Dreaming of a green Christmas

Christmas is coming and everyone is busy buying presents for family and friends. We use a lot of wrapping paper during this festive season. But have we ever stopped to think about the earth? Global temperatures are becoming higher, and humans keep wasting resources, such as wrapping paper. Paper if produced from trees, so the more paper we use, the fewer trees there will be to absorb carbon dioxide. This further worsens global warming.

Being environmentally friendly is not just about using fewer plastic bags - it's about saving resources and recycling. I suggest we wrap our Christmas presents with recycled paper.

The earth is our home and it is our responsibility to protect it.

Alice Chan, Leung Shek Chee College

From the Editor

Thank you for your letter, Alice. Christmas is one of the times of year when we completely indulge in all sorts of things we would generally shun. It is wonderful that you and other readers want to have a more environmentally sound holiday. However, I see you have also been told that using paper is bad because paper comes from trees. The logical argument would be that if you don't use paper you will save a tree from being cut down. This is not the case.

The paper industry plants millions of acres of forests to sustain it. Once trees are cut down, others are planted in their places. If no one used paper, these forests would be lost to other kinds of farming or development. So in that respect, using paper is environmentally friendly as it ensures these huge forests will be looked after. In this way, paper is completely sustainable. But the process used to make high-quality paper is not environmentally friendly, and that's what we should be targeting.

It is best to choose recycled paper or paper which is certified to be environmentally friendly.

Susan, Editor