Reading Suggestion: Paper recycling must be powered by renewables to save climate

UCL and Yale's researchers have found evidence that recycling paper is better for the climate if the process was powered by renewable energy. From modeling various scenarios, researchers found that by 2050 greenhouse gas emissions would increase, if only we kept the same practices that rely heavily on fossil fuels and electricity from the grid. The current production is using trees, which is now known to require more energy. These researchers also found that renovating landfill practices could contribute to a positive impact. An example used is considering capturing methane emissions, allowing them to model a cradle to cradle lifecycle and being repurposed for energy. The news article indicates that the study focuses on informing the public that recycling is not the only or best solution to address our environmental issues with climate change. With the understanding that climate change is constantly arising new issues for our world, most of my interest lies in this issue. 
Climate change scientifically is known as a constant series of events changing earth throughout history. Our current climate-warming trends are consistently explained to be an impact from anthropogenic pollution since the mid-20th century. This warming is due to the heat-trapping properties of carbon dioxide and other gases demonstrated. It is alarming and upsetting to know that my future is limited by improper sustainable planning. I have also developed a great interest in a zero-waste future and find it extremely difficult to see the future as something to look forward to when climate change is minimally addressed. I am deeply concerned about the state of our planet, which is why I choose this story. I think this story needs to be out, especially since it addresses greenwashing and calls out the failure of our plans to achieve the UN sustainable goals.
My one question after reading this article is regarding the types of policies that may be put into place to avoid these concerning 2050 carbon emissions statistics. According to Down’s Issue-Attention Cycle, I believe this article was communicated effectively, specifically regarding the five-stage cycle of media attention and public interest. Stage one, there is a pre-problem stage, when most people aren't aware of the issue quite yet. Stage two is a sudden alarming discovery about an issue. Stage three involves recognizing the cost of change. I feel that we are in the third stage of this article. The article made me feel validated, as an environmentalist I believe the current solutions in place to reduce the impact on climate change, and specifically carbon emissions are far too behind. The environmental movement has pushed as many policies forward; however, it is just not enough to spark the change we need for a cleaner future.

Source: Science Direct
Link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019112119.htm