Death of newspapers saving millions of trees

As the Internet continues to cut down newspaper circulations around the world, one group of silent spectators is standing taller than ever – the trees.

An estimated 191 million trees are used for making U.S. newspapers each year. But that number has decreased by one-third since Americans ended their love affair with newsprint.

Some of America’s most influential newspapers have already either partially or completely shifted to an online model. Most notably the Detroit Free Press, Denver Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer have slowed or stopped the presses in the last few months.

Even newspapers that continue to offer a bulky paper product are using less newsprint because of huge decreases in newspaper circulation.

If current forest-clearing rates continue, National Geographic reports all forests will be gone within a century. Each year, forests the combined size of Panama are chopped down.

Although most deforestation is caused by the agriculture industry, around 15 percent comes from logging. According to the Green Press Initiative, U.S. newspapers used almost as much paper as books, magazines and catalogs combined.

The initiative hopes to define the fiber footprint of U.S. newspapers in 2009, which may give publishers leverage with their suppliers.

Unfortunately, budget crunched newspapers – many close to bankruptcy - may not give publishers much room to negotiate for expensive recycled paper products.

Instead, they’ll continue to watch the bottom line until it eventually falls through. At that point, the age of the national newspaper may become a thing of the past. Newspapers will be relegated to small, niche markets where the reporting can still bring out new information, instead of adding to the ever-growing voice of the Internet.

While the American public may miss newspapers for their investigative reporting and protection of the first amendment, it’s good to know less of the rainforests of the world are ending up caged in a newsstand.