I have unfortunately already failed one challenge this week, and that is the posting articles on time challenge. This article is a day late unfortunately. I got caught up in watching old Bones reruns. But, back on track... I have been able to keep up with the second challenge, and that is the Paper towel challenge. I promised earlier in the week that I would write about the environmental impact of paper towels, and why we should all switch to rags instead. Here it goes:

Did you know that over 90% of American families use paper towels instead of rags (courtesy of Ezine). In the United States alone, we produce 3000 tons of paper towel waste that goes directly to our land fills every day. That is a lot of waste. But since paper towels are being used to clean up spills, they cannot be recycled. The best way to help our environment is to switch to cloth rags that you can wash in the dishwasher or rinse out in the sink, but if you do not feel comfortable giving up the luxury of disposables, you can use paper towels made from recycled paper.

Recycled paper towels can save a lot of trees from being cut down, and that in turn saves a lot of water and pollution from having to make new paper products. They are definitely a more eco-friendly way to go. But, the difference between throwing out a recycled paper towel and throwing out a regular paper towel is not that great.

The problem with paper towels, like many of the other products that fill our dumps, is that they are so easy and cheap to get. You can buy 12 rolls at one time for a ridiculously low price from a store like Safeway. And if people don't have to worry about running out, they can use them with abandon. I'll give you an example, one that we all have done: Let's say that you knock over a glass of water. You are having a snack and have a paper towel with you. You immediately right the glass and wipe up some of the water with your paper towel, but it doesn't really put a dent in the amount of water still left of the table. And so, you run to your kitchen and grab an armful of paper towels. You promptly soak up the mess and are left with about 20 half-used sheets of paper towels. That is a huge amount of waste! What you should have done, is find the nearest towel and soaked up the water with that. Now, you haven't wasted any paper, and can just pop your towel in with your next wash or just let it dry out. See the difference, and it's easy too!

All that I am trying to show you is that the switch from disposable paper that you have to buy at the store every week and constantly replace in your kitchen can easily be switched with a couple of cheap rags that you can just rinse in the sink or stick in the wash. When you think about it, having reusable towels is a lot easier.

And now, jumping to an entirely different topic, because the New York Times was not gracious enough to have an article on paper towels today, I give you a summary on dams and fish. Enjoy:

Today's New York Times article, written by William Yardley, is a piece called Pacts Signed to Help River and Salmon. According to Yardley's article, there has been a huge leap made for salmon and rivers today. Pacts have been signed to remove four dams that feed rivers into Northern California and Oregon from the Klamath River. These four dams along the river made hydroelectric power, but not without a cost - a dramatic loss of salmon populations. What has happened is, that the dams are messing with the irrigation systems that allow smaller rivers and streams that branch off of the Klamath. This is causing the salmon to not be able to sufficiently migrate upstream to spawn. Not only does this affect the salmon, but it also affects the Indians that use those streams to fish. In 2008, agreements were made that said that by 2020, the four dams would have to be removed. Just recently, these agreements were signed by the governors of California and Oregon, the head of the company in charge of the dams, leaders of Indian tribes, and various other important people who have been affected by these dams. Although removing these dams is a good thing, because protecting the natural habitats and lives of salmon is very important, is will cost over a billion dollars, and that clean energy source that powered over 700 homes will have to be found from somewhere else.

-Morgan