Back to School supplies quandary for one U.S. Parent.

One mum's quandary over the back to school supplies as reported by TreeHugger.com.

After 'saving' money last year by recycling part used stationery and finding 90% of what they needed was already in the house, one parent finds this years list a bit more specific.

In a land where students (and by that I mean parents) are required to 'donate' a ream of paper, a box of pencils, even emergency rations for the school's earthquake readiness plans, the article is full of humour and yet, contains a plea to be more environmentally aware from the very institutes best placed to shape the minds of tomorrows generation.

One figure I must quote from the article is this: 2 Billion is the estimated number of pencils used in the U.S. each year. That represents about 82,000 trees cut just for pencils. Each tree makes approximately 170,000 pencils.

Please enjoy reading the full piece at TreeHugger.com by clicking here.

photo credit: vinodvv aka vcube