Today on NOW and NEXT:

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario is banning the use of paper bags claiming it will "save trees".

Not really.

Aside from the fact that harvested trees are replaced, stopping the production of paper bags doesn’t necessarily save trees or the environment.
Paper is made from parts of trees that aren’t usable, ie, the scrub branches, sawdust etc. The trees are still harvested for lumber but now what do you do with the leftover scraps?
Most of it gets burned. And that just pumps carbon back into atmosphere. If you leave it to rot, same result - carbon gets released.

There are a number of forestry scientists who say we aren’t harvesting ENOUGH timber and we run the risk of our Boreal Forest being the largest carbon emitter in Canada. If we don’t cut it down and use it effectively, it will either die and rot or become infested and is likely tinder for forest fires.

Banning LCBO bags doesn't “save trees”. Producing, using and recycling LCBO bags does more to save the atmosphere.

ALSO:
It's Feed Drop Thursday. And we feature the first show we produced at Story Studio Network. The NEXT NORMAL launched July 6, 2021.

In this episode we explore how our experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have sharpened or changed our sense of meaning – the meaning of words, the meaning of rituals, the meaning of relationships and values.