Submitted: The Two Sides Team February 22, 2013

Meg Callaghan’s Feb. 13 article, “Give the gift of sustainability when making traditional Valentine’s Day exchanges,” was circulated to SUNY-ESF’s Green Campus Initiative’s club listserv. I opened the email anticipating another thought-provoking article from Meg, as I usually look forward to reading her work. Unfortunately, after arriving upon the fourth paragraph, I found some common fallacies regarding the paper industry and its environmental impacts.
February 20 2013

The Daily Orange

Meg Callaghan’s Feb. 13 article, “Give the gift of sustainability
when making traditional Valentine’s Day exchanges,” was circulated to
SUNY-ESF’s Green Campus Initiative’s club listserv. I opened the email
anticipating another thought-provoking article from Meg, as I usually
look forward to reading her work. Unfortunately, after arriving upon the
fourth paragraph, I found some common fallacies regarding the paper
industry and its environmental impacts.

This is, regrettably, a perfect example of the results of
commercialism Meg’s article was urging us all to avoid. In the current
climate of “sustainable” marketing, it is important for those interested
in being sustainable to know the facts about the production and life
cycle of their products. Moreover, an educated approach must be taken
when addressing sustainable versus unsustainable products, so as not to
promote further misconception. As a senior paper science engineer at
ESF, I have an obligation to speak on behalf of the industry we so
readily rely on.

According to Two Sides U.S., an environmentally conscious nonprofit
organization in pursuit of sustainable business, “in the regions with
decline of forests it is most often due to agriculture and development.”
Sustainably managing forests can combat these degrading transitions
and, at the same time, produce paper.  Furthermore, Kraft pulp mills
(like the one where much of the paper for Hallmark cards is made) are
energy self-sufficient, and often generate excess steam and electricity,
which can be used by an associated paper mill or sold to neighboring
industries or communities.

I do support what I feel was an important message of Meg’s article: a
less-commercialized holiday and celebrating Valentine’s Day purely for
showing loved ones how much you care. However, we can attempt to do so
without making unsubstantiated false claims concerning a product or
industry that is strongly promoted as a part of the innovative
environmental institution we attend. A wealth of information can be
found with simple web searches or by visiting www.twosides.us, of which
ESF is an allied organization.

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