Discussion » Questions » Life and Society » People used to use abundant and renewable old corn cobs to wipe their fannies clean. Now they cut down the limited forests for TP. Why?
Benedict Arnold

People used to use abundant and renewable old corn cobs to wipe their fannies clean. Now they cut down the limited forests for TP. Why?

Waste not, what not is what I say.  People used to cherish their hardwood and pine forests. Frugality was a virtue.  Now we celebrate decadence, comfort, and greed.

Posted - November 17, 2017
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Responses


  • 13071
    I dont know. I personally know a couple of people who use tree leaves to save money. ;+
      November 17, 2017 1:37 PM MST
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  • That's great CarbonProduct.   Tell me, do they ever say which tree makes good leaves or are they all the same.   Imagine finding out in the middle of the night you're down to pine needles.  haha.

    Crappy Friday ;D
      November 17, 2017 1:51 PM MST
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  • Hopefully not a stinging tree leaf lol
      November 18, 2017 1:36 AM MST
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  • 6023
    Your question shows a lack of knowledge on where paper comes from.
    It doesn't come from "limited forests".  The vast majority of it comes from private lands.
    It comes from forests that are replanted and allowed to grow for 40-50 years, between harvests.
    Or it comes from forests of fast-growing, but smaller, trees.
    And part of it comes from recycling other wood products (including paper), as well.

    You want to know what IS destroying "limited forests", without replacing them?
    Drug lords and farmers.
      November 17, 2017 2:14 PM MST
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  • You just stated an oxymoron.   You say it doesn't destroy limited forest because it's grown on private land tree farms then say farmers are destroying the forests.  Which is it?


    Land set aside as a young growth "tree farm" destroyed  a natural mixed growth or old growth forest.


    Recycled paper still needs a certain amount of virgin  stock to make a product.  Same with plastic.
      November 17, 2017 2:46 PM MST
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  • 6023

    No ... it's not an oxymoron.

    1 - The farmers and drug lords (mainly in South America) are burning down forests that are not theirs ... in order to expand their crops (usually drugs).  Since the forests are not theirs, it is not on private lands.
    2 - Forests are not limited.  They can be replanted.  And old growth?  It is less effective at "scrubbing" than young growth.

    And recycled paper doesn't need virgin stock.
    Virgin stock is used because consumers want a finer grade paper than purely recycled can achieve, at this time.

    According to all the reports I have heard, we (in the US) are growing more forests than we harvest.

    btw - you know who first burned down forests in North America to make way for "ranching"?
    The natives.  Yep.  There used to be large forests on the "Great Plains", until the natives burned them down so the buffalo would have more grazing area.

    This post was edited by Walt O'Reagun at November 18, 2017 4:23 PM MST
      November 18, 2017 4:22 PM MST
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  • Settle down there chief.  Dial it back to rationality.
      November 18, 2017 4:31 PM MST
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  • 10052
    Image result for perfect 10 meme
      November 18, 2017 4:43 PM MST
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  • 11015
    Indoor plumbing. Ever try to flush a corn cob?
      November 17, 2017 5:18 PM MST
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  • They could just as easily be buried in the garden, composted, or burned.  All giving added use to them. and easing the burden on the sewer system.


    Crappy Friday Jane
      November 17, 2017 6:16 PM MST
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  • 10052
    I truly value and appreciate forests. I find refuge and solace within them. I reuse and recycle as much as possible, but I'm not about to use a corncob for TP. 

    You go ahead though, Glis. It's very honorable! 
      November 17, 2017 7:36 PM MST
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  •  I have used them in camp outhouses.  They scrub nice.
      November 18, 2017 4:33 PM MST
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  • 10052
    Eww. 
      November 18, 2017 4:39 PM MST
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  • I'm not kidding.  That's how we used to do when we went deep in da "Daks. 
      November 18, 2017 4:46 PM MST
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  • 10052
    I've used leaves before in an emergency. 

    What are 'Daks? Dakotas? 
      November 18, 2017 4:49 PM MST
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  •   November 18, 2017 7:46 PM MST
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  • "One dunny ... one bidet."

      November 18, 2017 12:41 AM MST
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  • 5835
    Be serious. People used to use wooden crates to ship produce to grocery stores, and they were tossed in the trash because there was no way to reuse or recycle. And tp is not made from trees. It is made from pulp, which is farmed for the purpose. I never knew anybody who used corn cobs; they all used catalogs and trash mail to wipe. Those are not made from trees either. 
      November 18, 2017 6:28 AM MST
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  • Pulp comes from trees silly.
      November 18, 2017 4:32 PM MST
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  • 5835
    Maybe it does, but it doesn't have to. People who equate paper with trees are the silly ones.
      November 18, 2017 7:15 PM MST
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  • No. They are realist.  Pulp for paper comes from trees these days.  That's a fact.   When we start growing papyrus and  hemp for the vast majority of it then you may have a point. As it is the industry is dominated by tree derived pulp. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at November 18, 2017 7:18 PM MST
      November 18, 2017 7:17 PM MST
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