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Many things modern are great follies

By Li Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-24 07:33

A few weeks ago, the health reporter of my paper got the news that all public toilets in Beijing would be provided free toilet paper and paper towels during the Olympic Games.

Many of us considered it good news, much to the relief of many visitors, especially those first-timers from the West, where toilet paper, tissue paper and paper towels are available as a matter of fact in almost every washroom.

My husband still remembers the shame on the face of one of his American friends, when he recalled how embarrassed he was during his first visit to a public toilet in China more than a decade ago. There was no toilet paper and he had to make do with what little paper he had on him.

It is no wonder that many travel books advise tourists to carry tissue paper with them when they travel in China. Just in case.

However, I was surprised when an Indian colleague shook his head at the story list for the next day's paper.

Even though he agreed it was a story we must carry, he said it is against the spirit of "Green Olympics", for the very supply of free paper would result in a lot of waste and lead to the felling of more trees.

Yes, we could plant new trees, but it would take decades before the new trees are able to hold as much CO2 as those chopped down could, he argued.

I now share his worry after I've seen how people just mindlessly pull paper towels without any idea how much they are harming the environment.

For instance, the other day at Terminal 3 of Beijing international airport, I saw a cleaner drag three paper towels carelessly, dry her pair of hands and throw them into the garbage can she was cleaning up, when one piece was actually enough. I really felt aghast at such a waste.

Continuous economic development has really provided for us a lot of so-called modern conveniences, but we must have second thoughts on them.

Beijing Youth News yesterday ran a story about how a Norwegian businessman during a business meeting declined the host's offer of a paper cup and brought out his own glass to fetch water from the water dispenser.

He explained: One disposable cup needs 2 g of paperboard, but 2 g of paperboard is processed from 5 g of tree skin. About 50,000 paper cups of the same size could cost the life of a tree, with about a 30-cm diameter.

Wastage of paper towels and tissue paper should incur a similar loss of wood and even forests.

It is clear that some of our newly acquired habits, such as using paper towels to dry our hands and treating our guests with disposable paper cups, are simply not environmentally friendly. Worse, we are helping release more CO2 than we realize. Especially in offices, workers should be encouraged to use their own towels made of cotton, their own cups as well as their own bowls and plates if they eat in office canteens.

In some public toilets, there are signs advising people to use tissue paper and paper towels sparingly. In other places, cotton towels are available. More such environmentally friendly reminders are needed, and more than that they should be adhered to.

It is comforting to know that the free supply of toilet and tissue paper and paper towels in public toilets will only be temporary.

We must learn not to yield to the so-called modern conveniences, but maintain our tradition of frugality not only to save money, but also to save Mother Earth.

E-mail: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/24/2008 page8)