Bob McDonnell Used Your Tax Dollars to Lure Company Accused of Destroying Tiger Habitat

The World Wildlife Fund accuses a Virginia company of destroying the rainforest habitat of tigers, elephants and other wildlife in Indonesia to turn it into toilet paper:

By some estimates, the world is losing 50 million acres of tropical rainforest a year -- an area double the size of Virginia. On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, much of the destruction has been traced to a Chinese Company called Asia Pulp and Paper or APP. The family that owns APP also owns and supplies Mercury Paper -- a company that moved to Virginia after [Gov. McDonnell] offered a $250,000 incentive to relocate from California. APP was recently singled out by Greenpeace, when laboratory analysis showed its paper towels, cardboard and toilet paper were made from rainforest trees. [...]

The company points proudly to a sanctuary it established for critically endangered tigers, but World Wildlife’s Jan Vertefeuille says APP’s taking down that rainforest too: "We found out, through satellite imagery, that APP was clearing part of its own tiger sanctuary. They had told the government that they were going to protect this area, and they were actually clear cutting it."

Instead of urging the company to clean up its act to make its Virginia operation sustainable in the long term, McDonnell has parroted the company's attacks on anyone who would dare accuse Mercury of wrongdoing. No wonder McDonnell spends so much time trying to regulate women's bodies - otherwise people might realize the only way he can create jobs is by shoveling tax dollars to companies accused of harming wildlife.

So what are the products you should make sure to avoid, and which stores are supporting WWF's efforts?

Products made with APP fiber, such as toilet paper, paper towels and tissue, are increasingly landing in grocery stores, restaurants, schools and hotels across the country under the Paseo and Livi brand names.

Eight large retailers – BI-LO, Brookshire Grocery Company, Delhaize Group (owner of Food Lion chain), Harris Teeter, Kmart, Kroger, SUPERVALU, and Weis Markets – have decided to stop carrying tissue products made with APP fiber during the last several months.

This controversy drags on because manufacturers are convinced Americans are so pampered that we will only wipe our asses with the finest, most pristine old-growth forest paper our planet has left to offer.

Doing the right thing here is really easy: Make sure any paper towels, toilet paper or napkins you buy are made from at least some recycled content, the higher the better. If the store doesn't carry any, ask to speak to the manager and let her know you're a loyal customer and they risk letting you down if they don't improve their selection.

I'm also sending an email to Harris Teeter, my grocery store, saying thanks for dropping APP products. Check out the WWF website to see what stores are still carrying APP.

UPDATE 2/5/2013: APP has agreed to adopt a new Forest Conservation Policy.

The Green Miles Gets on the Rag

A few months ago, I was about to throw some old t-shirts on the pile for a future trip to Goodwill. But at the last second, I thought to myself, "Would anyone really want to wear my old yellow-and-blue Frederick 5K shirt?"

So I got a pair of scissors and sliced it up into rags, stuffing them into a cabinet next to my reusable grocery bags near the kitchen sink. I started using them to clean the counters and other kitchen surfaces. It's worked out pretty well, very convenient since I don't have to worry about running out of paper towels as much.

Then on July 23rd, my Green Page-a-Day calendar delivered another epiphany: My new rags are environmentally friendly:

Overall, according to an estimate from the National Zoological Park, the production of paper towels is more than twice as energy-intensive as the reuse of cloth (factoring in washing and initial production).

IdealBite.com confirms that dishcloths are both economical and environmentally friendly. It reports the average household could save $100 a year by switching from paper towels to dishcloths. And can you believe Americans send 3,000 tons of paper towels to landfills every day? The vast majority of that comes from virgin forest.

When you do need to buy paper towels, look for 100% recycled paper with the highest post-consumer content available. Don't freak out if they're not white -- paper companies use very environmentally-unfriendly chemicals to bleach paper towels. And let's face it -- they're just going to end up brown after you wipe up that spilled coffee anyway.

Guerrilla Green: These Come From Trees

A while back in my post about guerrilla green tactics, I mentioned TheseComeFromTrees.com. The site promotes small stickers to be placed on paper towel dispensers reminding people that the paper towels come from trees, so people should only take what they need.

The people who run the site saw my post and sent me a bunch of the stickers, and The Green Miles went to town:

Airport in Sarasota, FL

Washington Nationals game at RFK Stadium

Bar in Arlington, VA

My favorite moment of the experiment so far came at DC's Shakespeare Theatre. Before the show, The Green Girlfriend came out of the restroom and excitedly said, "There's a 'These Come From Trees' sticker in there!" It felt like we were part of the League of Shadows or something and one of our members had already left our mark.

As I mentioned a while back, there's not a whole lot of difference between using a paper towels and an air dryer, but there's no need to waste either. This is a very cool, very subtle reminder for people to think about how the little things that they do can impact the environment.

Ask The Green Miles: Paper Towel or Hand Dryer?

From blogger buddy Eric:

Which is better – drying your hands with paper towels, or using the electric dryer – assuming that is, that I’m wearing nice pants that I don’t want to use …

The short answer: Don't sweat the small stuff. And if you do, don't worry too much about exactly how you dry that sweat off.

Grist's Ask Umbra says it's pretty much a wash (no pun intended):

[I]t doesn't matter very much whether you use the blow dryer or the paper towel. The impact of how you dry your hands is so small that you'd be far better off spending your time and energy on more important issues, and those where the environmental payoff is clearer -- such as converting the lighting in all those public restrooms to energy-efficient light fixtures (or convincing the powers that be to do the converting).

Pablo Paster tries to take a crack at the issue from a greenhouse gas perspective, and finds paper towels may be slightly better, but not significantly.

Personally, I prefer the paper towel from a hygiene perspective. I dry my hands with the paper towel, then use it to open the door. MrsGreenThumb has some interesting tidbits about germ conventional wisdom - what's true and what's myth.

So on this one, you have The Green Miles' blessing to do whatever you'd like, guilt-free. If you like the hand dryer, use that. If you prefer paper towels, go for it. Just remember that they come from trees, so only take what you need.

The other choices that surround you will have a much greater environmental impact. Is the building you're in a green building? Do you drive or take public transportation? Do your members of Congress know you want them to sponsor legislation to cut carbon emissions 80% by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of global warming?

Got a question for The Green Miles? Ask it here!