Trees benefiting from recession.

• Position: GOING GREEN - Brief article

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The recession and resulting layoffs of millions of employees in the United States has reduced paper usage, an IDC analyst told The Kansas City Star.

Specifically, about a year ago IDC analyst Jake Wang noticed the first-ever drop in the number of pages Americans were printing. For several years from an office in Los Angeles, he has used computer software to monitor 700,000 printers and multifunctional devices in businesses.

Wang said the fourth quarter of 2008 showed a definite decline in page...