First quarter results from Market2Mill are in, and they show that US domestic OCC prices and order volumes increased while price volatility decreased (volatility is represented on the chart by the black whiskers on the blue line).

The longer trend line shows a fairly typical recovered fiber wave-like trend, which moves higher and lower as domestic and export players jockey for pricing power.  While first quarter 2013 results show a relatively stable market, however, a recent implementation by the Chinese government of a “green curtain” may soon lead to an OCC price correction.

There are two sides to every story. This is precisely the point the aptly named non-profit organization Two Sides set out to make when it challenged the Paperless2013 campaign. The initiative, supported by big names like Google and Fujitsu, encouraged consumers to make the switch from paper to electronic communication this year. In response, Two Sides published an open letter challenging Google Chairman Eric Schmidt to reexamine the one-sided view that using paper to conduct business was better for the environment. 

The North Carolina State Natural Resources Foundation (NCSNRF) appears to be in dire straits, scrambling for any means of income by selling the Hofmann Forest, an 80,000 acre research forest near Jacksonville, NC. The NC State forestry program acquired the land in the mid-1930s for the purposes of research and to generate income for the forestry program through timber harvesting and related activities. In January 2013, the NCSNRF 16-member Board voted unanimously to sell the land, and on February 21, 2013, the NC State Endowment Fund Board voted to endorse the sale.