Men-only book club?

Can men actually sit together, sip Cabernet and discuss books?

Apparently yes, according to an interesting article of Don Aucoin on the Boston Globe ("Where the guys Are").

So what brings guys to sit together and discuss books? one of the interviewees in the article explains that book groups offer the best of both worlds "I get a night out," he says. "I get to hang out with a few of my buddies whom I normally wouldn't see. I get to have a few laughs and talk about everything. Plus it forces me to read a book a month, which is something I don't know if I'd do."

Well. who knows, maybe we'll see soon a male version of the Jane Austen Book Club. How about the 69-page book club? (following the rule of one book club presented in the article that "there has to be something pretty sick going on on page 69 for us to read the book, either a sexual encounter or some crazy situation.")

Yours,
Raz@Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing

My Summer Reading with Sue Schrader of the bookstore Sources of Hope

The second guest today on our series My Summer Reading is Sue Schrader of Sources of Hope in Dallas, Texas. This gifts and books store is part of the Cathedral of Hope and also participates in our bookstores program, where customers at the store can plant a tree for every book they buy there and receive our sticker at the counter!

Hi Sue, what are you reading now?
Artifacts by Mary Anna Evans

Any recommendation on a good summer reading?
Light fiction – no specific titles

What you are planning to read this summer?
Have several books at home, but can’t remember titles.

What is your favorite place to read in the summer?
Same as in the winter—at meals, waiting in line or on appointments, on the couch.

Thanks Sue!

More information on Sources of Hope can be found at http://www.sourcesofhope.com/

So far on My Summer Reading series:

Christian Valentiner of the Norwegian publisher Flux

Avrim Topel, co-author of 'My Green Beginnings'

Tania Hershman, author of 'The White Road and Other Stories'

Elisabeth Baines, author of the upcoming book 'Too Many Magpie'

Erica Caldwell of the bookstore Present Tense

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green publishing

My Summer Reading with Erica Caldwell of the bookstore Present Tense

This week it's bookstores time on our series My Summer Reading with two recommendations from bookstores that participate in our bookstores program, where customers at the store can plant a tree for every book they buy there and receive our sticker at the counter!

Our first guest is Erica Caldwell of Present Tense in Batavia, NY.

Located in Batavia, NY, halfway between the cities of Buffalo and Rochester, Present Tense is a locally-owned independent bookstore that serves as a center for reading, writing, and the arts in Western New York. As you can see from the picture below Present Tense is also celebrating the summer with a great program of visiting authors.

Hi Erica, what are you reading now?
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Any recommendation on a good summer reading?
The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan

What you are planning to read this summer?
The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha and then hopefully a few more that are in my towering stack of unread books!

What is your favorite place to read in the summer?
On the deck

Thanks Erica!

More information on Present Tense can be found at http://www.presenttensebooks.com/

So far on My Summer Reading series:

Christian Valentiner of the Norwegian publisher Flux

Avrim Topel, co-author of 'My Green Beginnings'

Tania Hershman, author of 'The White Road and Other Stories'

Elisabeth Baines, author of the upcoming book 'Too Many Magpie'

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green publishing

International Paper believes that paper is greener than pixels. Is this really the case here?

International Paper published yesterday a press release on a new brochure in their Down to Earth environmental series, entitled "Pixels vs. Paper: Are pixels greener than paper?"

The goal of the 6-page brochure is explained as follows: "More and more people are communicating with electronic media. But are electronic devices the most effective environmental choice for getting information? Get the facts before you decide"

Not surprisingly their findings are favorable of paper use in comparison with electronic devices. But is it really so?

They're looking into couple of factors:

Raw materials - IP explains that paper comes from a renewable resource - trees, whereas electronic devices are typically made of plastics and other non-renewable resources and often contain chemicals and metals.

They also mention that "every day the paper and forest products industry plants more than three times the number of trees than are harvested -- paper is truly renewable and sustainable." What they don't say there is what trees are cut down and what trees are planted instead.

Mandy Hagith, author of the recommended book "Paper Trails: From Trees to Trash - The True Cost of Paper" helps to clarify the picture:

"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."

The planting part of the equation is no better in some cases, as you can read about on the Green Press Initiative's website. Here's one example:

"In the Southeast U.S., highly diverse forests are being converted into single-species tree farms at an alarming rate. Already 15% of southern forests (32 million acres) consist of plantations...Tree plantations are not inherently bad, and can be part of a sound forest management plan. However, this is not what is occurring in the southeastern U.S. where vast areas of diverse forest are converted to plantations. Included in this region is the Cumberland plateau, which has been designated as a “biogem” by the Natural Resource Defense Council."

Afterwards IP adds in the brochure that "20 percent less CO2 is used per year by person reading a daily printed newspaper versus a person reading web-based news for 30 minutes a day". They don't quote the resource for this fact, but they make it look very conclusive although there are others who claim the opposite.

For example, one comparison of 'Dear Science' got to the conclusion that "if you're reading on an inefficient desktop PC, a mere two hours online may equal the carbon impact of the print edition," and another comparison at Fat Knowledge found out that "reading the physical version of the NY Times for a year uses 7,300 MJ of energy and emits 700 kg of co2. Reading it on a Kindle uses 100 MJ of energy and emits 10 kg of co2."

Energy consumption - the brochure mentions that "The amount of electricity to run a computer for only five months could produce enough paper for the average person to use for an entire year." They also write that "our industry is one of the biggest users of renewable, low-carbon energy in the world".

Interesting fact they don't mention is that "The paper industry is the 4th largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions among United States manufacturing industries, and contributes 9% of the manufacturing sector's carbon emissions." (from '15 Facts About the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment')

End of Life - According to the brocure paper is biodegradable and nearly 60 percent of all paper in the U.S. is recycled, whereas only 18 percent of all electronic devices are currently recycled and E-waste constitutes the single largest waste export in the U.S. Here are two more interesting facts to be considered: Paper accounts for 25% of landfill waste and one third of municipal landfill waste (from '15 Facts About the Paper Industry, Global Warming and the Environment') and when paper degrades in a landfill it releases methane, a greenhouse gas emission that is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide (resource: The Green Press Initiative).

International Paper encourages you to ask the right questions before you choose between electronic media and paper and they're certainly right. It's important to get all the facts right on the environmental impacts of both options, especially when there are so many misconceptions about the impacts of both paper and electronic devices.

But as the information is still inconclusive, as we can tell from watching this debate for some time (you are welcome to check our eBooks vs. Paper Books to check research and articles on this issue), it is important to bring ALL the facts and not choose only those that are a good fit with your business.

If IP really wants as they say to "provide thought provoking educational pieces that help our customers better understand important environmental topics", they should add to their brochure some more facts that will give readers the whole picture and not just parts carefully chosen from it.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Photos and video from the book launch of 'Where the Buttercups Grow' with author Shelley Meyer

We announced earlier this month on the collaboration with Aaspirations Publishing to plant 5,000 trees for their new children's book ‘Where the Buttercups Grow’.

The book launch of this great book was held in Chapters in Surrey with the author Shelley Meyer (see photo above). You can see photos from the book launch on Aaspirations Publishing's website. Here's also a video from the event:

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 favorites, 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.

To order your copy of the book click here, or if you are in the area, drop in at the Chapters at Strawberry Hill, 12101 on 72nd Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 2M1.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing

Green printing tip #3 - How to let let your clients know you are being responsible in your printing

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

Today Greg's tip is referring to an important element of the process:

How you make sure everyone knows you're using green printing practices and it doesn't stay between you and your printer?

Tip #3

My clients want to look environmental in their printing. What do I recommend they do?

I suggest that my clients include the environmental emblems when they are being green in their printing.

Here are few examples of the emblems we have:

- 100% post-consumer waste emblem






- 100% processed chlorine emblem




- Green-e emblem





- FSC emblem (we are an FSC-certified plant)






- Carbon neutral emblem (we derive our energy from wind and we're carbon neutral)





So let your clients know you are being responsible in your printing. You will feel good about it and your clients will be happy you are environmental!

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 #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

A new book from Flux about a unique sociopolitical experiment is going green with Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris is collaborating with Flux (http://www.flux.no), the Norwegian publishing house, to plant trees for the books they publish. We love Flux not only because of their commitment to the environment, but also because this is one of the publishers that succeed to surprise you every time with a new, unique and interesting book.

Today we're happy to update you on a new book published by Flux that we're working on with them to plant 1,000 trees for the printed copies. The book, presenting an unusual sociopolitical experiment that is taking place in Norway (with lessons to many other societies), is entitled "100-årsmålene", or in English: "The 100-years' Targets".

Here are some more details about the book:

A remarkable sociopolitical experiment is taking place in Norway. A group of concerned citizens has formed “100-årsmålene” (literally “the 100-years’ targets”) and engaged a number of institutions and organizations as well as school children, politicians and others to think through what kind of society we want to have 100 years into the future. Not as a prophecy, but minted out as what we actually want to see achieved. What kind of society do we need and want? What do we aim for, collectively and individually? The initiative is, in other words, a strong invitation to start thinking proactively instead of reactively, which is what we seem to do most of the time. Taking this imaginary jump into a future 100 years ahead of today frees our imagination from the quagmire of contemporary social and political practice and hang-ups.

A lot of enthusiasm and a number of inspired ideas for the next society – “the next generation democracy”, as it is labeled – was raised, and the need for overarching visions was quickly taken up by the public involved, while politicians, not surprisingly, are more reluctant. Initially the group’s aim was to influence the political parties prior to the general elections to be held in Norway in September 2009, but so far it has been a challenge to mount a significant and visible impact among leading politicians and to some extent leading media. Leaders in this respect seem to be a breed rather deeply immersed in day to day conflict and chatter, no matter where it may lead. A number of interesting results, however, have emerged from the polls and workshops throughout the country, showing that seeds can be sown for a different future and a sound democracy.

Here are some of the results:

94 % think that politicians should get together and start solving the big challenges, rather than spend their time and energies fighting each other.

80 % wish to go for a stable and reliable zero waste economy (with recirculation and renewable energy.

66 % would support a long-term non-fractional leadership (although only 16 % deem it realistic).

65 % wish for a doubling of quality of life (rather than increased traditional standard of living).

There is also a generally strong consensus that we will be able to find ways and means to accomplish such goals.

More posts related to Flux:

The 5th Step

The Norwegian translation of "The Integral Vision" by Ken Wilber

Dyp glede (Deep Joy): Arne Næss on deep ecology

Summer Reading with Christian Valentiner of Flux

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing