GM trees bloom in rush to feed growing paper industry (please read!)

I was torn whether to post this article on the Evironment/Energy forum or the Science Forum as another basic question arises from this article: why have we not yet developed a practical, enviro-friendly paper not made from wood pulp? Wood pulp makes CHEAP paper, but not GOOD paper, and the by-products are incredibly nasty. Wood pulp papers are so highly acidic that they don't last more than a few years without major deterioration, becoming yellow and brittle after only a few years (which is why artists still use RAG papers rather than wood pulp paper, which only became common a little over a hundred years ago.) We have entire libraries around the world whose books are falling apart because they were printed on wood pulp paper.

Only when a substitute is developed will this problem be solved, and the demand now for GM trees to feed the ever-growing pulp industry is a frightening consequence.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=97000
HYDERABAD, JULY 20:

"With the Indian paper and pulp industry placing greater demands on the plantations and forests, there is a growing need for genetically-modified (GM) trees to help the Indian paper industry. Hence, the proposed National Forest Policy is expected to give a thrust to GM trees for boosting the paper industry as well as improving the quality of by-products of wood.

"But since GM trees are grown outside the pale of nature, there is broad consensus among industry experts on the need for sound regulations..."

(snipping)

"The benefits of growing GM trees include increased wood production, improved wood quality and resistance against insects, diseases and herbicides. Besides, production and processing costs of wood or chips could be reduced, thus assisting the paper industry.

"On the other hand, according to an FAO report, the potential risks involved in GM plantation are transgene instability, plantation failure, poor wood quality, development of tolerance to the modified trait by insects or disease organisms and the escape of modified genes into natural ecosystems...."

MORE...

For related articles on paper production and the environment, please refer to:

http://www.watershedmedia.org/paper/paper-thecase.html

http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid894.php

http://www.forestethics.org/article.php?id=20

http://www.treecycle.com/papers/alt_fiber.html

Consider how Americans, generally, throw away old clothes once the fashion season changes, we can use those clothes for two things: cloth those that need it and make rag paper.

"Rag" papers are made from natural fibers such as cottons and linens. It is expensive to produce and therefore paper made from wood pulp has become the cheap alternative for mass manufacturing.

Got me on that. D'oh on me.

Well, we could fair trade hemp.

Hemp paper. Hemps is incredibly durable to grow, benefits the soil, plus the paper is 4 times stronger than tree based paper. On top of that hemp paper can be bleached without the use of several nasty chemicals wood pulp paper does.

I guarantee you the politician who tries to legalize this commits political suicide though.

...the states in which a "hemp legalizer" would do poorly in are the same states that wouldn't vote for him anyway (assuming the candidate is a Democrat). Ohio would be a pretty good win for a candidate who wants to legalize Hemp (and Marijuana), since Ohio is pretty liberal on hemp/marijuana related issues (possession of less than two grams is only as serious as a speeding ticket). Many states (Red States included) have laws reducing punishment for hemp/marijuana, and legalization would open up some Great Plains / Mountain States (read: Deep Red) to the candidate. Farmers would support a crop that requires less maintainence. "Political Suicide" ... I think not. Hemp is becoming more and more mainstream (despite the fact that it is illegal), and I know some Republicans who support hemp/pot (and would vote Democratic if a candidate wanted to legalize it).

However, the big corporations (paper, tobacco, pharmaceutical, etc..) would go all out to sink such a politician. Such an assault will make the Swiftboat ads (which some say was solely responsible for Bush getting a second term) look like a friendly match of paintball. Expect the same bullshit you hear in high school (plants can kill you, Marijuana can paralyze you, hemp destroys the soil, etc.) being repeated over and over again, except most people will realize that it is being done by the companies which are full of shit anyways.

Hemp is also a great biofuel. Hemp is also ... I don't need to go on about this one. Hemp is a miracle plant that is kept illegal purely because of Corporate Greed.

Kenaf is a useful, and currently legal, fast growing wood substitute that could be used in combination with post consumer recycled content in order to alleviate the damage done to forests. In fact, a number of smaller paper companies already use kenaf in many of their papers. I suggest www.rethinkpaper.org to look for papers with alternative pulp content. Many of the companies that use "alternative" paper sources however are mostly "botique" companies that sell for novelty uses, such as invitations or nice personal stationary and the sort (companies like Crane, Green Field, Fox River). Theres a handful that sell reams of such paper (Green Field and Living Tree paper company).

Bamboo can produce more fiber in the right climate than any other plant. Because it's perenial all you have to do is harvest sections every year and let the rest take care of itself. Hemp is good for temperate regions but for tropical fiber bamboo is king.

...is of course, its transportation. There's not many "tropical" regions in America, short of the subtropics in Florida. It'd be better to have kenaf or hemp farms in America, closer to the source, then to have to ship it all the way across the world.

For example, there are several bamboo "fences" on a neighbor's property down the street here in MN (we have -25F winters, ouch). That particular species only grows ~8 ft tall and then dies back every year to the ground, but it is a perennial.

There are several species that reach tree size and survive below zero winters. For example, Phyllostachys vivax:

http://www.jmbamboo.com/pvivax.htm

"Second largest of the cold hardy bamboos. Huge, 5 to 6 inch canes towering 65+ feet in the air, this bamboo is just stunning. Wandering thru a mature grove of Vivax bamboo is an experience not to be forgotten. Similar in appearance to Japanese Timber Bamboo but achieves giant size much faster. It is also much more cold hardy, down to about -5 F."

...well I guess that means there are even MORE options for non-tree based paper. It's rough though, since the cost of non-tree based paper is through the roof often times.