EOTO 1- The Invention of Paper:

        Paper was invented around two thousand years ago in Lei-Yang, China by a court official named Ts'ai Lung who wanted to make keeping track of his writings easier. Before paper people used items like animal skin or bamboo slips, these worked but were unpractical as they were expensive and hard to acquire. Ts'ai Lung came up with the idea to mash old rags, mulberry bark, and hemp together to create what is now paper.

    To make paper they would mash all of those ingredients and press them firmly together until all the liquid was gone, set them in the sun, and when they were dry they had paper. This new invention was cheaper, lighter, easily accessible, and the ingredients were available. The invention of paper made its way across Asia, and eventually everywhere else, which changed the way humans recorded history and shared information completely. 

    There are many benefits of paper. Starting off with easy knowledge sharing, one paper became more common it became easier to write things down. This led to books becomi
ng m
ore affordable which they could use in schools for lessons and textbooks, so education was more available. Continuing with knowledge sharing, many scientific discoveries and other ideas were shared because paper gave them the opportunity to spread these findings around the world. Another reason is better communication. With letters, newspapers, and official documents becoming easier to produce and handle. Paper provided an easier way to write and send messages. This helped build governments, businesses, and even friendships. One more reason paper was beneficial is creativity. Paper gave way for people to spark creative ideas. Art, books, and designers, all rely on paper to begin and share their work. These creative ideas would not have been able to spread without paper. 

    While there are many beneficial parts of paper there is still negative impact. Starting with environmental damage, paper comes from trees and even though recycling is an option, there are many people who do not recycle. Lots of forests must be cut down to acquire the materials needed to create paper, since we have become so reliant on it. This deforestation harms wildlife, increases carbon emissions, and messes with the climate. Another harmful impact of paper is waste problems. There are many pieces of paper in everyday life that just get tossed into a trash can instead of recycled. Receipts, flyers, packaging products all get thrown out frequently. 

    Paper is worth the negative impacts because it offers us so much, like education, information spreading, packaging products, cleaning products, and more. All these things are worth the negatives because it helps us complete everyday life.