Reduced paper usage results in less demand for cutting down trees used to make the paper, thereby discouraging deforestation and promoting carbon sequestration (capture of carbon dioxide, in this case, by the “living” trees). Activities that will ensure reduced paper usage include:

Online and telephone transactions: Online and telephone banking, insurance, investment and similar transactions rather than paper statements will reduce our demand for paper and consequently prevent the cutting down of trees, to make paper very drastically.

Online and telephone transactions have come a long way. Most systems are very secure these days and should convince many people to reduce their high dependency on the traditional paper transactions.

Home and office printing: You can prevent wastage of printing papers by following the following steps:

• Print only the pages you really need. you may not have to print at all. In reviewing documents, you can now read and edit adding comments directly to the electronic documents. most word processing software now has these features.
• Preview what you are about to print and make sure it is exactly what you need before sending to printer. By so doing your printing comes out exactly the way you want it to. You will need to master the functioning of your software properly to be able to efficiently use it and prevent paper wastage.
• Use blank pages of old documents to print draft copies (if you must print draft copies at all) or better still cultivate the habit of reviewing drafts in electronic document formats, making comments in the draft (using track changes, commenting and highlighting features in editing programs) as mentioned earlier;
• Set your printer to print on both pages of the sheet of paper. Print multiple pages or slides on one sheet of paper (e.g. in PowerPoint presentations)

Paper Recycling : You save on paper by following some of these tips:

• Recycle papers rather than discarding them after first usage. Most offices sort paper to be recycled at source. Adopt similar approach at home and send the papers to recycling locations.
• Instead of using paper towels to clean, use reusable cloths and rags.
• Instead of using chemicals and paper towels to wash your windows, try 125 ml vinegar (1/2 cup) and 1L water (4 cups) and a squeegee.

Follow the links on the left panel to learn more on other ways to cut energy usages.

Other websites with related contents:

• Environment Canada
• The Nature Conservancy
• David Suzuki Foundation
• DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewable & Efficiency