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Discusses alternatives to tree-based paper. Contribution of the paper industry to pollution; Efforts of environmental groups and activists to promote the use of recycled paper; Pursuit of publishers to find alternatives to tree-based paper; Information on kenaf and hemp as alternative sources for making paper. INSETS: Finding Fibers;Taking Action.

Reports on the promotion of kenaf as an alternative to wood in paper manufacture. Selection of the cash crop by the Department of Agriculture as a substitute raw material; Resistance of timber companies to the material; Questions on the economy of its usage.

Reports on the weed kenaf as alternative to trees as source of paper. Origin of kenaf; Comparison of kenaf-paper with tree-paper; Background on the operations of kenaf-paper company Vision Paper.

The article reports on the use of pressurized chemical retting and nanoparticle impregnation to improve the performance of kenaf fibers used in glass fiber reinforcement in polymer-based composites. Surface hardness and modulus of elasticity are improved according to researchers at Mississippi State University. A description of the processes involved is presented. Support for kenaf fiber research come from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Discusses the conversion of hardwood forests in the southern part of the U.S. into monoculture tree farms or pulp plantations. View of the North Carolina Forestry Association on conversions of forest and agricultural land to pulp plantations; Efforts of the Dogwood Alliance to implement a consumer boycott strategy; Potential advantage of kenaf production over pine monocultures.

Considers the plant kenaf (African Hibiscus cannabinus) which may become a substitute for paper. US Department of Agriculture choice of kenaf after researching 500 plants for their fiber qualities; Amount of raw fiber per acre per year produced by kenaf; Benefits; KP Products Inc., the first company to commercialize the paper in the United States; How to contact them.

The article evaluates the Trumansburg, New York-based stationery manufacturer Acorn Designs' stationery imprinted with striking images from nature and produced using a blend of kenaf fiber and post- and pre-consumer recycled paper and offers information on various stationery products and costs.

Presents updates on various environmental issues as of December 1, 2004. Offer of a free computer recycling service to consumers by Dell; Kenaf pulp processing plant being set up by Vision Paper in Milan, Tennessee; Results of a study of genetically modified male Japanese medaka fish.

Reports on the Kenaf line of paper from Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Vision Paper. Background information about the kenaf crop plant; Environment-friendly features of kenaf paper; Available varieties of kenaf paper.

Reports that the United States Ford Motor Company is working with Kafus Environmental Industries (KEI) to produce auto panels and mats made from kenaf plants. Benefits from kenaf plants; Projects of KEI.

Provides information on kenaf, a tropical plant processed to combine with propylene to produce an alternative to fiberglass. Significance of the technology to the automobile industry; Ford's initiative concerning the technology.

Introduces kenaf paper from Earth Care Paper. Features of kenaf plant as a source of paper; Advantages over paper from wood; Costs; Contact information.

Invites readers of the `Earth Island Journal' (EIJ) to celebrate Earth Day 1996 by planting kenaf, an annual African plant that can grow as high as 15 feet in five months. EIJ as the only American magazine printed on tree paper made from kenaf; Contact information.

Answers readers' questions about kenaf. Possibility for kenaf to become an invasive species; Amount of water needed by kenaf; Holding up of soils when so much biomass is removed every five months; Use of chemicals in growing kenaf; Cost-effectiveness of using kenaf paper; Tree-based paper industry's problems in adopting kenaf paper.

Announces that the March 1994 issue of the `Earth Island Journal' (EIJ) was published using kenaf paper. EIJ's campaign for a tree-free paper; Pioneering kenaf users; Other applications of kenaf. INSET: Kenaf information, farming and purchasing resources..

Provides an overview on the use of kenaf paper in the United States. `Earth Island Journal's request for President Bill Clinton to promote the use of tree-free paper; US Department of Agriculture's acquisition of kenaf-plat paper to publish the proceedings of the Second International Biomass Conference; Organizations that uses kenaf paper.

Reports on the `Earth Island Journal' periodical's hosting of a press conference at the headquarters of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) to introduce paper made from plants other than trees. Move as a partial solution to the destruction of the Earth's forests; Information on the kenaf plant from which the paper was made; Reason why kenaf has remained as a neglected alternative.

Reports on the commercialization of tree-free kenaf paper in the United States. Earth Care Paper's sale of kenaf envelopes and paper; KP Products' pioneering experiment in collaboration with `Earth Island Journal' and Alonzo Printing Co.; Alpha & Omega Printing's sale of kenaf-paper `Letterhead and Envelope Package.'

Discusses the viability of the kenaf plant as an alternative pulp source for making paper. Support for the use of kenaf paper from various environmental organizations; Other environmental advantages of kenaf; Unsuitability of the United States climate for growing kenaf plant; Hemp as another alternative source of pulp; Cost of kenaf paper in the United States.

Reports that farmers in Americus, Georgia are eyeing the kenaf plant, Hibiscus cannabinus, as a cash crop. Application of kenaf in paper and newsprint industries; Application of the plant in disposable diapers and kitty litters.

Focuses on the use of kenaf as a material for newsprint in the U.S. paper-pulp mills. Characteristics of kenaf; Quality of kenaf paper; Advantages of processing kenaf.

Reports on kenaf, a fiber closely related to cotton, which could be used in making newsprint paper, replacing wood pulp and saving diminishing forests. Where in the United States that kenaf is grown, noting it is renewable yearly; Benefits to be accrued by using kenaf, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Statistics indicating the volume of newsprint used by U.S. newspaper publishers in 1987; Other products that can be made from kenaf.

The article focuses on a study which revealed that the seeds of Kenaf, a plant native to Africa and India, have promising anti-cancer properties.

Evaluates the plastic lumber TexDek polypropylene decking planks by Kenaf Industries. Use of kenaf plant fiber; Comparison of using kenaf with wood flour as additives; Compatibility of kenaf with polymer.

Cites the kenaf fibers being used by Ford Motor Corp. for automobile production. Automobile parts using the kenaf fibers; Strength of the material; Environmental advantages of kenaf; Processing of the kenaf plant; Automobile factories in Europe using kenaf fibers.

Reports that Enron Capital & Trade Resources Corp. has increased its credit available to kenaf developer Kafus Environmental Industries.

Reports on Vancouver, British Columbia-based Kafus Environmental Industries' plan to build a $125 million newsprint mill in Southern California that will be supplied by kenaf, a subtropical plant that can grow up to 12 feet in seven months.