Be a patriot and recycle - a special guest column for the 4th of July

Today Eco-Libris blog is happy to bring you a a special guest column of our friends at RecycleBank for the upcoming holiday. It presents you with an easy and important way to show your love for your country and not only on the 4th of July, but actually every day!

Recycling…as American as Apple Pie

What is patriotic? Fighting for one’s country is patriotic, flag-waving is patriotic, singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” is patriotic. Now, let’s think outside the bin (sorry, recycling humor) to something you do everyday. That’s right. Every time you reduce, reuse and recycle you’re celebrating your love for your country.

During World War II citizens were urged to recycle (or “salvage”) metal, rubber, paper and even kitchen fat to help in the war effort. Today’s soldiers don’t need recycled steel for guns, salvaged kitchen fat for explosives or scrap paper for packaging, but recycling is still patriotic.

By recycling, we show our love for our country by protecting our nation’s resources, reducing our dependence on the resources of other countries and boosting our economy.

Here’s how:

-Recycling plastic reduces the need for virgin plastic. Of course, virgin plastic isn’t a natural resource, but the petroleum used to make it is. In fact, approximately 4% of our annual oil consumption is used to make plastics. By recycling more plastic we reduce the need for the production of virgin plastic and that reduces our dependence on foreign oil.

-Manufacturing products using recycled materials instead of virgin materials requires a lot less energy. Making an aluminum can from recycled aluminum requires 95% less energy than making an aluminum can from virgin aluminum. In 2003, we reduced our oil usage by more than 15 million barrels by recycling 54 billion aluminum cans.

-Of course, oil isn’t our only source of energy. Recycling materials also reduces our need for coal—and that protects those purple mountains majesty.

-Using less energy also saves money. Saving money improves the national economy, but the recycling industry has given the national economy a real boost by creating over a million jobs. In fact, a recent report by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that jobs in conservation and pollution mitigation (including the recycling industry) make up 65% of the United States’ clean energy economy.

-Recycling reduces the amount of solid waste we need to dump in landfills, which in turn, reduces the need for landfills. By protecting our land from being “filled” with garbage, we’re helping to keep America beautiful.

-Recycling paper protects our forests by reducing the need for trees to produce paper. Recycling cars and other objects made of steel and iron reduces the amount of iron ore we must mine and recycling aluminum reduces the amount of aluminum we have to pull out of the ground.

There you have it. You love your country. You just have a different way of showing it. Now, gather your friends and family and enjoy your 4^th of July barbecue. Don’t forget to grab your recycled (and recyclable) plates (http://www.preserveproducts.com/products/tableware.html) and your recycled American flag (http://online-clothing-catalog.com/archives/238).

How you combine free book swapping with generating more income to authors? "Mooch Before You Buy" may be the answer!

Our friends at BookMooch are conducting a very interesting experience that could generate a new model into the book world.

The concept behind the new "Mooch Before You Buy" program is actually very simple as John Buckman, the founder of BookMooch, explains on BookMooch blog:

"An author freely gives away copies of their book through BookMooch. Once you’ve read the book, if you:

* didn’t like it: relist it on BookMooch and send it to someone else.

* liked it, but want to give it away: consider a small donation to thank the author.

* want to keep it: give the author a larger gift, about the price you’d pay for the book new in a bookstore. "

The goal Buckman explains is to encourage authors to publish books in this “Mooch Economy”, as an alternative to the traditional publishing industry route.

I think this can be a great win-win model, adding another important layer to the swapping system - compensation of authors, who so far didn't receive any proceeds after the first sale of the book, no matter how many times their book was swapped and read afterwards. We had the chance to learn a little bit about this issue from a guest post we had on our blog of author Justine Locke who addresses a similar problem with sales of used books.

In all swapping provides many other indirect benefits for authors such as exposure to new readers, which will be translated in some cases to reviews on Amazon and in other cases to purchases of other books of the author when the reader wants to read more of the author's work. But again I'm sure some authors would still find it unsatisfying in terms of compensation for their hard work, and that's the missing part this new model can provide.

We're living in a digital era, where free content becomes more and more popular, or as Chris Anderson, the author of the upcoming book "Free: The Future of a Radical Price" defined it:"In the digital marketplace, the most effective price is no price at all". We see creators constantly looking for new models that adopt to these changes and still provide them with fair compensation for their work.

Taking that in mind, it will be interesting to follow the BookMooch new model and see how well it manages to make both readers and authors happy. We hope it will generate great success because as we said before the concept of book swapping is very eco-friendly, making the most out of every printed copy, and hence communities such as BookMooch are a great example of sustainable reading.

The first book on the "Mooch Before You Buy" program is “A Cat May Look at a King“ of author and moocher Ramsay Wood, who had provided BookMooch with 32 new copies of his book. “A Cat May Look at a King“ is a beautifully full color illustrated set of ancient stories featuring cats, retold by Ramsay.

And last but not least, I would like to mention our ongoing partnership with BookMooch to offer Green Mooching, a special incentive to BookMoochers to balance out their books, and to Eco-Libris fans to start mooching some books. For every 10 books you balance out you will receive a free BookMooch point you can then use to mooch a book online for free.

So if you don't have a BookMooch account yet go get one :)

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

And we have a winner on "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Building and Remodeling" giveaway!

Following our review of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Green Building and Remodeling" last week, we had a give away of our review copy. We asked you to share with us what you do at home to lower your energy costs and/or use water more efficiently.

We got great replies with many great ideas that only show how many things can be done at home with not too much trouble to save energy and money.

And we have a winner!

Our winner is the reader ethnically ambiguous who wrote the following:

We recycle our raining water to water our garden & lawn, we uplug all non-essential electrical items in our household, as appliances burn out in our house we replace with only energy star rates appliances, in the winter we cover all windows with a layer of plastic and flannel to make sure we are keeping the house as warm as possible, we just bought a water efficent toilet and water savers on all faucets & showerheads...

Congrats to the winner! You will receive a copy of the book and we'll also plant a tree for it. Thank you also to all the other participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing

Green printing tip #4 - What does FSC Certified mean? is it enough?

Today we continue our series of green printing tips, where we bring you in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.

Last week we discussed various emblems that it's important to use to demonstrate the fact you're using green printing practices. Today Greg's tip is referring to one of these main emblems - the FSC certification.

What does FSC Certified mean? is it enough?

Tip #4
FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. This council certifies that the paper mills are following strict procedures in managing their forests.

The FSC wants to make sure the forests are managed properly and that new trees can grow and that the forests are not depleted. To have a printing job be FSC certified, several very important procedures must be followed.

1. The Chain of Custody must be followed.
The printer needs a document from the paper merchant that proves that the paper bought is FSC certified. The delivery receipt must be sent to the Forest Stewardship Council for final verification.

2. The printer Must Be FSC certified.
Not many printers have gone through this process. It costs at least $5000.00 and there are very strict procedures that must be checked out to see if the printer is being environmental in their printing.

3. The PDF of the print job , along with the Chain Of Custody signed
A receipt with the name of the printer must be sent to the FSC.

4. The FSC will check the documents and then email back the code # that must be printed in the correct position next to the FSC emblem.























My final approval to this procedure: I like FSC and I also like that other emblems are printed, next to the FSC emblem. FSC is for managing the forests. It does not mean that the paper is recycled or chlorine free.

I like to see that the paper is also 100% PCW and 100% PCF and that the Energy used to make the paper is Green E certified. FSC can be for non environmental paper, and FSC can be for minimum recycled paper, and FSC can be for the maximum recycled paper. I like the maximum recycled paper. Then, I am sure your job is totally environmentally sound!


If you have any further questions following our tips, or you have a specific question you want us to address, please email us to info@ecolibris.net.

More links:

Green Printing Tip #3 - how you make sure everyone knows you're using green printing practices

Green Printing Tip #2 - how you can make money while printing on 100% recycled paper

Green Printing Tip #1 - go for a digital job

You can also find further valuable information on Greg Barber Company's website - http://www.gregbarberco.com.

All the tips are archived and saved on http://www.ecolibris.net/greentips.asp (part of our green printing tools & resources page).

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

Monday's green books series: The Cul-De-Sac Syndrome

Once a big house in the suburb was an indicator of success in America. It was part of the American Dream. Today it is transforming from an asset to a liability and becomes a nightmare for so many.

The book we're reviewing today is looking into this dream, the crisis that now seemed so inevitable and a new sustainable dream that should replace it.

Our book today is:

The Cul-De-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream

Author: John F. Wasik

John Wasik has won 18 journalism awards, including several from the National Press Club, for consumer and business journalism. His Merchant of Power was praised by Studs Terkel and well reviewed by the New York Times. Wasik is a financial columnist for Bloomberg News and the author of 11 other book s. He has appeared on such national media as NBC, NPR, and PBS.

Publisher: Bloomberg Press

Published on: June 2009

What this book is about? (from the the book's Amazon webpage)
An incisive look at the consequences of today's costly and damaging suburban lifestyle, this new book exposes the economic, cultural, environmental, and health problems underlying life in suburbia. John Wasik provides powerful insights into how the U.S. suburban lifestyle became unsustainable and what can be done to salvage it.

Wasik's observations are firmly grounded in exclusive on-the-ground research, interviews with thought leaders, and the latest studies and statistics. He exposes the untold truths about home ownership: green isn't always so green, life isn't cheaper after accounting for gas, water, and taxes, and modern suburban living isn't so idyllic considering the toll it takes on our health.

Wasik's trenchant analysis adds a new dimension to an important topic, with exclusive research and analysis that debunks the many myths of suburban living, while exploring innovative solutions being developed in cities and suburbs across the country.

Why you should get it?
If you live in suburbia and less and less feel that you're living the American dream, this is the book for you. Not only that this book raises the right questions, it also provide you with some of the answers.

There are some books that are discussing green housing alternatives, some more conventional and some are less, but they're mostly focusing on the environmental-economic link from an efficiency point of view. This book is unique in its much more diverse inter-disciplinary approach, as it masterly presents the connection between the economy, environment, sustainable development and the American way of life.

And of course there's the focus on the housing bubble, or as the book calls it "one of the most devastating housing recessions since the 1930s". This is the first book that I see which is connecting all the dots, economic, cultural and environmental, with regard to this significant financial blowup that is still going on.

Wasik does a great job in both describing the problem and offering various solutions. I like the fact that he keeps the discussion as practical as possible with many examples that makes this book much more than a theoretical manifesto - it is a description of a dream that once was admired by everyone and its demise. Moreover, it's a description of a new dream, a sustainable one that can shape the future of the U.S. and creates a whole new American dream.

What others say about the book:
"John Wasik's The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome offers enough to chew on for three sets of teeth, enough to digest for three stomachs, and the alerts the mind faster than an approaching siren." -Ralph Nader, Consumer advocate

"Get ready for a totally original look at the American dream. Wasik delivers the first truly multidisciplinary examination—using planning, law, architecture, and history to focus on working solutions that can keep the dream alive. This is a winner!" — Paul B. Farrell, JD, PhD. Columnist, MarketWatch.com and author of The Millionaire Code

"This excellent book takes a ground-level look at the causes of our housing crisis and offers a myriad of ideas on reinventing the concepts of home and community.” —Ilyce R. Glink, syndicated real estate columnist, author of 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask

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

More related links:

Interview with the the author, John Wasik

Podcast of the author on Blog Talk Radio

The author's website

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing

Will the new Climate Bill help protecting forests or become a source of income for timber companies?

The Climate bill passed in the House last Friday. It might not be only a new era in fighting climate change, but also the first time when it is worthwhile to keep trees alive instead of cutting them down.

The Huffington Post reported last Friday that trees will be part of the credits scheme that is presented in the bill, and this time it means not only reforestation projects, but also protection of existing forestlands.

The article explains the mechanism:

"Say an acre of forestland sucks up two additional metric tons of carbon after a landowner plants more trees on his land or promises to rotate the way he cuts them down so more are standing at once. If the pollution market created by the legislation is currently trading at $20 a ton, then the landowner could stand to make $40 per acre if he qualifies for the program"

The legislation, according to the article. would also extend to international forests, promising to pay some countries that agree to slow their harvesting of trees abroad. We mentioned this idea in the past (see links below) and we're definitely in favor of giving economic incentives to preserve the forests and to make it worthwhile to keep them alive, avoid logging and prevent further deforestation.

This idea was discussed in the U.N.’s Bali meeting in December last year, and though it is not approved yet, there's a good chance it will be part of the post-Kyoto protocol that will be discussed in Copenhagen in December. It also enjoys the support of many international parties, such as Prince Charles, Norway, Al Gore and Wangari Maathai.

So we should be happy as forest protection finally becomes part of the carbon market, right? well, we are but it seems that the way it was integrated in the Bill is a little bit problematic..

Well, there are of course concerns about measurement, monitoring and making sure carbon capturing is actually taking place (especially outside the U.S.), but in all these concerns are no different really from the concerns you have with every other component in the "trade" part of the cap and trade scheme under the Bill. The more significant issue here might be who is eligible to take part in it in the first place.

The article on the Huffington Post mentions that owners of large swaths of forestland, such as timber companies and large farms can benefit from it. Frank O'Donnell of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch is quoted saying "In effect, the public is going to pay polluters to plant trees. Does that really lead to a major improvement in global warming? I don't know and I'm not sure anybody knows."

The fact that the Agriculture Department, which includes the U.S. Forest Service, will oversee the domestic program and develop regulations for verifying whether a forest owner's particular tract of land is actually capturing carbon, brings up questions like will they make tree farms eligible as well and how much will they will take sustainability into account?

If eventually we'll have timber companies being paid for having single-species tree farms that have replaced highly diverse forests (you can see that in the Southeast U.S. for example), then we're very far from what the idea of forests protection was meant to achieve in the first place.

So how it can be prevented? here is just one idea - how about limiting forest protection to highly-diverse forests and/or forests that have FSC certification. I believe that these kind of restrictions can provide a better chance that this measure of forests protection will truly help fighting climate change and not just become another way for land owners to make money without making any significant impact on the environment.

What do you think? I'll be happy to hear your thoughts about it so feel free to add your comments.

More related posts:

How investors can save the forests? check out the Ethical Corporation Magazine

Al Gore and Wangari Maathai calls the U.N. General Assemby to support protection of forests

Merrill Lynch is investing in forest protection

How to deal with the growing deforestation in the Amazon rain forest?

Prince Charles wants to team up with Norway to save forests

Preserving forests to fight global warming

Yours, Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing

Looking for a green printer in Florida?

We always love to learn about green printers and present them on our blog.

This time we have a video with Augustus Casamayor, chairman/CEO of AC Graphics in Hialeah, Florida. It's especially recommended for those who are concerned with the cost of green printing!



As mentioned on the video, AC Graphics is the first triple-certified green printer in the State of Florida, which means the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the PEFC Council (Programme for the Endorsment of Forest Certification) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) have verified our company’s products and practices as being environmentally sound.

On Tuesday you'll have a chance to learn more about the FSC certification on our "Green Printing Tips" series.

You can find more information on AC Graphics on their website - http://www.acgraphics.com

Yours,
Raz@Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing