Forests are home to half of the world’s land-based plants and animals. They provide food and shelter for so much of our planet’s wildlife. But we continue to destroy them. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, “forest loss and damage is the cause of around 10% of global warming.” And as much as we love to read, billions of trees are cut down every year to be used for the production of books.
According to 8 Billion Trees, a carbon offset company that runs large scale planting operations in the Amazon rainforest, estimates suggest that anywhere between 4 billion and 8 billion trees are cut down for paper products each year. Even more, 626,000 tons of paper are used to produce books each year.
So how can we help? To start, On the Same Page Boston wants to emphasize the importance of donating gently used books. Ever heard of the phrase “One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? That’s what our campaign is all about. Think about how many books you have collecting dust on a shelf somewhere in your house. There are thousands of Boston Public Schools students who are eager to get their hands on those books!
Clean out your shelves and bring some of those books the next time you plan on stopping by a Tatte or passing by Faneuil Hall Marketplace. By donating gently used books, you are putting books in the hands of kids who so desperately need them while also allowing our forests and all the wildlife they shelter, to live another day.
Written By: Stephanie Trendell
Sources:
Kilgore, Georgette. “How Many Trees Are Cut down Each Year for Paper (See Graphic).” 8 Billion Trees, 8 Billion Trees, 27 Mar. 2024, 8billiontrees.com/trees/how-many-trees-are-cut-down-each-year-for-paper/.
“Learn the Effects of Deforestation.” WWF, World Wide Fund for Nature, www.wwf.org.uk/learn/effects-of/deforestation. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.