How Many trees are killed each year for newspapers & how does this compare to other media environmental impact

Question

How Many trees are killed each year for newspapers & how does this compare to other media environmental impact

Answer 1

ok here is somethign that the majority of people aren't aware of unless you've been in some sort of natural resources program (college) or if you operate or live near a tree farm. The majority of our paper in the U.S. comes from tree farms located in the south eastern states. The reason for that particular area, it has great soil, lots of nutrients, continuous nutrients, great climate for growing trees. There are many tree farms down there, a tree farm is exactly what is says. Just picture like how you see pictures from FL of orange trees, just image a bunch of trees, not orange trees, like that which are planted and maintained for paper.

Not to get too detailed but they operate on a rotational harvest program which is a rotation yearly and when they harvest from different stands, allowing the stands to regrow. And keep in mind these trees are only grown for paper so they generally are not large DBH trees.

Heres what some may not know..."recycle paper, save a tree, kill a forest"

  Ever since this large recent push of "going green" people are recycling their paper more (ie notebook paper, newspapers but most newspapers are already recycled paper etc...) Well think about this for a second. if the recycling companies are getting more business then wouldn't that mean that less trees would be harvested for paper? kind of the original thought behind recycling paper no? Well there has been many tree farms which have been forced to shut down because of loss of business. in most of these cases, the land has been sold to other industrial factories and whatnot, which in turn, results in land which all the trees have been "killed" and will no longer grow again...Might want to think twice about recycling paper then that comes from the U.S.

If you dont believe me, i'll list a book and the professor who wrote it in which i learned all this from.. he taught forest economics.

And on another note of the professor, Rideout, he has recently taken over the job in the U.S. for forest management plans over the next 10 yrs.

Answer 2

I have no idea how many trees are killed to make newspapers.  

I'm just wondering if you know they use pulp type trees to make paper?  These trees grow fast, and usually in soggy areas.  They are harvested just in 8-10 years.  They are grown just like any other crop.

So a crop like corn is a 120 day crop before harvest.  Pulp type trees are an 8-10 year crop.  What exactly is the difference, if trees are grown like any other crop?  

Also I'm wondering if you know there are now TWICE as many trees in the United States as there were when the Civil War started?

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

and who is NOT against managed forests.

Answer 3

The trees that are used for paper products are trees that grow relatively fast and can be planted and harvested within a 10 year period. Most companies plant a new crop to replace the ones used within 6 months of a harvest.

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