produces 54,462 lbs CO2 each year from transportation, electricity, heating and waste production.[i] The Cool Climate Network[ii] based at UC Berkeley took a more thorough look at American households and also included air travel, food consumption, services (such as healthcare, education, and entertainment) and goods (such as clothing and personal items) in the household footprint calculation. They came up with an average household footprint of 96,000 lbs (48 tons) of CO2 per year (Figure 1).

read more/source: http://www.piworld.com/post/our-carbon-footprint-how-do-paper-products-fit-in/#ne=06B3B97ACE947EE6017E73E1872A7F50&utm_source=today-on-piworld&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2018-03-22

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AF&PA Highlights U.S. Postal Service Response to Questions about the Safety of Receiving Packaging and Mail

“American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) members take safety very seriously, and our industry diligently continues to manufacture products to help customers address current challenges related to COVID-19. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have provided guidance indicating there is no evidence COVID-19 is spreading through the mail, and WHO has further stated that the risk of catching the virus from a package that has been moved, traveled and exposed to different conditions and temperatures is low. “Paper products play an important role in facilitating product safety, enhancing hygiene and responding to COVID-19 challenges. Our industry remains committed to meeting the needs of its customers and the public, particularly in this dynamic environment.”
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