Caring for the environment is not as difficult nor is it as overwhelming as what most people might first think. In fact, many of our Green solutions make life easier for everyone. It's not hard to understand that some of these things that are so convenient and beneficial to the environment should have been put into action yesterday. Yet, there still are people finding reasons to avoid making the appropriate changes.
In this day and age, it is absolutely remarkable that we are still filling out paperwork for government agencies and businesses. I understand the need for documentation and I also understand that many agencies and businesses have adopted some paperwork reduction initiatives. But, so many more initiatives can be put into place.
I have learned that digital information is harder to get rid of than an actual piece of paper. When you delete a document from a computer, it is not gone. But, a burned piece of paper is definitely gone. It becomes ashes and is no longer readable. So, I think data storage on a computer is ultimately safer than folders in a filing cabinet. Plus, we would gain actual space for other things when we throw our filing cabinets out the window and start using virtual space for critical data storage.
Paperwork Reduction initiatives can be incorporated into all aspects of government and business transactions. Quite a few paper reduction initiatives have already been started. There is a great deal that can be done online allowing users to fill out applications using online forms or utilizing email. Portable Document Format, otherwise known as PDF, forms can be created that allow users to enter information, save to their computers and then submit them online as well.
But, government agencies and businesses have adopted these measures so that end users can share in the cost of paper. They still require these forms to be printed out and submitted in hard copy form. When a government agency or a business can have a database full of information that is readily available at their fingertips with a few key strokes, why in the world do they insist on having hard copy documents to file?
It's easier for everyone involved. It's easier for the end user who only has to pull up the forms from the website of a government agency or business. They fill them out online and submit them online. It's easier for the government agency or business that can have an automatic filing system where all of these forms are stored in a database and all the information is properly categorized. Information retrieval is easier because it's high speed using a few key strokes rather than rummaging through four foot high filing cabinets.
Moving further into the twenty-first century is not only better for our environment, but it really is a step out of the dark ages. We have computers in our phones, consoles that can save shows, entire houses set on a schedule, but we're still filling out paperwork made by dinosaurs, filed by dinosaurs, retrieved by dinosaurs and often lost by dinosaurs. Plus, don't get me started on all the work from home opportunities that businesses could offer employees to cut down on commuting costs. That's another article entirely.