Will the new international fund save the Amazon?

Interesting news from Brazil (Thanks to Treehugger for the update): yesterday President Lula has launched in Rio De Janeiro an international fund to fight deforestation of the Amazon and support conservation and sustainable development.

The fund will seek donations worldwide with the goal of raising 21 billion dollars by 2021. There's also a cap for contributions in the first year - 1 billion dollars. The first contribution was already made last September by Norway that pledged to donate 100 million dollars.

Is this good news? in a way it is. Firstly, as reported by the BBC, Greenpeace in Brazil said that the country was accepting the link between global warming and preserving the forest for the first time. "For a long time, Brazil was violently opposed to this, insisting fossil fuel was to blame," said Sergio Leitao, director of public policies for Greenpeace Brazil. "That's true, historically speaking, but today forests play an important role." I think it's important as even it's only on a declarative level, it indicates that Brazil understands it can no longer play the denial game. This era is over.

Also, I hope there's going to be a good use for the money. According to Yahoo! news, the fund will promote alternatives to forest-clearing for people living in the Amazon and will finance conservation and durable development projects proposed by the environment ministry. The donations will be administered and projects monitored by a state bank, the National Economic and Social Development Banks (BNDES).

What's not so good about this initiative? well, we talked a couple of times in the past about the situation in the Amazon and about the need in a new economic model that will give living trees a value and will make it worthwhile to keep them alive. This initiative is definitely looking for the right amount of money, but the question is: is this the right way to do it? my reply: I doubt.

How can you base the effort to save the Amazon, the green heart of planet earth, on donations? what will they do if other countries won't be as generous as Norway? and my guess is that they won't be, especially when Brazil asks for the money, but don't give donors the opportunity to be part of the decision making process regarding the uses of the money.

This is an important point - Brazil is very concerned about interference with what it sees as internal affairs and wants to make sure the world will know that it will accept the money but not interference. "Donations are voluntary and donors have no say over the use of the resources," BNDES environment director Eduardo de Mello told reporters. Roberto Mangabeira Unger, the minister for strategic affairs, added that "the fund is a vehicle by which foreign governments can help support our initiatives without exerting any influence over our national policy."

At the same time, Brazil understands that it can no longer ignore worldwide concerns about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and it understands that it needs a lot of money to do something about it. The result is this fund, which is kind of compromise: We (the Brazilian government) admit there's a problem and will be willing to accept money to solve it, but it will be done the way we want to do it and there's nothing you can do about it.

I believe this compromise is not the worst solution, but it's definitely not the best one. You can't base it on donations and even if you agree that the Brazilians will have the final word about the use of the funds, I believe they must accept consultancy from other experts, and I also think there should be some measures of control to make sure the money is used properly.

I think the only way to do it right is by making the Amazon part of any post-Kyoto agreement that will be created, taking into consideration the urgent need for an action there, as well as the necessary funding and the issue of the Brazilian sovereignty.

One thing that encouraged me while reading on the new fund was the new Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc, who was quoted in the BBC report saying: "We are committed to reducing the destruction of the rainforest, to eliminating illegal burning and to guaranteeing a better quality of life for all. "Our war is not won by simply reducing illegal burning in one month, it will be won once this environmental model that is destroying our communities and biodiversity is history." Amen!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Little Green Books are coming soon!

We love green children's books and always happy to update you when there's a new one around. Now we're even more excited with a new series of them coming soon from Simon & Schuster: Little Green Books.

In exactly 39 days (I counted..) Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing will be launching 'Little Green Books', which will be the first eco-friendly line of children’s novelty and storybooks.

The theme of Little Green Books focuses on improving the environment and preserving habitats, aiming to get kids and their parents interested in going green. From recycling and replanting to creating an awareness of endangered animals and much more, the series is looking to plant the seeds for earth-friendly living at an early age.

Do they also walk the talk? Definitely! Each book in the series will be made out of recycled materials and printed with soy ink.

One more thing I like about these books is their beautiful illustrations (from what I can see on the covers) - I always recommend that if you go green, do in in an attractive way, so customers or readers in this case won't feel like there's a trade-off and they're losing something for the extra green they get.

Here's more information about the first four books on the series that will be launched on September 9 (from the Little Green Books' website):

Little Monkey

Author: Kimberly Ainsworth

Illustrated by: Michelle Berg

Ages: 3 and under
Description: Meet Little Monkey and his friend Little Panda as they spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together! Little ones will love to cuddle with this supersoft fleece cloth book that's made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece.

This book is machine-washable and comes packaged in a chipboard box that's made from 100% recycled material.

The Polar Bears' Home: A Story About Global Warming

Author: Lara Bergen

Illustrated by: Vincent Nguyen

Ages: 4 - 6

Description: Come along on an Arctic adventure with a little girl and her father and learn all about polar bears! This 8 x 8 storybook shows how global warming affects two baby polar bear cubs and their family. Includes tips for kids on what they can do to help slow down global warming. This 8 x 8 paperback book is perfect-bound and will be printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper with soy-ink. The paper is FSC certified.

Little Panda

Author: Kimberly Ainsworth

Illustrated by: Michelle Berg

Ages: 3 and under

Description: Meet Little Panda and his friend Little Monkey as they spend their day eating their favorite foods and playing together. Little ones will love to cuddle with this supersoft fleece cloth book that's made out of cotton and recycled Polartec® fleece. This book is machine-washable and comes packaged in a chipboard box that's made from 100% recycled material. It's the perfect gift for a baby!

I Can Save the Earth!: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Author: Alison Inches

Illustrated by: Viviana Garofoli

Ages: 4 - 6
Description: Meet Max the Little Monster. He is a cute, furry green monster who is an environmental nightmare. Among other things, he leaves on all the lights, keeps his computer plugged in, blasts the TV, hoards his old toys and uses so much toilet paper it clogs the toilet until finally, his excessive ways cause a power outage. With no TV to watch, computer to play on, video games to play with, Max finds there is a whole big world outside that he can make a difference in the environment. A kid-friendly glossary of terms is included in the back of the book.This 8x8 paperback is perfect bound and will be printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper with soy-ink. The paper is FSC certified.

Kudos to Simon and Schuster for their efforts to go green and provide children with these great books. It follows the new environmental initiative and paper policy they announced on last November, and I hope we'll see more series like these one in the future, maybe even for the grown-ups!

We will review the books once they're published so stay tuned. In the meantime you can look for more information on the Little Green Books website - www.SimonSaysKids.com/LittleGreenBooks.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Eco-Libris' Bookstores Series: interview with Erin Thompson of Black Bear Books

Eco-Libris' bookstores program keeps growing and currently includes 24 bookstores in the U.S., Ireland and Canada. On our bookstores' series we present you with the bookstores that are taking part in the program and the people behind them.

Today we have the pleasure to present you with Black Bear Books of Boone, NC and Erin Thompson, the store's owner, whom we interviewed here.

When Black Bear Books was established? Where’s the name coming from?

Black Bear Books has been around since 2004, when we moved to our current location. Prior to that the store was called The Book Warehouse, a name given to it by a previous owner. Moving to our present location really gave us the opportunity to make the store into what we wanted it to be, and we thought it deserved a new name. The name Black Bear Books came from all of the Black Bears that live in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and in particular from the bear that lives on the mountain where my parents live.

What's the most special characteristic of Black Bear Books?

Definitely our customers! We get a really great mix of locals, people who live here in the spring and summer months, and visitors to the area. There’s nothing better that having a job where you get to talk about books and authors all day to all sorts of different people. Outside of our customers, I would say that a really great feature of our store is how eclectic it is. We’ve got sections dedicated to regional literature, a re-vamped kids section, and of course our green living section, which is always a big hit!

How long you are with the store?

I’ve been with the store for just over a year, when I moved to the area to pursue a master’s degree. Moving from a big city to Boone was a big change, but definitely a positive one. The High Country is so eco-conscious and they do a great job of making local living a priority, which for small stores like ours, is really important. The great outdoor activities and amazing views don’t hurt either!

Your store is a family business and I'm sure it has seen and went through changes over the years - can you mention the ones you find most interesting?

My dad is the head-honcho at the store, and I’ve loved being able to work with him and learn from him – he’s a pretty smart guy, despite what I thought when I was a teenager! There have been a lot of changes at the store; probably one of the biggest has been adding the espresso bar and the wireless café. We get quite a few people to stop by to check their e-mail or study and have a cup of coffee. Owning an independent bookstore is a tough business to be in – even though people love to comment on how having a bookstore in the mountains is their dream job (it’s definitely mine!), so we try to change things often to draw people back into the store.

What do people like most about the store?

I think people really enjoy the hunt for the perfect book. We carry a lot of remainders and our booksellers have great taste, so you never know what you’re going to find. We’ve got a staff that has superhero powers when it comes to finding the next book you want to read, even if you’re not sure what that is.

Can you tell me a bit about the events in the store?

We host a lot of local and regional authors, although attendance is always disappointingly low, so I try not to schedule people unless I know they’ll be a big draw. We have an exciting event coming up though! Diana Gabaldon, the author of the NYT best-selling “Outlander” series is visiting the store during the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, so we’re having an evening reception and also a booth out at the Games.

Are there any relationship between the store and the local library/ies?

Somewhat. We give people directions to the library a lot! We work pretty closely with a local writing group, who is based out of the library, so we support them indirectly through that. We also work with them on prizes that they give to their different contest winners.

What is the best selling book right now? What is the all times best-selling book?

Actually, our best-selling book right now (outside of the High School’s summer reading) is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I was so excited when I looked it up and it was a green book! Kingsolver is a regional author as well, and has a restaurant based on the book’s principles about an hour away in Abingdon, VA. This book has been on my Staff Rec’s shelf for about two months now, and I guess it shows! The all-time best selling book is a children’s book by another regional author, Jan Karon, called “Miss Fannie’s Hat”.

What would be your favorite book in the store?

That’s a tough question – I don’t think I can answer that one! Probably the book I recommend most (and my copy is certainly well-read) is “March” by Geraldine Brooks, about John March from “Little Women”. Brooks does a fantastic job of taking some of literature’s most beloved characters and telling the rest of their story.

Any special message you want to send to book lovers in Boone, NC?

I want to thank them! I know it’s always easier to jump online to order a book, but by staying loyal they’ve taken advantage of our special-ordering discounts, reduced their carbon footprint, and kept us in business!

So if you're anywhere near Boone, NC you're invited to visit the store. You won't regret it! And of course, if you're purchasing a book from the 25,000 quality hand picked new and discount books at the store, don't forget to check at the counter the opportunity to balance it out by planting a tree with Eco-Libris and you'll also receive our sticker on spot.

Black Bear Books
Address: 2146 Blowing Rock Rd., Boone, NC 28607
Tel.: 828.264.4636

Past guests on our series:

Marva Allen of the Hue-Man Bookstore and Cafe (New York, NY)

James “Surendra” Conti of East West Bookstore (Mountain View, CA)

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Green Options: Want Your Family to go Green? Read Eco-Friendly Families

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Jennifer Lace on July 24 on Eco Child's Play. Today's post is a review of a new guide for families that want to go green.

Many of our readers come to our website looking for ways to start their families down the green path to eco-friendliness. Help is on the way for these families in a complete guide for families. Eco-Friendly Families, written by Helen Coronato, is designed to "guide your family to greener living with activities that will engage and inspire...from toddlers to teens." This new guide will be released on August 5, 2008.

Eco-Friendly Families is filled with many simple tips, such as watering your houseplants with rainwater and hosting a neighborhood toy swap, as well as explains the bigger issues and how our actions affect them. By targeting families, this guide helps families raise the next generation with green values. Saving the planet is a family affair!

Monday's green books series: Templeton Turtle Goes Exploring (+ free book giveaway)

Today our hero is a young turtle named Templeton. He's young, curious and looking for adventures. He is also the main character in the new children book 'Templeton Turtle Goes Exploring' by Ron Pridmore and Michele-lee Phelan.

I always liked turtles. I didn't have one as a child, but I always admired them when I accidentally found one in the fields, hiding in their shells from the outside world. Our guy, Templeton, is the total opposite: he was just born and is already looking to explore the neighbourhood, which is the big pond in his case.

Templeton is interested in getting to know better the big pond and in making new friends. The story follows his journey around the pond and his encounters with other animals there. I don't want to talk much about the journey, not to ruin it for those who want to read the story. Nevertheless, I can assure you that the journey is full with excitement, joy, disappointment, friendship, fun and all the other great stuff adventures are made of.

The book has an interesting story behind it. Author Ron Pridmore, who grew up in the countryside of California where his love for the outdoors was developed, had one night a dream about a newly-hatched turtle. The next morning, as he recounted the events in his dream, Pridmore grabbed a cup of coffee and quickly wrote down the vivid image and story that filled his head and the story was born.

One part that makes it a great book for children (it's for 4-8 year old kids) is the beautiful illustrations made by the Australian artist Michele-lee Phelan, who has painted the covers of several fantasy novels and is working on her first art book. She did a beautiful job here with the wild animals and especially with our friend Templeton!

If you're asking what's green about this book, my answer would be that this is a story that encourages children to go outdoors, connect with nature, explore it, be curious about their surroundings and leave their computer and room once in a while to see what's going on outside. I believe the connection with nature and the appreciation of wildlife and outdoors are very important for children and have a significant part in their early green/environmental education.

This book also adds the part about the importance of community, which is great and above all it's a fun story, so I'm sure kids would love Templeton and will look forward to have exciting adventures at least like the one he has on the book.

Title: 'Templeton Turtle Goes Exploring'

Author: Ron Pridmore

Illustrator: Michele-lee Phelan

Publisher: Bridgeway Books

Published: July 2008

Pages: 32

GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY

As usual, we will give away our review copy. And of course we'll also plant a tree for this copy and send it to the lucky winner with our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.

How to win? Simply – write a comment below, suggesting another good idea how to connect children to nature and make them excited about the outdoors at least as Templeton is. Good luck :)

Submissions are accepted until Saturday, August 2nd, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz@ Eco-Libris

Plant a Tree for every Book you Read!

Paranoia is going green with Eco-Libris

I'm happy to announce on another collaboration of Eco-Libris with an author. John author of the new book 'Paranoia' will plant a tree with us for every book sold at his upcoming book signing at The Book Bin, 725 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach, NJ on 8/9 at Noon.

All buyers of the book at the event will also receive with the book our sticker saying "One tree planted for this book". Also, 10% of Profit from sales of the book will be donated to the Twin Towers Orphan Fund (http://www.ttof.org/)

It's definitely a unique story, as you can see from its description:

Jim went to work on September 11, 2001, thinking that it was going to be another boring day. But then the towers came crashing down, and he, like many of us, lost his ability to live without fear and prejudice. Now, years later, Jim is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s haunted by the death of his mother, who was buried in the rubble of 9/11, and the departure of his wife and son, who could no longer deal with his inability to move on.

Living on his aunt’s farm in Colorado, Jim tries to find peace, but he keeps remembering the evil deeds of the past. And it’s not just the terrorists who are culpable. After the attacks, Jim became so paranoid that he joined an anti-Muslim group, and he participated in unspeakable acts of violence. Jim sees a psychiatrist in his effort to fend off the demons from his past. He does his best to remember what once made life so beautiful: his wife, his son, and the ability to live without fear.

In Paranoia, one man struggles to cope in a new world defined by terrorism in hopes of recovering what made his life worth living in the first place.

An excerpt can be found at http://allthesebooks.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=468

Publisher: iUniverse, Inc

Publishing date: January 30, 2008

About the author:
J. E. Braun graduated from Trenton State College with a degree in literature. Along with countless others, he was devastated by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and he felt compelled to write about how life changes after such an event. A happily married father of two, he is a lifelong resident of New Jersey. This is his first novel.

More links:
A detailed profile of John Braun
An interview with John at BookHuntersBlog.com
John's blog: http://jebraun.blogspot.com/
John's Myspace page: www.myspace.com/jebraun

Where you can find the book?

Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble

So don't miss the signing event at The Book Bin, 725 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach, NJ on August 9 at Noon.

And finally, this book even has a trailer! You're welcome to watch it right here:



Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Businesses saving paper, trees and money

Saving paper = Saving trees = Saving money. This equation is maybe one of the clearest examples of how going green will benefit not only the environment, but also your bottom line. More and more businesses understand this equation and try to act accordingly. This week I was happy to read about two more examples:

1. Environmental Leader reported earlier this week that the leading UK food retailer Sainsbury’s has won the European Retail Solutions Best Green IT Initiative Award 2008 for using simultaneous two-sided thermal receipt printers from NCR Corporation in its store checkouts.

Here are more details from NCR news release:

Last year Sainsbury’s became the first European retailer to start using the new printers, which use over 40 percent less paper. Printing on both sides of the receipt simultaneously not only saves paper, but also the energy associated with producing and transporting it. Fewer stoppages are required for paper roll changes. Further, because receipts are shorter, they take less time to print, which means consumers get through checkouts even faster and leave with a more manageable receipt.

Sainsbury’s has received such a positive response from customers and staff that it has more than doubled its order for the new printers from NCR. By the end of 2008, consumers will be receiving the two-sided receipts from 7,000 checkouts in approximately half of Sainsbury’s 823 stores nationwide. This will result in a savings of 502,000 paper rolls per year – cutting receipt paper usage at the retailer by around two-fifths.

The NCR two-sided printer consumes less power than other well known, single-sided receipt printer brands. Sainsbury’s plans to install the printers in the rest of its stores over the next two years. This will play a role in helping the retailer achieve its new target to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2012.

Kudos to Sainsbury’s for this initiative. I think that receipts are pretty wasteful - you receive a piece of paper, which many times you don't really need and you don't keep. This is especially true in supermarkets, where you may only look for few seconds in the receipt after completing your purchase and then you'll probably throw it away (hopefully to a recycling bin..).

Maybe the next step can be to provide people with incentive not to print a receipt at all, by giving them 5 cents or 10 cents discount, just like many supermarkets do to encourage the usage of reusable bags. I'm sure such an incentive will save A LOT of paper rolls. I hope someone at Sainsbury's or any other big retailer will give it a shot.

2. Our friend, author Michael Kleiner, updated us with the ongoing effort of Citibank to encourage customers switch to paperless electronic statements. The bank provide its customers with a great incentive: "enroll in Paperless Statements today and Citi will plant a tree on your behalf."

And it works. Citi reports that it has planted 1 million trees with the Arbor Day Foundation so far! In this case it's a win-win-win deal as I'm sure most customers find it less annoying to view their statement online than receiving it by mail (at least I do..). It's true that this way you use the computer and consume more energy to read your statement, but still my guestimation is that it's more eco-friendly to read the statement online.

Citi is not the only bank encouraging its customers to go paperless. Washington Mutual, for example, has a similar initiative. More banks realize that paperless statements are good for business, and not only because they save costs, but also because customers appreciate such initiatives and it also generates value to the bank's reputation. So it's definitely a natural step to any bank that wants to enjoy both reduction in costs and happy customers, not to mention the many happy trees it helps to keep alive :-)

Hope to hear more good news like these ones every week!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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