Green book of the week - Rethinking Paper & Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution

If you're interested in making your reading greener then you know we are always looking for interesting resources that will help us to understand better how to do it.

Today we present you with one of the best resources on this topic, if not the best one - Rethinking Paper & Ink: The Sustainable Publishing Revolution by Ooligan Press, which was released last month.

About the book (from the publisher's website):
Ooligan Press is committed to leading the industry in sustainable publishing. Rethinking Paper & Ink, the newest title in Ooligan’s OpenBook Series, offers an in-depth, critical examination of the current book publishing industry and discusses ways to achieve more sustainable practices during acquisitions, editing, design, printing, marketing, promotion, and distribution. Dedicated to transparency, accountability, and responsibility, each title in Ooligan’s OpenBook Series includes an audit detailing the choices made during the book’s production process. This effort enables Ooligan to outline the specific decisions they made and measure the impact of those decisions in order to inform others seeking similar sustainable options.

About the authors (from the publisher's website):
Rethinking Paper & Ink is a collaborative effort by students and a core teaching staff of publishing professionals at Portland State University’s Ooligan Press. This title is an expansion of a booklet of the same name that was written by Melissa Brumer and Janine Eckhart. Brumer and Eckhart were the founders of Ooligan Press’s Sustainable Publishing Initiative. Their initial booklet launched Ooligan Press’s BISAC Category: Business & Economics/Green Business.

We wanted to learn more about the book and the effort that was made to offer such an in-depth examination of the book industry from a sustainable point of view and therefore we got in touch with one of the authors, Natalie Guidry, who happily agreed to share with us her thoughts.

Hi Natalie. What brought you to publish this book?
Rethinking Paper & Ink began its life in early 2009 as a grant-funded booklet written by Melissa Brumer and Janine Eckhart, the founders of Ooligan Press's Sustainable Publishing Initiative and OpenBook Series. When they began exploring ways to reduce Ooligan's impact as a publisher, they noticed that there were no current titles that explored sustainability in the book publishing industry and decided to fill that gap with their own research and findings.

As the remaining printed copies of the original booklet began to dwindle in late 2009, Jessicah Carver and I (then-managers of the Sustainable Publishing Initiative) decided along with the rest of Ooligan Press that the most responsible way to continue the project was to expand and update the original manuscript and publish Rethinking Paper & Ink as a full-length title. Because this edition is part of Ooligan's internationally-distributed catalog, we released it with the intention that more writers, editors, publishers, and book lovers from all over the world could get involved in the conversation.

What was the most surprising part you've learned while conducting the research for the book?
I was initially surprised that the book's environmental impact extended far beyond the paper stock and distribution. Every aspect—from the ink on the page to the coating on the cover—can release hazardous compounds that directly and indirectly affect the environment. It's easy to make the connotation between books, paper production, and deforestation, but the removal of biomass from forests isn't the only harmful practice in place.

You bring some interesting examples of sustainable leaders in the industry, but do you feel the publishing industry as a whole is interested in going green?
I do. Though the book publishing industry has a tendency to be a slow adapter to emerging technologies, it's begun to take more environmentally responsible choices in stride. There have been many examples: from massively popular titles like Harry Potter being printed on recycled paper stocks to the smaller publishing houses that have joined forces with the Green Press Initiative and other like-minded groups. Hopefully, publishers will continue to take advantages of the available resources in attempts to decrease their impacts.

How about consumers? Do most of them care about this issue? Are they willing to take action?
I definitely believe that consumers are interested in a more sustainable book publishing industry. Readers, as well as the consumer population at large, have been more eager to support organizations that want to improve the state of our environment. I know many bibliophiles who fear that printed book as we know it is on the edge of extinction and want to take great strides to prevent that from happening. Though e-books seem to be the biggest threat, there is also the threat of the long-term and permanent effects of depleting natural resources through deforestation. By choosing to support publishers and booksellers who are making responsible decisions, readers can actually influence the fate of the printed book.

How about ebooks? How do we green them up?
I think that the most room for improvement in the realm of e-books comes down to the device manufacturers and booksellers. Manufacturers can focus on making long-lasting devices using alternative energy—for both production and for at-home use—and digital booksellers can ensure that the servers that are hosting the e-book files are powered by renewable energy as well. Publishers can focus on being more selective as to which books necessitate a print run and which are perfectly fine being published only in digital format. Hopefully, publishers will begin to shift all of their mass market paperback titles so that they’re only released digitally, since many of these titles reach the end of their shelf life after a single read or before they’re even sold from the bookstore.

How we can create a win-win model in the industry where going green will also positively impact competitiveness and profitability?
As with all decisions related to sustainability, I think it’s going to be a balancing act that will be in a constant state of flux. I think it’s going to start with publishers demanding more sustainably alternative options from their printers, which hopefully leads to a ripple effect of those resources and processes becoming the industry norm. As demand increases and these options become more affordable, publishers will be able to implement them without completely demolishing their financial bottom lines.

Additionally, publishers can offer incentives to booksellers to prevent unsold returns that the current system allows—and even encourages. This is probably the worst fate for a book as it has already used up resources and emitted pollutants in its production stage, but never sees its end purpose of being read. Publishers like Chelsea Green have this system in place and it's ensuring that booksellers follow through with getting the title into a consumer's hands and justifying its print run.

When you finished writing, were you more optimistic or pessimistic comparing to the day you started writing?
I was definitely optimistic. Even though we spend a lot of time discussing the negative impacts of the book publishing industry as it currently stands, we also mention a lot of alternative practices that are becoming more widespread throughout the industry. It's exciting to know that the interest is there to clean up the industry as it stands. At some point, the more harmful practices that are in wide use won't be an option—whether it's environmentally, financially, socially, or any combination of the three. Businesses and individuals like those highlighted in the industry profiles throughout the book are leading the way in this transition through their dedication to the future of the book publishing industry.

What's the most important lesson we can find in the book?
I'd say that the most important lesson is that there's no one-size-fits-all solution to solve the current problems in the industry. What works for one publisher may not work for another, so it's important for each publisher to examine their current areas of improvement and develop their own set of best practices.

Who should read this book?
Though this book is probably most beneficial to those who work in the book publishing industry, it also provides insight into the entire publishing process for readers who are interested in becoming more informed on how their favorite books came to be. Informed readers can use their purchasing power to support publishers who are making efforts to reduce their environmental impact and influence other publishers to begin to make those strides.

Thanks, Natalie!

To learn more about Ooligan Press please visit http://ooligan.pdx.edu. You can purchase the book on Amazon or at your local bookstore.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading

Join our sustainability journey and plant a tree for every book you read!

Do you think that sustainability is a journey? Do you believe that small actions lead to big change? If you do, we invite you to join us on our journey to make reading more sustainable and plant trees for the books you read, write or publish.

How we do it?

Planting trees to balance out paper used for books
Eco-Libris is offering book readers, as well as publishers and authors the opportunity to balance out the trees cut down for the production of books by planting trees in developing countries.

We work to plant these trees together with our planting partners – three highly respected US and UK based non-profit organizations that work in collaboration with local communities in developing countries to plant these trees. These trees are planted in high ecological and sustainable standards in Latin America (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Belize, Honduras) and Africa (Malawi), where deforestation is a crucial problem.

Planting trees in these places not only helps to fight climate change and conserve soil and water, but also benefits many local people, for whom these trees offer many benefits, such as improvement of crops and additional food and income, and an opportunity for a better future. , where deforestation is a crucial problem. Planting trees in these places not only helps to fight climate change and conserve soil and water, but also benefits many local people, for whom these trees offer many benefits, such as improvement of crops and additional food and income, and an opportunity for a better future.

Readers also receive a sticker made of recycled paper for every book they balance out saying “One tree planted for this book”, which they can later display on their books’ sleeves.

So far Eco-Libris balanced out over 176,000 books, which results in more than 196,000 new trees planted with its planting partners in developing countries.

Promoting adoption of sustainable practices in the book industry
One of the examples of our work to promote sustainability in the book industry is our Green Books Campaign: Every year in the last couple of years (2009 and 2010), on Nov. 10 at 1 p.m., hundreds of bloggers simultaneously have published reviews of books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using greener methods, we aim to raise consumer awareness about considering the environment when making book purchases.

Last year about 200 bloggers reviewed 200 books that came from 56 publishers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K. This diverse group of publishers participating in the campaign included both small and large presses who print books on recycled and/or FSC-certified paper, such as Penguin Group, Scholastic, Barefoot Books, McClelland & Stewart, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, Sterling Publishing, DK Publishing, Harvard Business Press, Island Press, North Atlantic Books, McGraw-Hill, ABRAMS and Picador.

This unique campaign is transforming into a tradition and we are glad to see continuous enthusiasm about it from publishers, authors, bloggers and readers (we estimate that last year about 40,000 people were exposed to the campaign) alike.

We plan to keep this tradition going this year as well – This year’s campaign, just like last year, will take place in collaboration with Indigo Books & Music, the largest book retailer in Canada, as part of their efforts to eliminate the use of wood fiber from endangered forests and facilitate a broader sustainability shift in the publishing and paper supply chain.

Helping to make e-reading greener
eBooks are becoming an important part of the book industry and we try not just to find what does it means in terms of the industry’s carbon footprint or how sustainable e-reading is in comparison with paper books, but also to make an impact and help making e-reading greener.

One of our latest efforts is helping Calvert Investments, one of the largest sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) companies in the US to file a shareholder resolution with Amazon.com, calling the company to prepare a report that will assess the impact of climate change on Amazon, including disclosure on the Kindle’s environmental impacts, or in other words – finally making the carbon footprint of the Kindle public.

We feel this is a necessary step not only to learn what the carbon footprint of the Kindle is, but also to move forward other e-reader sellers, such as B&N and Sony to reveal their carbon footprint. If we want e-reading to be a truly green option, we must have transparency and given Amazon’s refusal to provide such data, we’re proud on being part of the efforts to convince them to do the right thing!

So, if you want to join our journey, you’re more than welcome to do it by planting trees for your books – we welcome readers, authors and publishers to join us and make reading more sustainable!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Dear Jeff Bezos, please make Kindle the greenest e-reader

I started considering buying a Kindle. I'm sure many people consider it given the latest price drop. But first I must know more about the Kindle's environmental and social impacts.

So I wrote an email to Jeff Bezos and see if he can help me here. I want to share it with you because I hope many more readers who share the same concerns will write Bezos about it, so he'll know that customers and potential customers really care about these issues. So you're more than welcome to email this text to Jeff Bezos at jeff@amazon.com.

I promise to update you once I receive a reply. In the meantime here's the email:

Dear Jeff,

I'm considering to buy the Kindle and I've got a request from you.

First, let me tell you I really like you and appreciate everything you have done so far to promote book reading. In 1994 you founded Amazon.com and revolutionized online bookselling. You changed the book industry forever. Now you can do it again.

My request is very simple: Please make sure the Kindle is as environmentally and socially friendly as possible and share the information about your efforts with me and other interested stakeholders.

I know you look at the Kindle a more than just a business. You look at it as a mission. You said it yourself to Fortune Tech: "We think of it as a mission. I strongly believe that missionaries make better products. They care more. For a missionary, it's not just about the business. There has to be a business, and the business has to make sense, but that's not why you do it. You do it because you have something meaningful that motivates you."

This is great, but could you please add a "green" dimension to your mission?

I mean, I know you care about what customers say and you want to take their feedback into consideration to make the Kindle the best e-reader. You told Charlie Rose that people want "purpose built device, where no tradeoffs have been made, where every single design decision as we walking down the process has been made to optimize for reading." That's true. But I really wish you would add the word "sustainable" just before "reading".

For me, no tradeoffs mean not just better screen, but also making sure no blood minerals are used for the Kindle, that it doesn't contain harmful and hazardous substances, and that it is made in a safe working environment, where environmentally responsible manufacturing processes are used and workers are treated with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes.

No tradeoffs also mean to me that you're doing the best you can to make sure Kindles will be recycled by users when they stop using them and that you will publish the Kindle's carbon footprint on a regular basis to show your progress.

Yes, I know you don't like to publish figures on the Kindle sales. But this is different. This is about transparency and about showing your customers that you care not just about business, but also about the environmental and social impacts of the e-reading revolution you're leading.

I don't want to sound like a paranoid, but I'm a bit more worried when I read Ron Adner's analysis on Huffington Post that you have "drawn a clear line in the sand indicating that when it comes to digital reader devices, the company will focus on low-end, dedicated products." Adner explains that margins of the Kindle expect to decrease to zero. His conclusion is that " it means the company can stop heavy investment in developing reading devices, and instead focus on its clear competitive advantage: selling books." It's definitely reasonable from a business standpoint, but does it mean that there won't be a place for environmental and social considerations in the design/manufacturing process of the Kindle?

Jeff, I hope you can prove I'm worried for nothing. I hope you can show that you are interested in making the Kindle the greenest e-reader in the market. Not just because it's important for planet earth, but because it is important to me and to a growing number of readers who want to make their reading more sustainable.I believe you can lead another revolution here, bringing the mainstream not just a device that provides the opportunity to 'buy once, read everywhere,' but also a truly sustainable way to read books.

Thank you in advance for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

A new toolkit of Moon Willow Press helps publishers and authors who want to green!

Our mission at Eco-Libris is to green up the book industry and make reading more sustainable. Fortunately, we're not alone in this quest.

One of the new forces that is joined us is Moon Willow Press, a Canadian publisher that not only publish books sustainably, but also works to help other publishers to do the same. Last month we updated you that they started a campaign where 33% of the first 100 sales of their first e-book, The Little Big Town, go toward planting trees with Eco-Libris. Already as a result of their campaign, 200 trees are planted with our planting partners.

But that's not all. On April Moon Willow Press published a comprehensive toolkit that "provides backgrounder information for Moon Willow Press’s publishing philosophy, and offers tools for authors, publishers, printers, and others who want to follow responsible practices when using materials from the planet’s remaining forest resources."

This toolkit is a great tool for any publisher or author who wants to learn more about the environmental impacts of books and how they can reduce it. We wanted to learn more about it and conducted an interview with Mary Woodbury, the owner and publisher of Moon Willow Press.

Hello Mary. Can you please tell us about Moon Willow Press?

Hello Mary. Can you please tell us about Moon Willow Press?
Moon Willow Press is just an idea I have had lingering in my head for a long time. I wrote this in the toolkit, but will repeat it here: When I was little, my favorite past-time was sitting beneath a big tree, reading a book. I loved to soak up the big world around me, both imaginatively and intellectually. This picture leaves juxtaposition behind, however, in that nearly four billion trees worldwide are cut down each year for paper -- the same paper used for those lovely books we read.

I love to read, and love books, and wanted to begin publishing, but was faced with the reality that I didn't want to contribute to non-sustainable forestry practices when publishing. I figured I'd follow some models, such as the Green Press Initiative's model of using only either post-consumer paper or FSC-certified paper that I know is coming from responsibly managed and renewable forests. I also wanted to make good books to read. I'm primarily interested in non-fiction that deals with environmental issues. I think it's important to educate the public about what's going on in our world. I also love fiction and poetry, so that will also be a part of my publishing plan.

What brought you to publish the Moon Willow Press Toolkit?

I started working on it as a resource for myself, and then it turned into a big project that I thought would be helpful for other publishers, authors, and presses. I had a lot of information from organizations such as Eco-Libris and many others, and just wanted to combine it all into one place.

The toolkit includes detailed information on the state of forests, especially in Canada - Were surprised of some of the information you found out?

To be honest, as brutal as some environmental facts and figures are, I wasn't too surprised. I was especially moved by how indigenous people who are so dependent on the forest ecosystems in which they live are treated so badly and have their resources and livelihoods turned upside-down. I've always had a soft spot for nature and preserving it, but social injustice tears at my heart too.

What advice you can give to a publisher who wants to go green but don't know where to start?

Well, a lot of it's common sense. Don't be wasteful, and look for alternatives when publishing or even just making decisions for your office. Remember that cost and quality of paper isn't everything. The real costs of using high-grade, non-sustainable fiber reach far beyond your pocket book.

I'm just starting out myself, and will learn a lot along the way, and hopefully can share more later. But there are so many resources on the web about responsible publishing, and a good start is the toolkit and many of the places I reference in there, such as Green Press Initiative, Eco-Libris, Canopy, and Rainforest Alliance.

Why do you think we don't see more publishers that go green? What are the main obstacles?

I think a lot of publishers don't realize that they can go green, that there are options when making paper choices. There are so many green printers out there. I think smaller-run, digitally produced books, e-books, FSC-certified fiber printing, and printing on demand are the wave of the future. At least I hope they are.

I don't think there are any huge obstacles in going green. The only one I can think of is that for large book production, offset printing may be choice and non-post-consumer or non-FSC paper might be cheaper. But again, I think it's helpful to look at the overall savings in our environment rather than a few cents in our pocketbooks. Profit isn't always wallet-based!






















How real is the option to use non-tree resources for paper?

I would like to see more studies on non-tree resources such as wheat, hemp, sisal, flax, kenaf, or other vegetable fibers. As with any natural resource, we always need to think ahead for the sustainability of large production with those fibers too. I think for now using these alternatives is great at least for office solutions, like business cards and calendars. As for the production of books, more studies and trials need to take place.

Do you think bookstores can also play a role in making books more sustainable?
Yes, book stores can take initiative, along with publishing houses and authors, in extolling the virtues of books printed on recycled/FSC papers and in printing processes that are environmentally cleaner, safer, and use less resources - such as nontoxic toners or vegetable/biodegradable inks, recycled aluminum plates, totally chlorine-free processes, and so on.

I think we just stepped into the age where people will start to "get it" about our environment, with the worst environmental disaster in history having seeped to our Gulf as I write this. Everyone is going to be more conscious about our resources and dependencies. Everything from renewable energy and less dependency on oil to conservation and preservation of our endangered and declining natural resources is going to be a high priority. Once consumers realize this, I think bookstores and other industries will gain respect in the eye of the consumer by having good environmental practices, whether in manufacturing or retail.

What about e-books? When do you think we'll be able to consider e-readers as a greener alternative?

I think we should start to consider e-readers as a greener alternative, though I've only read a few studies (mentioned in the toolkit) that found e-readers less of an impact over books. The Cleantech Group, for instance, predicted that e-readers purchased from 2009 to 2012 could prevent 5.3 billion kg of carbon dioxide in 2012, or 9.9 billion kg during the four-year time period. I think more study is needed, but the e-ink technology is a wonderful one, and at least the e-book I have (Kindle DS) feels very much like a book and I consider it a replacement and buy only e-books at this point.

What's your advice for readers who want to green up their reading? What can they do?

There is so much to do! People can seek out green publishers when making book-buying choices, write to publishers with opinions on paper choices, buy e-books instead of paper books, check books out at the library instead of buying new books (many libraries now offer e-book downloads too), and also join planting programs like yours. There are book recyclers, regular paper recyclers, book donations, and so on. I would say it's important to never buy what you are going to throw away, but also never throw away a book. Donate it to charity or your local library.

After writing this toolkit, are you more optimistic or pessimistic?

I'm more optimistic. I get invigorated when I start talking or thinking about my press. In an odd way, my press is really still in the baby stage, because my first paper book won't be published until later this year, and then in 2011 I have accepted three more books for publication so far too. So I haven't done much with the press as of yet, but am very excited about it. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to talk about it. And thanks for your wonderful tree-planting program!

Thank you, Mary. Moon Willow Press's Publishing Toolkit can be downloaded at no charge at http://www.moonwillowpress.com/MWP%20Toolkit.pdf

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

Scholastic make an impressive progress to meet their sustainable paper procurement goals

Good new from Scholastic - the global children's publishing, education and media company announced that significant progress has been made toward the company-wide sustainable goals!

Scholastic announced in January 2008 the following goals for 2012: to increase its purchase of FSC-certified paper for its publications to 30% and its use of recycled paper to 25%, of which 75% would be post-consumer waste.

Their progress toward these goals is impressive as you can learn from the data detailed on their press release (and thanks to Environmental Leader for the link):

FSC-certified paper (goal: 30% of all paper purchasing)

In 2008, Scholastic purchased 89,378 tons of paper of which 17,608 tons, or 19.7%, was FSC-certified, up from 4% in 2007.

Recycled paper (goal: 25%, of which 75% would be post-consumer waste)

In 2008 13,496 tons, or 15.1%, of the paper purchased was produced from recovered fiber, up from 13% in 2007, and of that amount, 11,258 tons, or 83%, was produced from PCW fiber, up from 77% in 2007.

In other words they're already made two thirds of the way toward their goal and have 3 years to do the remaining third. In other words, they can reach it earlier if they'll continue to move forward so rapidly.

Corey Brinkema, President of FSC-US is quoted in the press release saying "Last year Scholastic made an industry-leading commitment to forest stewardship with its goals for sourcing FSC-certified and recycled paper". Is Scholastic's goals can be considered "an industry-leading commitment"? well, the answer is actually Yes.

Scholastic's mean that more of half of the paper they will use in 2012 will come from sustainable resources (FSC-certified or recycled paper). This is more ambitious than the commitments of other big publishers such as Random House or Simon & Schuster (see more details on their commitments on our book publishing page).

Scholastic's commitment is also similar to the one defined by the Green Press Initiative on their Industry Treatise, which was signed so far by 180 publishers, merchants and mills and include among others the following goals:

• Shifting the book industry's collective average use of recycled fiber from an estimated 5% recycled average at present to a 30% recycled industry average by 2012 (a majority to be postconsumer).
• Shifting to book industry’s collective average use of paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or equivalent certification system to 20% by 2012.

The only piece of data missing is how much carbon emissions have Scholastic manage to reduce so far. They don't have a goal in terms of carbon reductions but I'm wondering if following the announcement of the Book Industry Environmental Council last April on goals for cutting the U.S. book industry's greenhouse gas emissions in 20% by 2020 (from a 2006 baseline) with the intent of achieving an 80% reduction by 2050, Scholastic will add it to their set of goals. In all, it looks like they're in a good position to meet and even exceed this goal.

So kudos to Scholastic for their ongoing efforts and achiements and we hope to see many more of the big publishers following suit.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

From Read to Green - win a green book on a joint raffle of neighBORROW and Eco-Libris!

Last May we announced on our partnership with neighBORROW, a community-based website which provides members of local networks access to a collective online catalog of the items they each own individually. neighBORROW is making it easy and worthwhile for people to borrow things they need to use but don't need to own, including books of course.

Today we're happy to update you on a new raffle we're launching together that is part of an initiative entitled 'From Read to Green'.

This initiative aims to raise the consciousness of the waste (inefficiency) as well as the opportunity associated with books that sit around in people's homes after they have been read and to promote and encourage active book sharing and greening as a means to environmental, economic, and social advancement.

In this raffle neighBORROW members that balance out their books by planting trees with Eco-Libris can win great green books that were given by publishers and authors we work with.

The prizes in the raffle include:
Two packages of the 7 books released so far on the Little Green Books SeriesThis prize is a package including the 7 books released so far on the Little Green Books series, gift of the publisher, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing. Little Green Books cover a variety of subjects, teaching children about the dangers of global warming, the benefits of recycling, what they can do to help endangered animals, and much more.

What sets these books apart from other "green" books is that in addition to the themes, the manufacturing of these books is also environmentally friendly. The books are printed on recycled materials with vegetable or soy inks. You can read about the Green Little Books at http://www.simonlittlegreen.com.

20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth by Coach Pedro and Susan Adam-Rita (1 copy)
20 Easy Ways to Help Save the Earth is a book full of great ideas to put into practice that will help you change little things and have a great impact. The main reason for this book is to educate, inspire, and empower children to protect the environment.Written and illustrated in a fun way, Ways to Save the Earth is a book for the whole family to enjoy and share important ideas. We all share this EARTH, so let us take good care of it.

This book is bi-lingual, written both in English and Spanish. You can read more about Coach Pedro and this book at THEIR WEBSITE.

Catch the Wind by Anne Johnson (2 copies)
Catch the Wind takes readers on a journey that will teach them about wind energy and the importance of making environmentally responsible choices. It was developed with input from educators and experts from within the wind industry. Children can follow Nels, an inquisitive boy, as he visits a wind farm with his father to discover the power of the wind.

Diagrams of wind turbines and their components as well as key terms, defined in a glossary, make up the educational content of Catch the Wind. While exploring topics such as renewable energy, the history of wind power, and the steps to building a wind farm, Catch the Wind also raises awareness of wind power as a viable source of clean, renewable energy. More details about the book can be found at THEIR WEBSITE.

Rumer & Qix: The Race to Terra Incognita" by Kathleen Wilson (one copy)
The story follows a 16-year-old apprentice reporter, Rumer, and her sidekick, Qix, who become obsessed with reports by credible witnesses of bizarre nature sightings coming through the indie news feeds. Rumer & Qix have a creeping feeling that things are terribly amiss on their seemingly perfect planet because by the 31st century there are no more natural plants or animals, they've all been replaced by perfect, synthetic replicas by the mega-conglomerates that manufacture 'Syncov'.

The mysterious nature sightings are simply dismissed as lunacy by everyone but Rumer, who soon finds herself enlisted by MoNa (Mother Nature) to help fight an epic battle with Dr. BigCo (head of the mega-congloms) to turn things around on the planet before its too late ... You can read more about the book at THEIR WEBSITE.

Where the Buttercups Grow by Shelley Meyer (one copy)
What happens when a mother-daughter team combine the beauty of buttercups, the power of storytelling and a great respect of nature to create a wonderful book with amazing art? In a beautiful field, the buttercups grow, but when two children have no respect for nature, garbage begins to pile up high.

Are the days of the buttercups over, or will help come to rescue the buttercups from a fate more deadly than illness? See the difference that children can make when they set their mind to it and decide to take care of Mother Earth. Beautifully written by Shelley Meyer and vividly illustrated by her daughter Tessa Meyer, this inspiring and powerful story will find a spot on every child's list of favourites, especially when they can carry the story forward in their own lives and plant their very own buttercups. This wonderful title is doubly special because for every book 1 tree has been planted. More details on the book can be found at THEIR WEBSITE.

Pagans on the Wildside: Campfire Cooking edited by Edain Duguay (one copy)
This eBook, edited by Edain Duguay, is the first eBook of the 'Pagans on the Wildside' series. This informative and interesting eBook contains recipes for cooking breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks with a campfire. Also included is a short campfire story by renowned Bard John David 'Hobbes' Hickey and a Campfire Handfasting, with a menu and recipes.

Within this unique eBook there are also tips and personal experiences, which show the inventiveness and humour of their Pagan and Heathen contributors. You can read more about it at THEIR WEBSITE.

How do you participate in the raffle? it's very simple:
1. Join neighBORROW (http://neighborrow.com/signup.php)
2. Add books to your neighBORROW list of items you would like to lend or donate
3. Go to Eco-Libris website (http://www.ecolibris.net) and balance out books by planting trees on Eco-Libris website (1 Book = 1 Tree = $1).
4. Add on the comments box in the PayPal payment page (the purchase on Eco-Libris website is made via PayPal) the magic word "neigh*borrow." Or you can send an email to info@ecolibris.net following the purchase with "neigh*borrow in the subject.

That's it! You're in! Each purchase, no matter how many books you balance out (the minimum on the website is 5 books), will receive one entry to the random drawing scheduled for September 1st. (we reserve the right to extend the drawing until December 31st, 2009).

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green reading!

We did it! Our Facebook community has grown to over 1,000 members!

We are very happy to announce that we ended a very successful green campaign on Facebook.

The campaign that took place on April focused on our Facebook group and included tree planting, giveaway of green books and an effort to increase our Facebook group to 1000 members.

And we did it! On April 30 we reached our goal and on May 1, we had 1036 members! Now, we're going to plant a tree on behalf of all the 455 new members that joined our group on April, so all together we'll have 455 new trees to be planted with our planting partner AIR in Guatemala.

So it's time to say thank you to all the participants in our campaign - to the new members, to the existing members that encouraged their friends to join, to friends who helped us to spread the word and last but not least - to all of our partners that donated great books for the giveaways we had during the campaign. THANK YOU ALL!

Our work on Facebook though has not ended and we'll continue to provide our growing community with information and updates on our work and quest to make reading more sustainable, photos from the planting areas of course and special offers from our partners.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Happy Birthday: Eco-Libris is one year old!

I hope you all enjoyed a joyful 4th of July. We also had our own birthday celebration this week. Yes, Eco-Libris just turned one year old!

Wow. I can't believe a year passed since it all started..This was a very exciting year for all of us at Eco-Libris. We started one year ago with the vision of making reading more sustainable. We came with a lot of enthusiasm and big love for books and the environment. We wanted to establish a green company that will become an agent of change in the book industry.

One year later I am proud to report that we have balanced out so far 50,005 books, which results in 65,865 new trees that are being planted with our planting partners in developing countries!

And what a busy year it was! Here's a reminder of some of main things that we had on the first year:

• We worked with publishers such as Kedzie Press and BookHouse that wanted to green up titles they published by planting trees for each and every printed copy of them. We also established other collaborations with publishers like Process and Barefoot Books.
  


• We initiated our bookstores program that gives book buyers the opportunity to plant a tree for the book they just bought at the bookstore at the counter. We have now 22 bookstores in the program from the U.S., Canada and Ireland, including Strand Book Store (NY), Hue-Man Bookstore (NY), San Francisco State University (CA) and Black Bear Books (NC).
  
  
• We worked with many eco-conscious readers from all over the world that balanced out through our website the books they read or buy by planting trees.
  


• We collaborated with many authors that wanted to plant trees for their books and used our "One tree planted for this book” stickers (printed on recycled paper) when selling books directly from their website , or on book signing or launch events.
  


• We had a joint campaign with Raincoast Books, the Canadian publisher and distributor.
  


• We started a partership with Chegg, the textbook rental service that plant a tree for every textbook students rent with this great service.
  


• We initiated a collaboration with BookMooch, the online book swapping community, and did with them a great promotion of green books on Earth Day.
  


• We became a member of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of Greater Philadelphia.
  


• We worked hard to increase the awareness in the need of change in the book industry, through this blog, by offering resources on our website, interviews in the media, starting communication with local organizations of publishers and bookstores, joint work with literature events, participation in green fairs, and establishing connections with libraries, green organizations and companies and anyone who wanted to learn more why and how reading should be made more sustainable.
  


• And of course, we started this blog, that in time became an important source of news and views in the field of green reading. We prepared special green book guides, reviewed many green-themed books, covered many relevant issues, had special coverage on a report on he industry's footprint, started 'my green bookshelf' series and mainly had a lot of fun!

And what's next? we have a lot of of work in front of us! We are going to work harder on the second year to balance out more and more books, expand globally and bring the change we're looking for - make books greener and move towards sustainable reading!

I would like to take this opportunity and thank everyone involved in our efforts - from the dedicated eco-conscious readers that balance out their books with us, through our business partners that take action to support the environment all the way to our wonderful planting partners that are doing such a great job in planting the trees in developing countries.

And I'm happy to add a photo that is fresh from the oven. It just arrived from our planting partner AIR that worked last month on planting trees in Guatemala, some of them with the support of Eco-Libris, as you can see from the photo below that were provided to by AIR.

AIR volunteers plant trees that were purchased with the support of Eco-Libris in Itzapa, Guatemalla. The species planted are Pino Triste (Pseudotrobus); Fresno (Fraxinus Undei); Ilamo, aka Aliso (Alnus jourulensis); and Gravilea (Gravilea Robusta).

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

World's largest publisher of children's books goes green

While we were concentrating last week on green mooching, Scholastic, the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books, announced new steps it intends to take to go green.

I learned about the announcement from Greenbiz.com and went to check the source itself. Scholastic reported in a news release on its new green policy that is meant to "further strengthening its sustainable paper procurement practices".

Scholastic's policy is based on a five-year goal to increase its publication paper purchase of FSC-certified paper to 30% and its use of recycled paper to 25%, of which 75% will be post-consumer waste.

Scholastic worked together with the Rainforest Alliance, the Green Press Initiative and other environmental organizations to set these goals, which Scholastic says are "industry-leading goals".
Are they?

I wasn't sure so I sat down and made a comparison with two other green initiatives of big publishers (Random House and Simon & Schuster) and the Book Industry Treatise initiated by the Green Press Initiative. I checked out the two most important parts in these initiatives - usage of recycled paper and FSC paper. I also checked to what year they set their goals.

And here are the results:

As you can see from the table above, although Scholastic is the last one to set up green goals, it set up very bold goals in comparison with the others. None of the other three match Scholastic when it comes to the usage of FSC paper, and it lags only in 5% behind the treatise and Random House with regards to the usage of recycled paper.

Still, I must say that if they would have gone for a goal of 30% recycled paper content on 2012, it would be much easier to agree that their goals are industry leading ones. You have to remember that recycled paper is a better alternative to virgin paper than FSC paper and therefore more important as a goal.

One more point I would like to emphasize is that unlike the treatise and S&S, there's no commitment of Scholastic to stop using paper that may contain fiber from endangered and old-growth forest areas.

All in all, I think this is a very important step and I believe that the way Scholastic has done in the last couple of years represents the whole book industry.

Although it used recycled paper for many of its books in the past, Scholastic drew fire from some environmental groups in 2005 when it published Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. Greenpeace, in particular, complained Scholastic wasn’t using enough recycled paper and urged consumers to boycott Scholastic and to purchase the novel from Raincoast Books, the Canadian publisher, which printed the Canadian edition of the book on recycled paper.

In 2007, things changed and Scholastic worked together with the Rainforest Alliance to green up the final part of Harry Potter: every 784-page copy of Harry's final adventure contained at least 30% recycled fiber. On top of that, almost two-thirds of the 15,100 tones of paper used were certified sustainable (FSC). There were also 100,000 copies of the "deluxe edition" which were only made from recycled paper, with the factory powered from renewable sources.

And now Scholastic is taking one more important step forward and set a policy for all of its operations. This is definitely the way we think all publishers should go and of course we hope to see bolder goals in the future that will make reading truly sustainable.

Oh, and I almost forgot this part, which is also very important: "Along with the new policy announcement, Scholastic today launched its new, interactive “green” website for kids called Scholastic ACT GREEN! at www.scholastic.com/actgreen." The site is designed to educate kids about climate change and sustainability and inspire them to take action to preserve the planet. Way to go!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

A special green offer for readers of Oprah's Book Club new selection

I read yesterday on USA TODAY on Oprah Winfrey's book club new selection - The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. This is a great book and a great choice!

Eco-Libris believes that this 973-pages book should not be only a celebration of a great book and the joy of reading, but also an opportunity to discuss the urgent need in sustainable reading, which does not harm the environment. I read in the article that New American Library has printed 612,000 new "deluxe" Oprah editions. That's a lot of paper and a lot of trees that are cut down for this special edition.

Eco-Libris aims to raise the awareness to the environmental impacts of using paper for the production of books and for the need in printing books in an eco-friendly manner.

Therefore, we are having a special offer for all the eco-conscious readers out there that want to buy the new edition of the book:

If you buy the book and you want to help the environment, please send us an email to info@ecolibris.net with your address and the first sentence of Chapter 4 (just to show us you bought the book..). Eco-Libris will balance out the book for the first 50 people who email us with the right sentence.

It means that one tree will be planted by our planting partners to balance out the paper used for the book. And we will send you our sticker made of recycled paper saying “One tree planted for this book” you can later proudly display on the book's sleeve showing your commitment to the environment. And yes, we'll send it in an envelope made of recycled paper.

We truly hope to see Oprah's book club assist in promoting sustainable reading in the same way it helped with a great success to promote reading.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: a great green gift for the holidays!

Joe Wikert and the future of the publishing industry

I haven't recommended for a while on a bookish website, and therefore I was happy when I learned few days ago about Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog.

For anyone who is interested in the future of the book publishing industry (and I definitely am), Joe Wikert's blog is a great place to get information and news from an insider perspective - Wilkert is a Vice President and Executive Publisher in the Professional/Trade division of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Only on this month's posts you can learn on issues such as print on demand (POD), future of textbooks, e-books, Microsoft's Live Book search program, and more.

The blog has a clear techie orientation, but even those who are not very interested in new media formats can benefit from it. Sustainable reading is about awareness, vision, leadership and economics, but also about technology.

So you're welcome to check it out. I will certainly will.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!