Sustainable paper
Until the past century paper was generally made from rags, rope or hemp, a method which went into crisis especially due to continuous epidemics of plague which drove people to burn contaminated clothes and rags causing a drastic reduction in raw material. To make paper, a valid substitute for rags is certainly wood which has much lower costs. The best paper is made from some conifers such as firs and pines or broad-leaved trees such as eucalyptus, birch and poplar.
Also other types of trees, though, are currently used: in Indonesia, for example, trees are drawn directly from the tropical forest to create MTH cellulose (Mixed Tropical Hardwood). The quality of this paper is poorer but with no doubt it’s less expensive to cut a forest of full-grown trees rather than planting more suitable trees as acacias and waiting for them to grow.
This has led to the destruction of thousand of hectares of forest not only in Brazil, as public opinion might think, but also in countries as Canada, Indonesia, Finland, Russia and Africa. If we consider that two thirds of animal and plant species have their habitat in various forest ecosystems and that woods and forests produce oxygen which is absolutely indispensable for our existence along with water, which is another primary resource in great danger, it’s easy to understand that we absolutely need to implement a change in our behaviour as introducing the use of recycled paper or FSC certified paper (Forest Stewardship Council).
Special reports
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6 February 2017
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30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
23 June 2020
The Last Wild Valley. In defence of the Cime Bianche
The Vallone delle Cime Bianche or Courtaud Valley rises at the top of the Val d'Ayas, in Valle d'Aosta. It…
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29 May 2017
The universe of Primo Levi
Primo Levi was not only a writer, but also a chemist, linguist and artisan...
6 February 2017
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More than 830 events were organised in 30 countries during the European Robotics Week (18-27 November)
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22 September 2015
An artificial paradise under the sea
Artificial reefs are submerged man-made structures fostering marine biodiversity...
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30 July 2020
Holidays, yes! but they must be sustainable!
We have been speaking of sustainable behaviours to apply to our daily life, but what happens when we unplug and…
-
23 June 2020
The Last Wild Valley. In defence of the Cime Bianche
The Vallone delle Cime Bianche or Courtaud Valley rises at the top of the Val d'Ayas, in Valle d'Aosta. It…
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29 May 2017
The universe of Primo Levi
Primo Levi was not only a writer, but also a chemist, linguist and artisan...
From the Multimedia section
Facts
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From game “preserves” to natural reserves
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16 May 2011
The forest has its own seasons
Even if the temperature of this ecosystem is stable all...