A Paperless World?

Will we live to see a paperless world? Certainly not in my lifetime, but who knows what the future may bring.

Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, which he completed in 1440, was credited not only with a revolution in the production of books, but also with fostering the rapid development of the sciences, arts and religion through the publication of texts.

On the other hand, today many of the major newspapers and publishing houses are failing financially because their advertising revenues are being eroded, or books are being published by their electronic media competition. I, like quite a of my friends, no longer subscribe to printed newspapers, preferring to learn the news from TV or via the internet. And several people I know even purchase their books exclusively as electronic versions, to be read on such recent inventions as Kindles, Sony readers or I-pads.

Misty morning in the Pacific rain forest at Rathtrevor Park on Vancouver Island.

Strangely, despite the fact that many of the pulp mills in the province of British Columbia have ceased operation either temporarily or permanently, the worldwide consumption of pulp is actually increasing. World demand for paper and paper-board was expected to grow from 300 million tons annually in 1999 to over 420 million tons by the year 2010, or an average growth rate of 2.8% per annum.

Unfortunately for BC, although there are many factors to consider in attempting to crystal ball the economic future of this hitherto significant pulp and paper industry in our province, the trend today is for pulp production to increase in areas where the trees grow quickly. Woody material grows by an average of only 4 to 5 cubic meters per hectare annually in northern coniferous forests, but, for example in Brazil or Indonesia, the annual growth is ten times that. Theoretically, a small area of Brazil could meet the entire world’s pulp material needs today.

A paperless world... Well not in the near future, and possibly never, although never is a long long time.