TOILET PAPER AND CLIMATE CHANGE

In March, Consumer Reports reported that it tested toilet paper and found that rolls have become narrower, the tubes in the center of the rolls have become larger, the number of sheets per roll have become fewer and the sheets have become smaller.

The toilet paper rolls were tested for strength, softness, disintegration and ease of tearing. How the toilet paper was tested for these conditions is unclear. The various brands of rolls ranged in cost from 8 cents per 100 sheets to over 44 cents per 100 sheets.

In a prior post, I discussed the challenge one faces to find a beneficial use for the empty cardboard tubes once the toilet paper roll is used up ("NO END IN SITE OR SIGHT", May 29, 2013). If the tubes have grown in diameter, that task may have become more difficult. On the other hand, the larger tubes may be useful for growing seedlings by handy gardeners this Spring; or better yet, the tubes may make good beer bottle or can holders to enhance bathroom or other experiences.

Interestingly, the report also stated that Americans use an average of 46 sheets of toilet paper per day. Again, it is not clear how this finding was determined. Perhaps it was as a result of a question at the last census or something to be reported on an IRS form. Regardless, now I am worried that I am not an average American because I use far less than 46 sheets of toilet paper per day.

Then I got to wondering whether the number of sheets used per day has any relationship to climate change. Is it possible that in warmer periods, people spend more time in bathrooms and use more sheets; in in colder time, people use fewer sheets because they spend less time there?

The more I think about empty toilet paper tubes and number of sheets of paper being used, the more likely I could wind up two or three sheets to the wind.