Earth Day needs to be a continuous part of our daily consciousness

Editor:

Anticipating people are still in the Earth Day mode, I decided to write about something deeply disturbing in a world with an accelerating need for environmentally conscious people. It is truly sad to see the amount of paper that is wasted at this university in the classrooms, in the libraries, at the copy machines, in the computer labs. Don't people

realize that a piece of paper comes from a tree which is part of a forest? Don't get me wrong, I do understand that education involves reading and writing, but think about what allows you to do all this, a living tree! Sure we can grow more, but ancient old growth forests are irreplaceable. These forests, which are quickly disappearing due to the harsh effects of logging, are critical for species diversity to exist. Tree plantations support much less biodiversity.

We can do our part at the U of A and ensure our children and everyone a forested future. Do you really need that print-out or flyer? How about using both sides and buying recycled notebooks? What about using recycled paper in those copiers? Did you know that the majority of paper and cardboard can be recycled? Do you take our forests for granted? Think about it.

By Jules M. Caruso
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 1, 1997