Eco-Libris is contributing to a demonstration of a green campus residence hall

An important part of our work at Eco-Libris is the educational part - increasing the awareness to the need in change in the book industry and getting readers more aware of their books’ footprint. We do it in several ways with both businesses and organizations.

Today I’m happy to report on our latest collaboration with Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI), a non-profit that is working with colleges and universities in California to create showcase spaces that demonstrate sustainable residential living options to students.

Two days ago, SEI and the University of Redlands launched in a special event a demonstration of campus residence hall (Meriam Hall) designated as a sustainable living/learning community at the university. The effort is part of the CHEER (Campus Housing Energy Efficiency Retrofit) Program, funded by Southern California Edison, and implemented by both SEI and Quantum Energy Services and Technologies (QuEST).

This current project focused on the hall lounge, lobby and kitchen and the apartment occupied by the community director. It included a library to which Eco-Libris donated 50 new trees to balance out 50 books that will be placed at the library. We also provided our stickers saying “One tree planted for this book” to be placed on the books. Not only that but SEI put there a sign with explanation on the concept and tips for students on how to green up their reading.

Some of the green products in the demonstration included:

n EnergyStar® rated Refrigerators for the common kitchen and student apartment

n Highly efficient light bulbs for students’ rooms,

n A couch, recliner, tables, chairs and a bookcase in the lounge made from eco-friendly or recycled materials and

n Motion sensor light switches.

The changes in Merriam are designed to help show ways that students can live comfortably while reducing their ecological impact. The residence hall is expected to serve as an example to the campus in many ways, serving as a model for university-wide purchasing practices, increased recycling and other environmentally friendly efforts.

We are very proud to be part of this demonstration and hope that it will contribute to getting students to think about the materials their textbooks and books are made from and how they can be more sustainable.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Update from the book tour of 'Sleep Is for the Weak'

Update from the tour: the book tour of BlogHer's first book "Sleep is for the Weak," edited by Rita Arens (http://surrenderdorothy.typepad.com) and starring 23 mommybloggers is continuing with four events with our stickers on to go!

Just to remind you, 'Sleep is for the Weak' (Chicago Review Press, September 2008) brings together the best parenting essays written by the most talented mommybloggers in the blogosphere. The anthology provides clever, humorously true stories every parent can relate to, and tackles issues that many mothers and fathers face but are reluctant to discuss.

Eco-Libris is collaborating with editor Rita Arens to offer those who will purchase the book during the book tour, including today's event, the opportunity to balance out their new copy by planting one tree for it with us. All buyers will also receive with the book our sticker (made of recycled paper) saying "One tree planted for this book".

Here are the details of the upcoming signing events:

Saturday, Sept. 27 - Rita Arens, Tracey Gaughran-Perez and Amy Corbett Storch give a signing at Caribou Cafe from 5-7 p.m. in Washington, DC. (1400 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005) Sponsored by Graco.

Thursday, Oct. 2 - Stefania Pomponi Butler, Lisa Stone, Grace Davis, Jen Scharpen and Jenny Lauck give a signing at Keplers in Menlo Park at 7:30 p.m. (1010 El Camino Real Menlo Park CA, 94025) Sponsored by Graco.

Saturday, Oct. 4 - Rita Arens, Eden Marriott Kennedy, Stefania Pomponi Butler, Lisa Stone, Grace Davis, Jen Scharpen and Jenny Lauck give a signing at Swig in San Francisco from 5-7 p.m. (561 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102). Sponsored by Graco.

Saturday, Oct. 11 - Rita Arens and Amy Jo Jones give a signing at The Book Cellar in Chicago at from 4-6 p.m. (4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625)

So if you're nearby, don't miss it!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

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

The U.N. General Assembly in New York got a lot of attention because of the visit of the Iranian President, but it also had two important visitors that had a much more important message to the world leaders. They're both Nobel Peace Prize winners and they had one request to world leaders: make sure the protection of forests will be part of any global agreement that will take place in the post Kyoto era.

These guests were no other than former Vice President Al Gore and Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai. According to the International Herald Tribune, "the two Nobel Peace Prize winners, calling attention to deforestation blamed for a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, aimed their comments at world leaders converging for the U.N. General Assembly. They hoped to pave the way for billions of dollars in new spending to attack illegal logging."

Just a brief reminder: forest protection wasn't permitted under the Kyoto Protocol for carbon trading and and hence an important incentive to invest in such forest conservation projects was lost. But as we reported in the past, it 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 program that will replace in 2012.

Though it makes a lot of sense and enjoy the support of Prince Charles ("the world's rainforests is key to combating global warming") and Norway ("fighting deforestation is a quick and low-cost way to achieve cuts in greenhouse gas emissions blamed by scientists for global warming, in addition to maintaining biodiversity and securing people's livelihoods"), this is far from being a done deal and therefore requires the intervention of heavy-weight players such as Gore and Maathai.

So what did they tell the General Assembly? According to the article, Gore reminded his listeners that "one of the most effective things that we can do in the near term to reduce the emissions of global warming pollution is to halt this totally unnecessary deforestation," and Maathai urged the next U.S. President to persuade richer industrialized nations to reward developing nations for conserving and expanding their remaining forest cover."This country is the one we are waiting for to provide the leadership," she said.

I truly hope that with their support this issue will be taken seriously and will be part of the climate accord that will follow the Kyoto accord. This way live trees will have monetary value and not just when they're cut down for industrial use or just to make more room for farmland. This is probably one the quickest ways to significantly decrease deforestation and its hug contribute to global warming (about 20%). We'll have to wait to the planned meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009, where the details of the new accord will be formed, to know if Gore and Maathai succeeded in making it clear to everyone.

More articles about relevant issues:

Merrill Lynch is investing in forest protection

Prince Charles wants to team up with Norway to save forests

Preserving forests to fight global warming


Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Green Options - Greening Print Marketing: Is Soy Really Better?

As part of Eco-Libris' ongoing content partnership with Green Options Media, we feature a post that was originally published by Heidi Tolliver-Nigro on September 17 on The Inspired Economist. Today's post is about an important question to anyone interested in green printing: is soy ink really more friendly to the environment?

Many printers these days are promoting their use of soy-based inks as a way for marketers to “green” their print marketing programs. Certainly, any vegetable-based ink—such as cottonseed, linseed, and, most commonly, soy—sounds like it ought to be more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based inks. But is this really the case?

It is true that vegetable-based inks (in this post, we’ll look at soy) have very low levels of VOCs. Many soy proponents also claim that these inks come off the paper more easily than petroleum-based inks, making the paper easier to recycle. (However, evidence on this appears to be mixed.)

While “soy ink” sounds exotic, these inks have become so refined that they are now mainstream. They are readily available for sheetfed and newspapers. Heatset inks are also said to be “soy-based,” but this is really a mischaracterization, since the fast-drying requirements of the heatset process require that “soy inks” still be made primarily of petroleum.

Do You Give Up Anything?

Do marketers give anything up by using soy?

Green book of the week (and a new partner): BUTT UGLY by Lynn Montgomery

The green book we present you this week is triple green: it has a green theme, it's printed on recycled paper (and much more!) and it also collaborates with Eco-Libris!

And did we mention it has a great name? We're happy to present you with:

BUTT UGLY by Lynn Montgomery

Let's go over all of the book's green layers:

Firstly, the theme - the book is about a little green runt who needs a home. Here's the description from the book's web page: He's green. He's puny. And nobody wants to give him a home. What happens to the runt of the litter when he's abandoned on a doorstep in a Ding-Dong-Ditch? Mutts of the world unite! This book is for every 4-legged, 2-legged, and even 50-legged creature who has ever felt a little shy, a little alone, or a little butt ugly. And for all the heroes who have opened their homes and their hearts to love them.

Second, the book is printed in a very eco-friendly manner:

- on recycled paper

- with vegetable based inks

- no chlorine bleach

- printed with wind power in the U.S.

And last but not least, we are happy to announce on a collaboration with the book's author, Lynn Montgomery. At the first stage of our collaboration, a tree will be planted for every copy of the book sold this upcoming weekend at the Santa Barbara Book Festival. Readers will also receive our sticker (made of recycled paper), saying "One book planted for this book".

Lynn is one of the featured authors at the Santa Barbara Book Festival this weekend, and she will be speaking on Saturday on the Children's Book Panel from 3-4 in the Townley Room at the Library. It is a FREE event and fun for the whole family! You can find more details on the festival at http://www.sbbookfestival.org.

We will continue working with Lynn to plant trees for the upcoming prints of the book and our logo will be on the book. We are very excited to work with such an eco-friendly book that walks the talk, and we are very also proud to work together with the author, Lynn Montgomery, who is a very talented and creative author and won an Emmy for her writing.

Here are few more details on the book:

Book's name: BUTT UGLY

Author: Lynn Montgomery

Lynn Montgomery won a Los Angeles area Emmy for writing and producing a documentary on Child Abuse. She won a Writer's Guild Award for her Showtime Television adaptation of the beloved Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books. She created the NBC and Disney Channel series, The Torkelsons. She has worked for Disney Feature Animation, developing classic children's literature for motion pictures. She has written for television, radio, and newspapers.

Illustrator: Terrie Redding

Publisher: ZuZu Petals Books

Distributor: IPG (Independent Publishers Group)

Publisihing date: Spring 2009 (the book is now available in a limited edition through the publisher's website - http://www.zuzupetalsbooks.com/, selected Santa Barbara venues and personal appearances)

Enjoy the book!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

Great green (and naughty) giveaway on Alternative Consumer

Naughty and green giveaway? sounds like a weird combo, but it can definitely suit the Naughtibod, this week giveaway prize on Alternative Consumer.

So what is exactly the Naughtibod? it is a pocket-sized, phthalate-free, self-pleasuring device that dances to the beat of the music on your iPod, iPhone, or MP3 player. Wacky, crazy stuff — and a high-quality gizmo to help you relax. This little ‘velvety finished’ device also hooks-up to laptops and the like. Comes in four colors, and you can even switch to the ‘manual’ endcap which has 7, potent, non-musically motivated speeds.

I was very to hear about this giveaway from our friends at Alternative Consumer (one of favorite green blogs by the way), as it sounds really cool and and fun device, and it is also a very green sex toy - it's molded from premium grade hypoallergenic non-toxic, non porous ABS plastic with a PU coating with chrome finish detail. This product is phthalate free.

Alternative Consumer is offering truly lucky winners the Naughtibod (they can also choose their color preference). How you can participate? check out their post for further details: http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2008/09/19/naughtibod-great-green-giveaway/

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!

A new clip from our new partner Mille Poetes

We like video clips, especially when we're in them and today we have one to show you from our new partner, Mille Poetes.

Mille Poetes Editions is a Montreal based, French language publisher that has been created for authors, poets and readers. It's also a new partner of Eco-Libris! Its main focus is poetry and the facilitation of the publication process for the artists.

Mille Poets Editions dedicate 2% of their monthly sales to planting trees to combat deforestation, desertification and poverty. An interview with the publisher will be posted here soon, so stay tuned. More information can be found on their website: http://www.mille-poetes.com/.

And now for the video clip that shows our collaboration in pictures, text and music. Enjoy!

More video clips with Eco-Libris:

Eco-Libris on the coolest online green TV series

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Plant a tree for every book you read!