'Planet Earth Gets Well' is going green with Eco-Libris!

We are always happy to collaborate with authors and especially with an author of a book with such an optimistic title: 'Planet Earth Gets Well'.

The author of the book, Madeline Kaplan, is working now with Eco-Libris to green up this wonderful green children's book. A tree will be planted for every copy sold at the book signing events and at other promotional sales. Readers who will buy the book on these events will also receive our sticker with their book, saying "One tree planted for this book".

So what is this book all about? well, here a short description from the publisher's website (next week you're promised to have a full review and a give away of one copy!):

Readers of all ages will delight in this earthy and wildly fun children's tale that has a big message on the importance of environmental awareness. Moving, vast, and refreshingly candid, Planet Earth Gets Well by new author Madeline Kaplan helps young readers think proactively about their environment and pinpoints how to initiate meaningful change in order to make Planet Earth a healthier place.

When Planet Earth gets the sniffles, Mother Nature challenges each of us to retract our gluttonous ways. She instructs the Planet Earth to take better care of himself which means all humans must make big changes about key issues like global warming, the melting of polar ice caps, deforestation and energy depletion. Once Planet Earth sneezes, Mother Nature listens and helps each and every one of us learn how to be good to our dear, old friend.

This educational reader is wholly unique in the ways that matter-think globally, think green, and act accordingly!

Book details:

Author: Madeline Kaplan

Madeline Kaplan holds a B.A. in English literature and an M.B.A from Baruch College. She has published various business articles, but her three grandchildren inspired the writing of Planet Earth Gets Well, her first children's book. She lives with her husband in New York and Connecticut.

Illustrator: Taillefer Long
Publisher: BookSurge Publishing
Publication Date: April 20, 2008

We are very happy to work with Madeline Kaplan on a book that promotes responsibility and have a positive message that parents can pass onto their children. I hope that the book will inspire both parents and children to go green, especially now when it work with Eco-Libris to green it up! You can find the book on Amazon.com.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Who's on Plenty Magazine's state-by-state guide to green hotspots?

I always look for a good green guide whenever I am going somewhere so to learn what green hotspots I can visit. Actually, I'm still waiting for the guide that we'll give me updated info on the green places in Chicago, Miami or any other of the major big cities. In the meantime, Plenty Magazine offers its version of state-by-state guide to green hotspots.

Kimberly Fusaro and Madhu Puri brings you several dozen of our favorite spots around the United States, showing you that you don't have to venture far from home to find eco-friendly places to eat, shop, and play.

I was happy to find new recommendations on places I didn't know about. I also found two bookstores on the guide, including our friends at Doylestown Bookshop in Pennsylvania that are taking part in our bookstores program, which also got a mention! (the other one is the Lower East Side Girls Club Fair Trade Gift Shop and Book Store) Here's what's written about Doylestown Bookshop:

Big, bad independent bookstore. Partner with Eco-Libris, which plants trees for books. 16 S. Main St., Doylestown, PA. 215-230-7610; doylestownbookshop.com

So you're welcome to check this guide, add your own recommendations at the end and of course visit and enjoy these great green hotspots. And if you know of any other good green local guides, please feel free to share it with us!

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Green Options: Is It Green?

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Jake Kulju on July 16 on EcoLocalizer. Today's post is about a great new green website that provides a unique local service.

Rather, IzzitGreen.com, the new Boston-based web site is asking that question all over the city. Regular columns, reviews and business spotlights give information about how green the places Bostonians frequent really are.

Users can search for businesses by name, or they can search neighborhoods for businesses that are on IzzitGreen's green list. One of the web site's most helpful aspects is its "Guides" page. From pizza places to used bookstores, IzzitGreen posts information about the percentage of green businesses there are in each category, where you can find the ones that are green, and they go for the dirty details...or clean in this case.

For example, if you own a business in Boston, chances are that IzzitGreen has found out what kind of lightbulbs you use, whether or not you recycle any of the materials your business or your employers use and will have a comment on what working conditions are like. And that's just the beginning of the list.

A lively discussion forum will soon be debuting on the site. For now, all registered users are listed under the People section with varying levels of contact information.

Monday's green books series: Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash - The True Cost of Paper

Our book this week on Monday's green books will take you on a trail that we find one of the most interesting and significant ones in our life: the paper trail.

Our book for today is:

Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash - The True Cost of Paper

Author: Mandy Haggith

Mandy Haggith is a freelance writer, researcher and activist. She has spent the past decade campaigning for the world’s forests, including lobbying at the United Nations, working as a consultant for Greenpeace and WWF and writing articles for Pulp and Paper International and Resurgence magazine.

Publisher: Virgin Books

Published on: July 3, 2008

What it is about (from the publisher's website): Paper charts the course of our lives, from the medical sheets in maternity wards to our death certificates. We write on it, package things in it, use it as currency and blow our noses on it. Yet our dependence on this seemingly ‘green’ product is damaging our planet and creating mountains of unnecessary waste.

Join Mandy Haggith on a journey to the heart of the global paper industry, travelling from the pristine forests and managed plantations of Canada, Russia and Indonesia to the pulp mills and paper factories of China and Britain, and the end users in businesses, governments, schools and homes throughout the world.

Pursuing the paper trail from forest to landfill, she uncovers the origins, multiple uses and disposal of this everyday product and gives a fascinating new perspective on the paper industry’s dirtiest secrets, from environmental devastation to human rights abuses. You’ll discover the truth about the paper we use every day and the simple, practical steps you can take to minimise your own paper trail.

Why you should get it:
Mandy Haggith took on herself a very important quest: connecting the dots. She wants to get people to better understand the connection between the paper we use and its origins - forests, many of them ancient and endangered ones.

In a way, our perception of paper today is very similar to the perception of cigarettes 30-40 years ago, when people didn't know the consequences of smoking and saw it as a habit and natural part of their life. Hence, I see Hagith like the people who made the connection between cigarettes and cancer publicly known.

It's not that we don't know that paper come from trees. That's not the problem. The problem is that many don't have the full picture in front of them and that's where Haggith's book tries to fill in the void, providing readers with ALL the information about the way the paper do before it gets to your printer or the copy machine at the office.

I believe the importance of the book stems from three main factors:

1. Her research is not based only on reading books at the library and sitting in front of the computer, but mainly on the journeys to forests all over the world, from China and Russia to Canada and Indonesia. I think that her research and activism capabilities create the perfect match for such a mission.

2. It brings many facts and helps to clarify misconceptions and false perceptions people and businesses have which influence the way they think and act. She explained one example to the Independent lately: "No one likes to think of trees being felled, but many of us have a cosy image in our heads that it all comes from recycling or "sustainable" woodlands growing in neat rows, perhaps somewhere in Sweden. It's a myth. Globally, 70 per cent of the 335 million tons of paper the world uses each year comes from natural, un-farmed sources. In Canada, the UK's biggest source of pulp, 90 per cent of its output comes directly from its ancient forests."

3. Haggith not only present the problem, but also solutions, from reducing the usage of paper as whole to increasing the usage of recycled paper. And the bottom line is optimistic - we can change our habits and get over the long addiction to virgin paper.

In Eco-Libris we deal with these issues on daily basis in our fight to make reading more sustainable, and therefore I think it's great to have a book such as this one that can become an important tool in the long fight to reduce impacts of paper production and make sure that we can enjoy the advantages of paper without destroying our forests.

If you're looking for other interesting green books, you are invited to check out our green books page on our website's green resources section.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Did you check Eco-Libris' website lately?

Did you have the chance to check lately our website, read about our operations and balance out some of your books by planting trees? I hope you did and if you didn't you're welcome to check it now.

Eco-Libris website is now not only a place where you can balance out books, but also a great source of information on issues related to green reading. Here are some of the materials you can find in our website:

- Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry - 3-part coverage of the the new report on the book industry's environmental footprint.

- E-books vs. paper books - a collection of links to articles, researchers and other information sources that relate to the ongoing debate about the environmental advantages of e-books.

- The Holiday Green Gift Guide for Book Lovers

- Green books reviewed and covered on Eco-Libris blog

- Green Articles - a collection of links to articles that cover issues related to sustainable reading.

And of course, don't forget to help us spreading the word on Eco-Libris by telling your friends about us. Thanks!

Have a great week,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

And the winner is..

Thank you for all the participants in our giveaway of the new book 'Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living' we reviewed last Monday. We got great ideas, and I must say it was also a good opportunity to check out what women think that motivates men (hint: 'no sex' threat or 'more sex' incentive will do the work :-).

The winning offer is the one of the reader Alice H. who suggested the following: I think the best way is to make it simple and easy - like have a recycling tub clearly labelled right next to the garbage. And to compliment a lot when they do something green." Simple with positive compliments? I buy it!

Congratulations, Alice and thank you to all the other participants for the great advice. I hope your partners will follow suit no matter what strategy you choose.

And don't forget to keep following our giveaways. We have many more green books to review and give away so stay tuned.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

How about a Chocolate Tour in Belize with SHI?

Love chocolate? interested in a sustainable tour in Belize that is focusing on the ecology, history and culture of chocolate and will also give you the opportunity to plant Cacao trees? Well, we've got some info for you - our planting partner Sustainable Harvest International has few more spots left in its upcoming Sustainable Chocolate Tour to Belize in what promises to be an amazing (and delicious!) adventure!

This trip is part of the Smaller World Program, which was launched by SHI to increase cultural understanding and empower the global community to create a more equitable and sustainable world. The dates for the trip are September 4 - 11, 2008 and Florence Reed, SHI's founder and president, will lead it alongside SHI local Belizean staff and families.

This trip will be both fun and educational, with opportunities to work side-by-side with SHI participant families who are growing cacao (the plant that produces chocolate) in sustainable multi-story forest plots. Participants will tour family farms and take part in traditional Mayan chocolate production, from tree planting to roasting cacao beans on wood-conserving stoves.


Organic Chocolate Belize

Families working with Sustainable Harvest International's programs in Central America are growing Cacao (what chocolate is made from) in multi-story shade forests. These forests protect soils and provide a home for wildlife. In fact, we find that aprox. 85% of the birds that have left deforested areas are returning to these "forest gardens."

Cacao is a valuable cash crop that enables the families working with SHI's programs to increase their incomes while protecting the environment. SHI's local extensionists provide families with materials and training in techniques like pruning which can increase cacao production by as much as 70%.

Not convinced yet? here is the daily schedule of the trip (from SHI website):

Day 1: Arrival: Fly into Punta Gorda, travel by boat up the lush Moho River to Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-lodge partnering with SHI to host demonstration plots and training workshops. Get settled in one of their beautiful thatched roofed cabanas before joining the group for dinner in the main lodge.

Day 2: The History, Culture and Creation of Chocolate: Organic Farm Tour and Chocolate Workshop with local SHI participant families.

Day 3: Planting Hope:Plant cacao and other forest trees. Take part in agroforestry and reforestation projects on family farms that will restore watersheds, provide animal habitat, protect soil and produce food and income for families.

Day 4: Rocket Stove Workshop:Work side-by-side with local staff and families to construct wood-conserving rocket stoves. These stoves can be used to roast small batches of cacao and to cook family meals. They use 1/4 of the amount of firewood as an open fireplace and greatly reduce toxic smoke in the home. In the afternoon, return to the lodge for some free time to explore the site, swim and relax.

Day 5: Family Gardens and Tree Nurseries: Tour family and school gardens and tree nurseries. Learn about the importance of sustainable planting techniques, compost, grafting, natural pest control and seed-saving.

Day 6: Work projects and sightseeing:In the morning we'll finish up work projects with local families before taking an afternoon waterfall excursion.

Day 7: Cooperatives and Marketing: Visit with representatives from the Toledo Cacao Growers Association and Greens and Black's Organic Chocolate Company. You'll see how fair trade and organic cacao make it from the small farm to you.

Day 8: Departure: Return home or continue traveling on your own.

If you wonders how much this delightful trip costs, it's $2,500, which includes a $500 donation to the local program, all in-country travel expenses, meals, double occupancy accommodations at Cotton Tree Lodge, sight-seeing tours, translation, staff support and materials.

Space is limited. So if you're interested to reserve your spot or looking for further information, please call SHI office at 207-669-8254.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

* photos are courtesy of Sustainable Harvest International (SHI)