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Paper use continues to be the largest source
of waste generated by office workers and
students, and several paper manufacturers
have risen to the challenge of providing
recycled and even “tree-free”
papers at competitive prices. New Leaf Everest,
Badger Envirographic and Eureka! 100 are
some of the leaders in recycled paper, while
Dolphin Blue makes tree-free paper from
recycled scraps of denim, old money, and
the plants hemp and kenaf. Buyers can order
these papers from online vendors including
GreenLine Paper and Treecycle, although
office supply retail stores also now carry
a wide array of 100 percent post-consumer
waste recycled papers.
Meanwhile, materials such as biodegradable
cornstarch and recycled plastic and cardboard
are starting to replace virgin plastic and
vinyl in pens, binders, notebooks, and in
desk accessories like rulers, pencil cases
and staplers. Also, pencil manufacturers
such as Pentel, Autopoint and ForestChoice
have gotten serious about crafting their
products from sustainably harvested timber
and other green materials, including old
currency. Online vendors like Green Earth
Office Supply, the Recycled Office Products
Company, Real Earth Environmental Company
and Mama’s Earth stock these products.
Meanwhile, Discount Inkjet Printer Ink Cartridges
sells a wide range of recycled inkjet toner
cartridges and ink refills compatible with
all major brands of copiers and computer
printers.
Many of these companies offer special price
breaks for non-profits, local government
agencies, schools and universities and donate
a portion of proceeds to environmental non-profits.
Consumers shopping at these stores can rest
assured that they are minimizing their impact
on the Earth while supporting small, innovative
companies. But those in need of a quick
green fix might be surprised at how good
the selection is these days at places like
Office Depot, Staples and Office Max, too.
While individuals often feel powerless to
help solve the world’s environmental
ills, they can make a difference through
their consumer choices. And buying only
environmentally friendly office and school
supplies is a great place to start.
CONTACTS:
Green Earth Office Supply, store.yahoo.com/greenearthofficesupply
Discount Inkjet Printer Ink Cartridges,
www.discount-inks.com
GreenLine Paper, www.greenlinepaper.com
Treecycle, www.treecycle.com
Recycled Office Products Company, www.recycledofficeproducts.com
The Real Earth Inc., www.treeco.com
Mama’s Earth, www.mamasearth.com
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Dear EarthTalk:
What makes a city a “mega-city”
and what are the
environmental implications?
—
Eva Locke, Seattle, WA
Demographers define “mega-cities”
as sprawling, crowded urban centers with
populations topping 10 million. In 1995,
14 cities qualified as mega-cities; analysts
predict that by 2015 there will be 21. The
world’s first mega-cities were in
Latin America: Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro,
São Paulo and Buenos Aires. But in
recent years Asian countries--Japan, South
Korea, China and India--have grown the fastest.
Today the five largest cities are Tokyo,
Mexico City, São Paulo, Mumbai (Bombay)
and New York City.
The rapid population growth of these cities
is due primarily to intra-country migrations
as the rural poor move from the countryside
to urban areas in search of better lives.
The result, unfortunately, is often the
proliferation of urban slums, increased
crime, high rates of unemployment--and profound
environmental degradation accompanied by
serious health challenges for the majority
of residents.
“By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s
population will live in urban areas, imposing
even more pressure on the space infrastructure
and resources of cities, leading to social
disintegration and horrific urban poverty,”
says Werner Fornos, president of the Washington-based
Population Institute. The rise of mega-cities,
agrees The Washington Post, “poses
formidable challenges in health care and
the environment…the urban poor in
developing countries live in squalor unlike
anything they left behind…”
According to the World Resources Institute,
“Millions of children living in the
world’s largest cities…are exposed
to life-threatening air pollution two to
eight times above the maximum tolerable
level [as established by World Health Organization
guidelines]. Indeed, more than 80 percent
of all deaths in developing countries attributable
to air pollution-induced lung infections
are among children under five.”
Worldwide, over a billion people live without
regular access to clean water. Mega-city
residents, crowded into unsanitary slums,
also fall victim to serious diseases. Lima,
Peru (with population estimated at 9.4 million
by 2015) suffered a cholera outbreak in
the early 1990s partly because, as The New
York Times reported, “Rural people
new to Lima…live in houses without
running water and use the outhouses that
dot the hillsides above.” Consumption
of unsafe food and water subjects these
people to regular and life-threatening diarrhea
and dehydration. “All the demographic
data point to the 21st century emerging
as the urban century,” says Deane
Neubauer of the Yale Center for the Study
of Globalization. “But evidence also
indicates that a vast portion of the new
‘megacities’…will be infested
by 19th-century-style poverty.”
One organization addressing the issue is
the non-profit Mega-Cities Project, based
at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
The organization has brought together a
diverse international group of community,
government and business leaders to share
ideas on ways to make mega-cities more ecologically
sustainable and economically vital. Indeed,
the fate of many of the world’s poor
rests with such efforts to smooth the transition
to a planet where 60 percent of all people
crowd into a few dozen sprawling metropolises.
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