Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash - The True Cost of Paper - Softcover

Haggith, Dr. Mandy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753513293 ISBN 13: 9780753513293

Publisher: Virgin Books, 2008

Synopsis

From the medical sheets in maternity wards to our death certificates, paper charts the course of our lives. Paradoxically, it spreads ideas and learning as well as thousands of tons of junk mail, yet our dependence on this material is damaging our planet and creating mountains of unnecessary waste. Mandy Haggith explores our society's obsession with paper, from its invention in China 2000 years ago to the millions of tonnes we now use every year. Following the paper trail around the world, Mandy discovers the human stories of those affected by the industry, from a Russian ecologist, a Finnish logger and Indonesian tribal leaders, to a Canadian publisher and a Vietnamese paper technologist. In the process, she uncovers the paper industry's dirtiest secrets and sets out simple, practical steps we can take to minimise our own personal use of 20 tonnes of paper over our lifetime.

About this title

About the Author

Mandy Haggith is a freelance writer, researcher and activist. She has spent the past decade campaigning for the world's forests, including lobbying at the United Nations, working as a consultant for Greenpeace and WWF and writing articles for Pulp and Paper International and Resurgence magazine. Her novel The Last Bear won the 2009 Robin Jenkins Award, the UK's first environmental book prize.

From the Back Cover

Travels in search of the truth about a global industry

Paper charts the course of our lives, from the medical sheets in maternity wards to our death certificates. We write on it, package things in it, use it as currency and blow our noses on it. Yet our dependence on this seemingly green product is damaging our planet and creating mountains of unnecessary waste.

Join Mandy Haggith on a journey to the heart of the global paper industry, travelling from the pristine forests and managed plantations of Canada, Russia and Indonesia to the pulp mills and paper factories of China and Britain, and the end users in businesses, governments, schools and homes throughout the world.

Pursuing the paper trail from forest to landfill, she uncovers the origins, multiple uses and disposal of this everyday product and gives a fascinating new perspective on the paper industry s dirtiest secrets, from environmental devastation to human rights abuses. You ll discover the truth about the paper we use every day and the simple, practical steps you can take to minimise your own paper trail.

Edition details

• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0753513293
• ISBN 13: 9780753513293
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256