The Brief

Yes, we are here to make a stink. Because while we’ve all gotta wipe our tushies (more on that later), our use of toilet paper is contributing to deforestation in Canada’s boreal forest — the world’s largest forest left intact.

That’s according to the latest “Issue with Tissue” scorecard from the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which has rated the sustainability of various toilet paper brands since 2019.

The biggest offenders were toilet paper brands from companies Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and Georgia-Pacific. (LAist has reached out to these companies for comment.)

“[They] continue to make these flagship brands almost entirely from forest fiber, which is driving harmful consequences for the climate, biodiversity, and communities that depend on these forests,” said Ashley Jordan, who authored the NRDC report.

About that forest to toilet pipeline

Canada shield is covered by boreal forests

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In 2022, the United States accounted for 65% of all of Canada’s pulp and paper exports, the majority of which came from provinces that are home to boreal forest. More than a million acres of the forest are chopped down each year, according to Canada’s national forestry database, in part to support our TP needs here in the U.S.

The NRDC toilet paper rankings give the highest grades to TP made from recycled content and the lowest to brands sourced primarily from forest fiber. Brands like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods’ recycled bath tissue got A grades, while brands like Charmin, Scott and Cottonelle got Fs.

Know which TP is more sustainable

The annual NRDC TP scorecard.

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Before you get too bummed out, there are ways to address the issue with the tissue.

In addition to regulatory changes, such as new international sourcing requirements to better protect forests and pledges from corporate brands like Kimberly-Clark to be forest fiber-free by 2030, Jordan said the biggest win for this year’s scorecard was that, of the 29 toilet paper brands that received an A or B grade, half were launched just within the past five years.

“Sustainability is proving to be a disruptive force in this market, which has long been anything but,” she said.

Recycled and bamboo products are becoming more popular, but it’s important to check those products are legitimate. Bamboo TP, for example, should be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures bamboo products grown in a sustainable way, e.g. not from plantations created by clear cutting natural forest.

Why it’s never a bad day to get a bidet

Using a bidet cuts down on toilet paper needs.

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The unsung hero, though, remains the humble bidet. Cleaning your bum with the bidet’s squirt of water before wiping is actually the ideal way to cut down on TP use.

“They also actually require less water per use than the tissue making process does,” Jordan said. “So it's like a double whammy of environmental benefits.”

While Americans have been behind the rest of the world when it comes to bidet use, the trend is catching on. The technology takes a bit of getting used to, and if you are not yet ready, just know that they’ll always be there for you.

May gray has come and gone, and now it's time for June gloom.

Overcast skies will be present this morning, especially along the beaches and valleys closest to the coast. Otherwise, we're in for a partly cloudy afternoon.

Today's temperatures at L.A. County beaches will stay around 66 to 71 degrees, and reach 76 to 80 degrees for places more inland.

In Orange County, expect similar temperatures with highs from 67 to 74 degrees for Huntington Beach and surrounding areas. More inland areas like Anaheim and Garden Grove will see temperatures of up to 79 degrees.

Moving on to L.A. County valleys, expect high temperatures in the low to mid 80s.

In the Inland Empire, temperatures will range 80 to 89 degrees.

Election Day is here, but now comes the waiting.

Do you have something to watch on Netflix? Maybe you've been meaning to pick up a hobby — how about crochet? Whatever you do, take a deep breath and keep busy because it could be days (or weeks) before we get some California election results.

The state is often knocked by the rest of the country as being "slow" to count votes. But here's the deal: that's a feature, not a bug, of the election system.

The backstory

Things take a while here largely because California works so hard to expand the ways people can vote. For example:

• Californians in recent years overwhelmingly vote by mail — nearly 90% of votes cast in the 2024 presidential election were mail-in ballots. In that same year's primary the percentage was just as high. Those ballots can be postmarked up to and including Election Day. They're counted as long as the ballot arrives within seven days (for the June primary, that's June 9).
• California offers same-day voter registration at any voting center. These new voters must cast a provisional ballot, which is counted once election officials confirm their eligibility (they are overwhelmingly accepted — for example, Los Angeles County reports that historically between 85% to 90% have been counted.
• Voters also have the right to cast provisional ballots if there's any problem on election day — like if poll workers aren't able to void an outstanding mail-in ballot, or if there’s any issue calling up voter information from e-pollbooks. Again (see above), provisionals take longer to process because eligibility has to be confirmed.
• Vote-by-mail ballots require signature matching. When the one received doesn't match the one on file, county registrars must contact that voter to let them know — and give them the chance to correct it.
• And, with more than 23 million registered voters, we're really, really big. In the 2024 general election more than 16 million Californians voted (down from nearly 18 million in the 2020 presidential election). Either way, that’s more people than the total populations of all but three other states.

Why things have sped up, some

But things have sped up considerably in the 30 counties that have adopted a 2016 law called the Voter's Choice Act, including L.A., Orange and Riverside counties. In recent elections, the changes associated with that law — like voters not being locked into a designated polling location — drastically cut down the number of provisional ballots cast, which helped move things along faster than they had before.

A closer look at ballot counting times in California where an increasing number of vote-by-mail ballots has slowed ballot counts.

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Still, accuracy and a commitment to "expanding the franchise" — translation: allowing more people to vote — means the process is not designed to produce instantaneous results.

Why you should take a deep breath Election Night

You'll have to get that endorphin hit elsewhere on June 2.

A few things to keep in mind: You may recall that during the 2024 primary, it took about a week to call the results for L.A. City Council races in District 4, where incumbent Nithya Raman was fighting to avoid a runoff election, and District 14, where challenger Ysabel Jurado wound up overtaking incumbent Kevin de León by just a few hundred votes.

It took an even longer 15 days to call the results of Prop. 1, during which opponents conceded, walked back that concession, and conceded again when the measure won by a razor-thin 0.4% margin. And it took 23 days to call the second-place winner for Orange County's 45th congressional district — it ultimately went to Democrat Derek Tran who went on to beat Republican Michelle Steel in the general election. Tran is now up for reelection and rematch with Steel is considered likely in November.

Depending on how close some of these races end up being, we may face similar waits this election cycle.

TL;DR: Officially, county and state election officials have until July 10 to certify election results — including a mandatory audit that requires hand-counting all of the ballots at 1% of precincts. Nevertheless, you're going to see a lot of national media headlines about California's relative "slowness." Brush it off. We have sunshine, beaches, and a highly enfranchised population.