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Hi, Everyone - 

This is totally a question of personal curiosity - no institutional
decisions hang in the balance, but the question might be relevant for
some museum/science center somewhere...

Have you ever noticed that electric hand dryers in public restrooms
usually include a label that says that the hand dryer is "better for the
environment" than paper towels? The justification on the ones I use most
frequently says that they "save trees from being used for paper towels".


From an environmental perspective, though, I've been wondering if we're
really doing ourselves any favors given the amount of electricity we're
probably using to warm the heating elements of the hand dryers. (If I
understand correctly, appliances with heating elements typically use
more electricity than other appliances.) While we may be "saving trees",
what is the environmental cost of the (presumed fossil fuel-generated)
energy we use to warm the dryers? Does it outweigh the costs of
producing paper towels, in both trees and fossil fuel use? What about
the costs of using paper towels made from recycled materials? 

Has anybody looked into this before? Can anyone recommend an
organization, website, article, or book that might lead me to more
information? 

Thanks, 

Bill

Bill Watson 
Chief of Onsite Learning 
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
(202) 633-1127
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