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Paper Chains
Nov. 14th, 2021 02:04 pmIt seems paper is a scarce commodity these days. Not just toilet paper or paper towels but any kind of paper. This was brought home to me by this e-mail message I got recently:
Dear subscriber, We invite you to read the Totally British magazine November 2021 edition in digital version. Due to a shortage of paper in Canada, the magazine will not be able to be printed.
This was a bit of a shocker, given that my home town used to be pretty much the pulp and paper capital of the world. E.B. Eddy. White Swan. Supply chain issues, you say? If we still had a proper domestic paper industry, that shouldn't be much of a problem.
My first thought was that I hope I at least get a credit of some sort for this bait-and-switch product. I mean, I paid for a paper copy of my magazine!
To be honest, I'd have thought that there would be LESS demand for paper now than in the past. I have filing cabinets at home that are sitting empty. Offices often don't even have paper files. We don't get phonebooks - white and yellow pages - delivered to us every year these days. More and more people are ditching cheques in favour of e-transfers and other paperless payment systems. And even the most ardent scrapbookers are increasingly opting for digital ways of managing their memorabilia. Admittedly there has probably been a run on cardboard boxes and other packaging materials as people have been forced into online shopping from distant merchants, but still...
I still prefer paper for books, magazines and newspapers. I put out my black box every two weeks and the city workers or contractees collect the contents, supposedly to recycle them. And by the way, is waste paper any more detrimental to the environment than e-waste? I suspect that if anything, the reverse would be true. The book as a format has prevailed for many centuries. Can we say the same about floppy discs or eight-track tapes? Are they biodegradable? To what extent can we convert or recycle electronic formats or somehow give them useful second and third and fourth lives?
Dear subscriber, We invite you to read the Totally British magazine November 2021 edition in digital version. Due to a shortage of paper in Canada, the magazine will not be able to be printed.
This was a bit of a shocker, given that my home town used to be pretty much the pulp and paper capital of the world. E.B. Eddy. White Swan. Supply chain issues, you say? If we still had a proper domestic paper industry, that shouldn't be much of a problem.
My first thought was that I hope I at least get a credit of some sort for this bait-and-switch product. I mean, I paid for a paper copy of my magazine!
To be honest, I'd have thought that there would be LESS demand for paper now than in the past. I have filing cabinets at home that are sitting empty. Offices often don't even have paper files. We don't get phonebooks - white and yellow pages - delivered to us every year these days. More and more people are ditching cheques in favour of e-transfers and other paperless payment systems. And even the most ardent scrapbookers are increasingly opting for digital ways of managing their memorabilia. Admittedly there has probably been a run on cardboard boxes and other packaging materials as people have been forced into online shopping from distant merchants, but still...
I still prefer paper for books, magazines and newspapers. I put out my black box every two weeks and the city workers or contractees collect the contents, supposedly to recycle them. And by the way, is waste paper any more detrimental to the environment than e-waste? I suspect that if anything, the reverse would be true. The book as a format has prevailed for many centuries. Can we say the same about floppy discs or eight-track tapes? Are they biodegradable? To what extent can we convert or recycle electronic formats or somehow give them useful second and third and fourth lives?
