Further paper-based torment has come my way courtesy of The Guardian; this is becoming something of a habit.

The newspaper launched a climate change campaign today, urging people to reduce their carbon footprints by 10% during 2010. Hence the name, 10:10.

All well and good and suitably laudable, but I found myself getting hot under the collar when I found this lurking in the section on how to reduce your carbon emissions by 10%: "Only buy newspapers, magazines, books, toilet paper and copier paper made from recycled materials."

Ayuuuuueeeeeeuwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

How's that going to work then? Putting aside the small matter that being recycled doesn't automatically mean a lower carbon footprint, there are, what, perhaps less than 20 magazines of meaningful circulation out of the circa 3,000 published in the UK that are printed on recycled paper? If anyone knows the exact number, please illuminate me. So where will the fibres come from to make all this marvellous recycled paper if we all only buy recycled?

As any fule kno, paper fibres don't last forever and once they've been through the wash a handful of times they've had it. Here's a pertinent comment made a while back by those clever people at Pöyry Consulting, who should know what they're talking about: "Without the injection of virgin pulp and paper the paper industry would run out of raw material within three months."

Yet again the carbon footprint cudgel could be the cause of wrong-headed decisions.

With a deep sigh, I would respectfully suggest that the Guardian should be advising its readers to seek out recycled paper products where appropriate (one could argue that the use of virgin fibre for toilet paper and similar disposable tissue products is untenable, although I'm sure those with sensitive bottoms would be fundamentally against that), while at the same time recommending the selection of newspapers, magazines, books etc that use paper made with fibre from responsibly-managed, sustainable sources. And then recycling them, of course. Thus contributing to the virtuous circle of paper making and recycling.

For good measure, here's another link to the Two Sides campaign for facts and figures to help inform anyone prone to knee-jerk decisions about carbon footprints.