This was written in response to the Daily Athenaeum article,
“Ending our dependence on paper will better the environment.”
Last Wednesday, The Daily Athenaeum published an editorial
urging West Virginia University to go paperless as a response to
the devastating impact paper production has on the environment.
While paperless is ideal, it is not realistic. There is however
a way to make paper that doesn’t use wood. Paper can be made
from a renewable, cheap, and fast growing resource; hemp. The
USDA reported that one acre of hemp produces as much paper as
four acres of trees. And unlike trees, hemp can be harvested
annually. Hemp paper can also be recycled several times over
(wood-based paper can’t). The North American Industrial Hemp
Council reports that hemp paper is pulped using less chemicals
than wood. Traditionally, the process of turning wood pulp into
paper necessitates the use of whiteners such as chlorine and
bleach, which contaminate local water supplies. Wit Students for
Sensible Drug Policy agrees