Speaking of Pulp and Paper . . .

While bazillions of people read their three-pound Harry Potter books, I did a little research on the pulp and paper industry. Actually, I started researching global warming (and deforestation and wildfires), and ended up locating a dear childhood friend who is busy saving the planet by redefining the international pulp and paper industry.

Lots of investment money is flowing to third-world countries to build pulp and paper mills. That practice has led to unprecedented destruction of rainforests. (Query: is this, in part, a result of the developed world offshoring environmental problems?). Being a brilliantly clear thinker and communicator, Chris Barr dug into the facts regarding the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia and wrote the seminal paper that helped changed lending practices and, at least to some degree, protects rainforests and promotes local economies. (lots of lawlessness in the world to contend with, though).

Chris revealed that there was no way the mills in Indonesia could do enough business to pay off international loans by just using legally-harvested timber supplies. Not even close. Stunning was the fact that the entities loaning billions of dollars never bothered to do any due diligence to determine whether legal supplies could supply enough feedstock for the mills. As a result of Chris's work, responsible lenders and paper purchasers now see that native forests are protected and that locals are willing to grow harvestable trees.

It’s wonderful to learn that Chris is in the thick of it.