New tools will help forest industry protect migratory waterfowl

The majority of students today live in urban environments and have limited opportunities to explore and become familiar with a forest and how forest products are made, including paper. Helping teachers and students increase their understanding of complex environmental issues, with a particular focus on the forest, is the goal of our most recent Fact Sheet: Teacher Resources Related to Paper, Forest Products and the Environment, a comprehensive list of websites that provide useful teaching resources. The list includes links to materials for all educational levels about trees, sustainable forest management, biodiversity, wildlife, recycling and much more in the form of lesson plans, power points and videos that can be used in the classroom, outdoor activities, data analysis tools, contests and interactive games as well as teacher’s tours and workshops about sustainable forestry across the U.S. and Canada. click Read More below for additional information

Banks, credit card companies, and other businesses are aggressively pushing consumers to receive their monthly statements electronically, but a new report by the National Consumer Law Center warns that these efforts can create more harm than good for consumers. The report notes that millions of Americans -- particularly lower-income, less educated, older, and households of color -- are on the other side of the “digital divide,” lacking home broadband Internet access. According to a recent Pew Research study: •59% of households with incomes under $20,000 and 53% of those with less than a high school education do not have home broadband Internet access. Even those with access may have older computers, slow connection speeds, or may lack a printer or money to afford expensive ink to print statements. •About half of Hispanics (50%) and African Americans (46%) lack access to home broadband Internet. •Over half (55%) of Americans 65 years or older lack home broadband Internet. Even if they have access, older consumers may be less comfortable with electronic statements or find them risky. Paper statements can be critical for family members who are trying to piece together financial records for an older consumer who is incapacitated or has passed away. The report also notes that mobile devices aren’t a substitute to home computers because of their smaller size and formatting and unsuitability for record keeping.

As the world of communication continually shifts towards digital, many consumers are being given a message that this is better for the environment. This latest Two Sides survey provides an insight into how consumers view these initiatives, including the environmental impacts of digital versus paper-based communications, and how they perceive and use paper in their daily lives. Organisations and governments are increasingly driving communications online and either withdrawing paper-based documents such as bills and statements, charging consumers who wish to receive them, or making paper more difficult to access. Carried out by international research company Toluna in June 2016, the survey questioned more than 7000 consumers worlwide (528 of them in the UK). Among the findings, the survey reveals that many consumers want to retain the choice of using print and paper, at no additional cost, and that many question or feel misled by "go paperless - go green" and similar greenwash claims - believing cost savings to be the primary driver for organisations looking to phase out paper-based communications. Although there are concerns about the environmental impacts of print and paper, many respondents prefer paper-based communications to digital options for a variety of reasons including ease of reading and a lack of internet access. A large majority recognise that paper-based communications can be a sustainable way to communicate when produced and used responsibly, including recycling. More education is needed to raise awareness about the industry’s positive environmental message related to sustainable forest management and recycling. For example, despite European forests growing in size (44,000 square kilometres - an area bigger than Switzerland in the past 10 years or the equivalent of 1,500 football pitches a day), 65% of UK respondents perceive that European forests are shrinking. The majority of respondents do not know that paper is one of the most recycled products in Europe with recovery rates of 72%. There is a preference for print on paper in all age groups, indicating a more fundamental and more human way that we react to the physicality of print on paper. Compared to the 2011 Two Sides surveys, the following positive trends are apparent showing that messages from the industry are gaining traction: •79% agreed that print on paper is more pleasant to handle and touch when compared to other media (compared to 70% in 2011) •73% agreed that paper is based on a renewable resource (65% in 2011) •16% believe that our forests have either stayed the same or increased in size (vs. 10% in 2011) •31% believe that the paper industry has a higher than average recycling rate (25% in 2011) •14% have seen adverts related to the effectiveness and sustainability of print and paper (vs. 8% in 2011), and a large majority rated the ads as credible and useful. To read the full report, please click the download link below.