Enviros Declare War on Green Bay

In 2006, I believe at the State Republican Convention at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, former Congressman Mark Green told me, Owen Robinson, and Sean Hackbarth in an all-bloggers press briefing something akin to this while talking about UW-Green Bay's new "Paper Sciences Center:"

'You know, more toilet tissue is made in a sixty mile radius of Green Bay than anywhere else in the world."

It was an odd thing to say admittedly, but then when you think about it, it's true.  Despite the news of some plants closing in Niagara and Kimberly, the paper industry is a vital part of region's past and an important part of the economy.

Up in the area alone there are plants making Charmin, Northern, and who knows what else on a non-stop basis to fulfill the toiletry needs of America.

That's why, this news isn't just a declaration of war on toilet paper.

It's a declaration of war on Green Bay, Appleton, the Fox Cities and the rest of Northeast Wisconsin.

The country’s soft-tissue habit — call it the Charmin effect — has not escaped the notice of environmentalists, who are increasingly making toilet tissue manufacturers the targets of campaigns. Greenpeace on Monday for the first time issued a national guide for American consumers that rates toilet tissue brands on their environmental soundness. With the recession pushing the price for recycled paper down and Americans showing more willingness to repurpose everything from clothing to tires, environmental groups want more people to switch to recycled toilet tissue.

“No forest of any kind should be used to make toilet paper,” said Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist and waste expert with the Natural Resource Defense Council.

In the United States, which is the largest market worldwide for toilet paper, tissue from 100 percent recycled fibers makes up less than 2 percent of sales for at-home use among conventional and premium brands. Most manufacturers use a combination of trees to make their products. According to RISI, an independent market analysis firm in Bedford, Mass., the pulp from one eucalyptus tree, a commonly used tree, produces as many as 1,000 rolls of toilet tissue. Americans use an average of 23.6 rolls per capita a year.

The coming Green vs. Blue battle continues to march towards its inevitable conclusion on the Left.  It's up for them to decide which matters more I guess.