Paper's Long March

Remember when the 1980s brought us the first wave of the modern computer and electronics revolution? At that time, heady young technocrats foresaw "the paperless office." It was claimed that paper would become a thing of the past as everyone would access all information needed from video screens.
The reality today is quite different. More paper than ever is being used in offices, schools, and residential homes. One's first possession in life is a birth certificate, made of paper. Childhood immunizations are recorded on paper and kept in the doctor's office and at home. What would school be like without paper? Paper follows most people throughout their education and into their working life. Wedding invitations and marriage certificates are printed on paper, as are virtually all major life passages and social occasions. Finally, a death certificate on paper will continue to be around long after the person named on it. Perhaps the one item which defines modern civilization more than any other is paper.
The word paper derives from papyrus, the name of a riverside plant similar to grass, from which an ancient form of paper was used in Egypt and Mesopotamia. It could be argued that these empires were made possible by the use of official records on papyrus. However, paper as we know it today has its origins in the Han dynasty of China. In about A.D. 105, an official in the imperial court produced the forebear of what has become today the world's most indispensable product. The art of paper making reached westwards to Baghdad, Iraq in the 8th century at the height of the Islamic culture. From there it entered Europe, where it was polished into its contemporary form during the 19th century.
Paper can be made from any plant, but trees are the best source of cellulose for paper production. In fact, earlier forms of paper were made from processed cotton waste and rags, but trees contain a better proportion and type of cellulose than any other plant. In countries with a deficiency of forest land, other natural fibers such as sugar cane pulp, bamboo, cereal straws, flax, and hemp are used. Today's paper and paper product mills rely on a steady inflow of wood logs or chips. In the United States alone, the paper and paper products industry is worth more than US$80 billion, with world production well over 100,000,000 tons annually.
Everyone knows what paper is, since most people use at least one sheet of it a day, but few people stop to consider the different kinds of paper available to us today. Office workers are well aware of the many kinds of paper they use, such as regular typing or computer printing or copier paper. They also come into contact with bond, a high-grade paper used for important documents. It is thicker and more durable than other forms of paper. Book paper comes in at least four different finishes. These may be seen in books, magazines, brochures, and calendars. Newsprint is used for newspapers and some magazines or books, while kraft paper is used for shopping bags. Paperboard is seen daily as box lunch containers, cardboard boxes, and even building materials. Finally, sanitary paper has been developed for use in tissue paper, paper toweling, and paper napkins. Carbon paper, postcards, and envelopes are also daily use items made of paper. Even a tea bag is made of paper!
Paper and its products seem endless, but conservation of even the abundant resource of trees is in everyone's interest. Recycling of paper and better designed pulp and paper factories have helped decrease waste. Many offices encourage the use of both sides of a piece of paper, for example, and students or private organizations sometimes collect old newsprint to send to reprocessing centers. By conserving paper, the average paper user in his lifetime can save at least one tree from being felled.As valuable as trees are, and as valuable as paper is, everyone should co-operate to use this essential commodity wisely.

还记得80年代带给我们的第一波现代计算机和电子革命吗？当时，一群不可一世的年轻科技主义者预知了“无纸张的办公室”，他们宣称由于每个人都将从电视屏幕上获取一切所需的信息，纸张将因此成为历史名词。
如今实际情况却大不相同。在办公室、学校和住家中，纸张的使用比以往都来得多。人一生中拥有的第一项财产便是一张纸做的出生证明。儿童的预防注射被记录在纸上，存放在医生办公室和家里。学校中没有纸的话又会变成什么样子？纸张跟着大部分的人走过他们的教育阶段，并进入他们的工作生涯。结婚喜帖和结婚证书是纸印的，而且所有重要的人生过程或社交场合也几乎都是印在纸张上。最后，死亡证明文件在注明死者之后仍将继续存在很久。或许纸张比任何其它事物更能诠释现代文明吧。
paper这个字源自于 papyrus（纸草），这是一种在古埃及和美索不达米亚被用来制作纸张而形状像草的河边植物。我们可以推论说这两个地区的王国可能是因为用纸草来作官方纪录才得以建立。然而，就我们今天所知，纸张源于中国的汉朝。在公元一百零五年左右，朝廷的一位官员制造出今日世上最不可或缺产品的前身。伊斯兰教文化在八世纪时达到全盛时期，造纸技术在此时向西传到伊拉克的巴格达。它从那儿进入欧洲，十九世纪期间纸张在欧洲被改进成现在这个样子。
任何植物都可以用来造纸，但树木才是造纸用纤维的最佳来源。事实上，早期的纸是用加工处理过的棉花屑和破布制成的，但树木所含的纤维比例和型态比其它任何植物都要来得好。在森林地缺乏的国家，则用其它如甘蔗渣、竹子、谷类的茎杆、亚麻和大麻等天然纤维来造纸。今日的纸张和造纸厂仰赖固定的圆木或木片供应。光是美国一地，纸张和造纸工业年产值就超过八百亿美元，而全世界每年产量则远超过一亿吨。
每个人都知道纸张是什么东西，因为大多数的人一天都至少会用上一张，但很少有人会去思考我们现在所用的纸张有哪些不同的种类。办公室人员很清楚他们所用的许多种类的纸张，例如一般的打字或计算机打印或影印纸张。他们也会接触到铜版纸，一种高级的重要文件用纸。它比其它种类的纸来的厚且较耐久。书本用的纸张至少有四种不同的质地。你也许可以在书籍、杂志、小册子和月历中看到。新闻纸被用来制作报纸和一些杂志或书籍，而牛皮纸则被用来制作购物袋。纸板可见于日常的午餐盒、硬纸箱、甚至建筑材料。最后，清洁纸张被发展成卫生纸、纸毛巾和餐巾纸。复写纸、明信片和信封也是日常使用的纸制品，甚至连茶包都是纸做的！
纸张和纸制品似乎无穷无尽，但即使森林资源丰富，每个人对它的保存仍表关切。纸张的回收再用以及设计较佳的纸浆和造纸厂都有助于减少浪费。例如，许多公司鼓励纸张的两面都使用，而学生或私人机构有时也会收集旧报纸送到资源回收中心。通过节省纸张，平均每位纸张使用者在一生中至少可以拯救一棵树免于被砍伐。树木很珍贵，纸张也很珍贵，大家应该通力合作好好使用这项基本的消费品。