Our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 10

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day!

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 10:

Planting trees for books provides a path to planting ideas for creativity - Velvet

Thank you Velvet for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Velvet, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the audiobook Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx.

Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx - "Bird Cloud" is the name Annie Proulx gave to 640 acres of Wyoming wetlands and prairie and four-hundred-foot cliffs plunging down to the North Platte River. On the day she first visited, a cloud in the shape of a bird hung in the evening sky. Proulx also saw pelicans, bald eagles, golden eagles, great blue herons, ravens, scores of bluebirds, harriers, kestrels, elk, deer and a dozen antelope. She fell in love with the land, then owned by the Nature Conservancy, and she knew what she wanted to build on it—a house in harmony with her work, her appetites and her character, a library surrounded by bedrooms and a kitchen.

Proulx's first work of nonfiction in more than twenty years, Bird Cloud is the story of designing and constructing that house—with its solar panels, Japanese soak tub, concrete floor and elk horn handles on kitchen cabinets. It is also an enthralling natural history and archaeology of the region—inhabited for millennia by Ute, Arapaho and Shoshone Indians— and a family history, going back to nineteenth-century Mississippi riverboat captains and Canadian settlers.

Proulx, a writer with extraordinary powers of observation and compassion, here turns her lens on herself. We understand how she came to be living in a house surrounded by wilderness, with shelves for thousands of books and long worktables on which to heap manuscripts, research materials and maps, and how she came to be one of the great American writers of her time. Bird Cloud is magnificent.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

On the future of ebook rental - An interview with George Burke, CEO of eBook Fling

Last week eBook Fling was finally launched, offering one of the most interesting marketplaces in a new emerging area - e-book rental.

What is eBook Fling? Here's their description:
A free service where readers across the nation can swap ebooks by simply utilizing the lending capability of the Kindle & Nook books they already own. Wow. How does it work? Anyone with access to the Kindle & Nook apps can borrow and read an unlimited amount of ebooks for free, as long as they're contributing their own Nook or Kindle books. Those without ebooks to lend can purchase a $1.99 credit to borrow any book from an ebookflinger. Lenders earn credits to then borrow other books.

In other words, if you have a Nook or Kindle and you want to take advantage of their option to borrow (and lend) ebooks, but you don't know where you can find other people you can swap ebooks with, this is your place. They're not the first one to offer this service and of course you have many libraries that now offer the option to borrow ebooks, but still it looks like this is the most serious attempt so far to build an efficient ebook rental marketplace. Therefore it has a great potential to shape the future of an interesting part of the ebook market.

The people behind eBook Fling are our good friends from BookSwim with whom we partnered many times in the past. We wanted to learn more about the new venture and asked George Burke, the founder and CEO of BookSwim to join us for a short interview, and here it is:

Hi George. What's your vision for eBook Fling in five years? Do you see it as a complementary service to BookSwim or one that intends to replace BookSwim eventually when ereading will dominate the book marketplace?
I do believe lateral growth can happen world wide, assuming B&N and Amazon release the service in other countries. I also see other popular ebook platforms (like Apple's iBooks and Google Books) launching with lending capabilities, making the service available to more readers.

I truly see this type of service as a testing ground for authors and publishers, perhaps become a paid marketing outlet to reach readers directly. How (or if) to integrate with BookSwim is currently up-in-the-air.

Did you receive any feedback from authors or publishers? Are they for or against a rental service of ebooks?
Honestly, I haven't heard much from authors about what they think. It's a great opportunity for a try-before-you-buy, which actually benefits both readers and (good) authors.by allowing readers to try out something new they wouldn't otherwise have purchased. The author gets a type of exposure that was never possible previously. It's gotta be better than the ridiculous ebook promotion that simply gives away the book for free; not a loan, not a rental, not temporary, but a totally free ebook. This doesn't sound sustainable.

What are the main benefits for readers that will use eBook Fling?

It's a great opportunity for a try-before-you-buy, which actually benefits both readers and (good) authors.

What is your goal from a business point of view (in terms of users and revenue)?
Good question... I don't have much insight into what the ceiling could be. Still only 10% of avid readers even own an e-reading device. This whole model is risky because publishers could take a stand against Kindle and Nook lending all together. But if they begin embrace it as a result of sales from lending, this is going to be one exciting ride.

By the way, what do you think on the new restrictions of HarperCollins on the number of times their ebooks can be checked out in librarians?

I was never too familiar on how the system worked, but had assumed there were licensing limitations and was surprised that something like the 26-lend limit wasn't already in place. I'm told the reason for implementing this was to mimic the lifespan of a physical book, however I'm told that libraries RARELY throw out inventory due to damage and can easily squeeze 50 turns out of 1 copy.

I wouldn't think the 26-lend limit would be so bad, except a librarian friend of mine said the 26 lends must be shared with all sister libraries in the network, so in cases like this, I can see where the limitation can be burdensome to a library (or library network for that matter).

Thank you George and good luck! For more information on eBookFling visit http://ebookfling.com/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 9

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 9:

To advance both sustainable living in today's rapidly growing and information dense world, and the transition of the paper publishing industry from one that exploits natural resources to one that cares for and nurtures these resources. This will contribute to ensuring intergenerational equity by sustaining the planet's natural environments, alongside the capability of future generations to continue enjoying reading paper books (there's something special about reading from paper, as opposed to electronics, and I would love for my children and theirs to experience this). - Aleta

Thank you Aleta for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Aleta, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the audiobook Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama.

Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama - Meditations and Spiritual Wisdom on Achieving Lasting Happiness from His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama inspired millions around the world with his wisdom and compassion in The Art of Happiness. Now, in The Essence of Happiness, some of His Holiness’s most unforgettable insights are presented in a meditative audiobook that listeners will return to again and again. Offering sage advice on defeating day-to-day depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, and other emotions that get in the way of true happiness, The Essence of Happiness contains transforming reflections on overcoming suffering and obstacles to create a fulfilled, joyous life.

The Essence of Happiness is truly an indispensable guide for living.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day 2011 - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 8

We continue with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.
This post was supposed to be published yesterday so I apologize for the delay (well, it was Sunday..).

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 8:

Plant a tree to listen to the gentle rustle of leaves blowing in the wind on a warm spring or summer day while reading a book! - Kevin

Thank you Kevin for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Kevin, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the audiobook Gideon's War by Howard Gordon.

Gideon's War - Howard Gordon - the longtime executive producer of the hit TV series — makes his fiction debut with a tale of political intrigue and international terrorism. Gideon Davis has just 48 hours to bring his rogue agent brother in—before a twisted global conspiracy turns deadly.

GIDEON DAVIS, whose behind-the-scenes negotiating skills have earned him the role of peacemaker in conflicts around the globe, knows more about hush-hush discussions in Capitol corridors than he does about hand-to-hand combat. But his more practical, tactical skills come into play when he’s called on by family friend and government bigwig Earl Parker to chaperone a rogue agent from Southeast Asia to D.C. The agent, Tillman Davis, has promised to turn himself in— but only to his brother, Gideon.

Although the two brothers have been estranged for years, Gideon cannot fathom how his brother could have turned into so ruthless a man. But when the plan for Tillman’s surrender goes awry and Earl Parker is taken hostage, Gideon is forced to embrace his dark side in order to evade hostile locals in war-torn Mohan to make his way to the Obelisk—the multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art oil rig that has been seized by terrorists led by Tillman himself. It is with the help of oil rig manager Kate Murphy that Gideon launches an unlikely one-man rescue.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

An article on Subterranean Books provides a glimpse to the difficulties independent bookstores face and a cooperative effort to address them

I would like to warmly recommend on a very interesting article featuring Subterranean Books, one of the bookstores on our bookstore program, as well as other bookstores in in St. Louis, Missouri.

The article is describing the difficulties Subterranean Books and the other bookstores are dealing with and the way they try to organize together to find ways to thrive in this difficult environment.

Unfortunately, the difficulty environment is not unique just to St. Louis, MI, but is (almost) everywhere when it comes to bookstores, independent ones as well the big chains. Therefore this article on the Riverfront Times can be seen as a unique and frank picture of bookstores in general, especially indie ones. Beyond that, it is showing the value of a cooperative effort to solve problems, and the unique spirit of bookstore owners that might be their best weapon in the war on their future.

This is a long article, but if you're a book lover, it worth every minute of your time! You can find it at http://alturl.com/k368j.

Subterranean Books is taking part in our bookstore program, which means that customers at the store can plant a tree for every book they buy there and receive our sticker at the counter!

Subterranean Books is located at 6275 Delmar Blvd. and can be found on the Web at http://store.subbooks.com. You can also follow them on twitter and Facebook.



Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 7

We continue today with our Earth Day campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers in celebration of the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we publish here the 41 best replies we receive, one reply a day. All replies are gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 7:

Though I believe it's important to not only read but also preserve the real, physical book, I don't believe it's right to fell old growth forests to fill my shelves. Also, as an author, I want people to have the option to read my new book in the form that has served humans well for centuries. That's why I support Eco-Libris. Long live books and forests! - Kelly

Thank you Kelly for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Kelly, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

Every day we'll give further details on one of the prizes. Today we present you with the audiobook American Assassin by Vince Flynn:

American Assassin by Vince Flynn - #1 New York Times bestseling author Vince Flynn introduces the young Mitch Rapp on his first assignment, a mission of vengeance that made him a CIA superagent— and a terrorist's worst nightmare.

Two decades after the Cold War, CIA Operations Director Thomas Stansfield must prepare his people for the next conflict. The rise of Islamic terrorism is coming, and it needs to be met abroad before it reaches America's shores. Stansfield directs his protÉgÉe, Irene Kennedy, and his old colleague, Stan Hurley, to form a new group of clandestine operatives—men who do not exist—who will work outside the normal chain of command. Kennedy finds the ideal candidate in the wake of the Pan Am Lockerbie bombing terrorist attack. . . .

Among the thousands of family and friends grieving the victims is Mitch Rapp, a gifted college athlete, who wants only one thing: retribution. Six months of intense training prepare him to bring the war to the enemy's doorstep, and he does so with brutal efficiency, leaving a trail of bodies from Istanbul and across Europe, to Beirut. But there, the hunter becomes the hunted: the enemy has prepared a trap, and the American assassin will need every ounce of skill and cunning if he is to survive the warravaged city and its deadly terrorist factions.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Comparing between the iPad and the iPad 2 from a green perspective

Last week the environmental report of the iPad 2, where we learned that its carbon footprint is 105 kg CO2e, a reduction of 19.2% comparing to the footprint of the first model.

On Tuesday we started to look into the new report and showed what it means in terms of breakeven point with paper books. Today, in the second part of our analysis, we try to find out what the real "green" differences between the two models of the iPad are.

We'll look at each of the components of the life cycle analysis that Apple did to determine the carbon footprint of the iPad and the iPad 2 - production, transport, customer use and recycling. We'll also look into other specifications that Apple emphasizes on its report.

Production:
Carbon footprint of the iPad - 75.4 kg CO2e
Carbon footprint of the iPad 2 - 63 kg CO2e
Change: -16.4%

The iPad 2 is thinner and lighter than the original iPad. In terms of materials Apple mentions that "iPad 2 is even more material efficient than the original iPad, consuming up to 18 percent less material. The chart below details the materials used for iPad 2."

Here you can see the materials used for the iPad 2 (source: Apple's report):

And here are the materials used for the first iPad (source: Apple's report)

Here's a comparison of the data presented in these graphs (weight, in grams):

	iPad	iPad 2	Change
Display	155	140	-9.7%
Plastic	55	17	-69.1%
Other metals	40	25	-37.5%
Circuit boards	45	38	-15.6%
Glass	155	105	-32.3%
Battery	155	130	-16.1%
Aluminum	125	135	8.0%

It's interesting to see that the biggest changes are with the plastic and other metals and also that unlike the other components, the usage of aluminum actually increased in the iPad 2 in 8%. I believe that the efficient use of materials is the main reason for the reduction in the production's footprint. I also believe that this is also a place where Apple actaully saved money while reducing its product's carbon footprint.

Transport:
Carbon footprint of the iPad - 14.3 kg CO2e
Carbon footprint of the iPad 2 - 10.5 kg CO2e
Change: -26.6%

There's no explanation in the report where this reduction is coming from. One option this reduction is due to further efficiency in packaging - iPad 2 retail packaging consumes 51 percent
less material, which allows "up to 38 percent more units to be transported in an airline shipping container compared with the original iPad".

Apple also mentions that"the packaging for iPad 2 is highly recyclable. It uses corrugated cardboard made from a minimum of 28 percent post-consumer recycled content, and molded fiber made entirely from recycled content."

On the report of the first iPad, Apple wrote: "The packaging for iPad is almost entirely recyclable and uses corrugate cardboard made from a minimum of 33 percent post-consumer recycled content. In addition, its packaging is extremely material efficient, allowing more units to be transported in a single shipping container. "

As you can see, the percentage of post-consumer recycled content in the corrugated cardboard actually dropped from 33 to 28, although with the iPad 2, Apple mentions that the molded fiber made entirely from recycled content whereas in the first report it doesn't mention this fiber at all.

Alternatively, maybe Apple started using hybrid trucks?

Customer use
Carbon footprint of the iPad - 39 kg CO2e
Carbon footprint of the iPad 2 - 30.45 kg CO2e
Change: -21.9%

Apple is presenting in the reports information on the energy efficiency usage, which should be the most relevant component to this part:

Energy efficiency in the iPad 2:
iPad 2 uses power-efficient components and software that intelligently manages
power consumption. In addition, the iPad 10W USB Power Adapter outperforms the
stringent requirements of the ENERGY STAR specification for external power supplies.
The following table details the power consumed by iPad 2 in different use modes.

Power Consumption for iPad 2 (Wi-Fi + 3G)
Mode 100V 115V 230V
Sleep 0.46W 0.41W 0.45W
Idle—Display on 3.10W 3.08W 3.16W
Power adapter, no-load 0.07W 0.07W 0.09W
Power adapter efficiency 80.9% 80.8% 79.9%

Energy efficiency in the first iPad:
iPad uses power-efficient components and software that intelligently manages power consumption. In addition, the iPad 10W USB Power Adapter outperforms the stringent requirements of the ENERGY STAR specification for external power supplies. The following table details the power consumed by iPad in different use modes.

Power Consumption for iPad (Wi-Fi + 3G)
Mode 100V 115V 230V
Sleep 0.42W 0.43W 0.41W
Idle—Display on 2.97W 2.96W 3.04W
Power adapter, no-load 0.07W 0.07W 0.09W
Power adapter efficiency 80.9% 80.8% 79.9%

I have to admit that I am not sure yet how this data, showing relatively modest power consumption reductions is translated into a 22% reduction in the carbon footprint of customer use. Did I miss something here?

Recycling:
Carbon footprint of the iPad - 1.3 kg CO2e
Carbon footprint of the iPad 2 - 1.05 kg CO2e
Change: -19.2%

In both cases Apple offers the same description:
Through ultra-efficient design and use of highly recyclable materials, Apple has minimized material waste at the product’s end of life. In addition, Apple offers and participates in various product take-back and recycling programs in 95 percent of the regions where Apple products are sold. All products are processed in the country or region in which they are collected. For more information on how to take advantage of these programs, visit www.apple.com/environment/recycling/.

Strangely, if you go to this webpage, you will find that Apple has no mention of the iPad there, but only computers, displays, iPods and mobile phones. Even if we assume that the iPad has similar recycle offering as the iPod (and I have to say I'm not so sure about it), it's still far from being convenient or attractive - you can either send your old device by mail or bring it to one of Apple's stores and get 10% discount when purchasing a new one. So the bottom line is that Apple, even though it minimize the material waste by using materials more efficiently still doesn't make a real effort to make sure the first model or the second model of the iPad won't end their life eventually in the landfill.

Apple's commitment to the environment:
There's an introduction to the report where Apple is emphasizing its commitment imporving the environmental performance of its products. This part (see below) hasn't changed and the text in the iPad 2 report is identical to the text in the iPad report.

Apple believes that improving the environmental performance of our business starts with our products. The careful environmental management of our products throughout their life cycles includes controlling the quantity and type of materials used in their manufacture, improving their energy efficiency, and designing them for better recyclability.

Restricted substances:
Comparing between the two reports, we find this part identical. In both cases Apple mentions that "
Apple has long taken a leadership role in restricting harmful substances from itsproducts and packaging. As part of this strategy, all Apple products comply with the strict European Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, also known as the RoHS Directive. Examples of materials restricted by RoHS include lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and PBB and PBDE brominated flame retardants (BFRs)."

According to the reports, both the iPad and the iPad 2 go even further than the requirements of the RoHS Directive by incorporating the following more aggressive restrictions:
• Mercury-free LED-backlit display
• Arsenic-free display glass
• Brominated flame retardant (BFR)−free
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)−free

General green specs:
Apple is providing a summary of the "green" specs in each report under "Environmental Status report". This report is identical for both models and include the following:

• Arsenic-free display glass
• Brominated flame retardant-free
• Mercury-free LED backlit display
• PVC-free
• Recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
• Power adapter outperforms strictest global energy efficiency standards

And finally, here's a summary of the changes in the carbon footprint of each component:

	iPad	iPad 2	Change
Production	75.4	63	-16.4%
Transport	14.3	10.5	-26.6%
Customer use	39	30.45	-21.9%
Recycling	1.3	1.05	-19.2%
Carbon footprint:	130	105	-19.2%

More resources on how green is the iPad can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ipad.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!