"False and cheap advertising" Note: Emails are organized in the order received, with first received at the top. Jim, Your column on false and cheap advertising and the state of our industry was probably one of the best you have written. I have become the local Environmental chair of our local League of Women Voters. One of my personal goals is to make certain that technically accurate information is presented. Unfortunately public perception about industry and in particular the forest products/paper industry is usually inaccurate. The vast majority of people are unaware that companies replant trees and regard them as crops. That the wood is second or third growth. Now if we can also spread the message from the keynote speech at PaperCon by the head of Subaru Indiana America that conservation is not only good for the planet, it saves companies significant money. Linda Robertson St. Charles, Illinois USA *** Hopeless. I get it all the time. George Mead Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA --- Help me out here. What is hopeless? Jim --- Fighting "Killing trees." George *** Jim, I have all too often let those false statements go by without doing more than just thinking how stupid they are rather than taking the actions you point out we should and must take. Our local schools are another place we can have a very significant impact. Teachers that give their students correct information about the sustainability of our industry impact about 30 students a year. Those students influence their family and friends. The primary education network could build a stronger foundation of knowledgeable consumers. It's not that this is a new idea as TAPPI's projects attest. Industry members can get started by asking his/her student's teacher to participate in a papermaking hands-on experiment in the classroom. Getting involved in science curriculum development doesn't have to occur at the school board level. At whatever level our students are at, getting to know their science teachers and providing sound, technical information would have lasting impact on that teacher's future teaching. No big budgets involved here, just commitment to do it. And even us older industry members can get involved in our grandchildren's classrooms. All the best Bill Fuller Federal Way, Washington USA P.S. "Forests For Our Future" at Epcot reached thousands of kids and their parents at a cost of about $0.25 per person. Focus group interviews showed more than half left with a different view of our industry after going through the experience. Pretty good return on the investment, but our industry couldn't justify continuing what Disney considered one of the best at Epcot. *** Jim, If I recall a Dilbert cartoon correctly, there can be a fine line between marketing and grant theft (bunko). Chuck Green Webster, New York USA --- And Chuck, with all the grant theft going on in Washington these days, no truer words were ever spoken. Jim ### Have a comment? Send your email to jthompson@taii.com. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume we can use your name if we publish your letter.

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