Looking for an affordable green birthday gift?

What's the connection between musician Alicia Keys, Virginia Woolf actresses China Kantner and blues singer Etta James?

They were all born on January 25! If you're also celebrating your birthday today - happy birthday to you too!

We love birthdays and therefore we're happy to remind you of the option to celebrate a birthday of friends, family members, colleagues and anyone you care about with Eco-Libris!

Eco-Libris is offering you now to plant trees to balance out the books of your loved ones who celebrate their birthday. Not only that new trees will be planted to balance out their books, but they will also receive our stickers with a beautiful birthday card made of recycled paper. And we also try to keep it affordable - the added charge for the birthday card is only $1.5.

All you need to do is to choose how many of the birthday person's books you want to balance out on our special birthday gift page (http://www.ecolibris.net/birthday.asp), change the shipping address on the payment page to the address of the gift receiver and we will take care of the rest!

This is also a great green add-on if you're buying a book as a gift for the birthday person, especially if you're buying her or him a green book.

The birthday cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture above of one of their cards). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Sounds like a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers!

And of course, if it's your birthday and you want to give yourself a green gift - get yourself a nice green book and plant a tree for it with us!

Happy Birthday!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

POKEN is the new cool social business card, but is it also the greenest alternative to paper cards?

I read about POKEN at Treehugger and this cute gadget can definitely become an alternative to business cards, but is it a greener alternative as well?

Firstly, what is POKEN? as their website explains, it's "a new social business card. Not a flat, white piece of plastic that you stick in a wallet. But one that uses the latest RFID technology to keep people connected in a fun way. POKEN helps people to spark up conversations and keep them going, in all kinds of ways and in their own personal style.Founded in December 2007 and headquartered in Lausanne (Switzerland) with partners around the globe, the mission of Poken, its products, employees, fans and users is to bring people together in their own way and on their own terms"

But you've got to see - check out this video:



So is it greener? Jaymi Heimbuch explains at Treehugger "While the POKEN seems like a great alternative to paper business cards, especially for those heavily involved in online social networking as it links up with Facebook, Twitter and 45 other networking sites. However, it doesn't seem to be a much greener alternative than what services we already have available. It seems much more appropriate that if you're taking your business info digital, you use services that are digital on the devices you already own, like your cell phone, to transfer the information. We'd rather see an app for that, than a whole new electronic device."

Heimbuch is right, but we can't ignore the "coolness factor", which makes the POKEN an attractive alternative to the traditional paper biz cards. I guess no app will be as cool and memorable as the Obama POKEN for example..

Is the POKEN greener for example than business cards printed on recycled paper? it's hard to tell. I guess we'll need to wait for a life cycle assessment to determine it. In the meantime, if you want to purchase a cute POKEN, the price is $19.95 and there's a minimum order of 12.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

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

Flux is publishing a new edition of "Bridges to Ourselves" and is collaborating with Eco-Libris to green it up!

The Norwegian publisher Flux is releasing an updated edition of a very interesting book about dream interpenetration - "Bridges to Ourselves" by Astri Hognestad. And it's going green with Eco-Libris!

Flux is partnering with Eco-Libris to plant trees to balance out the wonderful books they're publishing and "Bridges to Ourselves" is no different. We're proud to announce that this book, as well as all the other books published by Flux is going green with Eco-Libris, and 325 trees are being planted to balance out this new Norwegian edition of the book.

So what is "Bridges to Ourselves" (or as the book is called in Norwegian: Broer til oss selv) about? Here's a description of the book:
When we are prevented from living fully, it's often because the life energy is shut down by acquired and ingrained attitudes, with narrow boundaries. We get different kinds of symptoms and reactions that either paralyze us or that are outside of our control. Inner conflict determine patterns of thought and hard feelings that are expressed in our dreams. Understanding dreams may turn out to create a new perspective on the situation and show the way forward.

Even fairytales can show us possible development paths. Fairytales are often symbolic stories of inner emotional processes. They create recognition and help us further. Based on the Titanic disaster as a symbol of a crisis in our time, the author sheds light on how the dreams, fairytales and other stories can open a new understanding of some central themes in life and to help create greater freedom and a deeper meaning in the individual's life.

The book aims to help us to understand our response patterns, so that we can live more in harmony with our own personality. Professionals who work with people can also benefit from the book.

More books from Flux:
Turning to One Another
Leadership and Self-Deception
The 100-years' Targets
The 5th Step
The Integral Vision
Dyp glede (Deep Joy): Arne Næss on deep ecology

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

According to the Forest Carbon Markets 2009 report uncertainty is high but the market is growing

The State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009 report was released with the conclusion that "At the end of 2009, the market for forest carbon stands in an uncertain position on the verge of potentially enormous growth".

As ClimateBiz reports, "State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out," is based on research involving more than 100 market participants whose work encompasses 230 projects that have generated credits in 40 countries for over 20 years.

The report is explaining how the current uncertainty on the REDD and the U.S. regulation fronts generate both risks and opportunities for investors interested in forest-based carbon credits:

Already countries have committed politically in international negotiations to reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) and several have also committed financing. At the same time, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act awaiting it’s fate in the United States’ Senate explicitly calls for domestic forestry offsets and includes financing for REDD.

It is not possible to say what shape US climate regulation will take – or what sort of global mechanisms for funding REDD will emerge from current international negotiations. Amidst this scene of opportunity and risk, investors are still eyeing forest carbon, though many are waiting on more definite regulatory signals before taking a financial leap. Even without market certainty, infrastructure and measurement tools continue to mature rapidly. Such tools, along with years of lessons learned accumulated, will inevitably serve as the foundation for forest carbon finance in years to come.

Regardless of this uncertainty, the forest carbon market grew from $7.6 million in 2006 to $37.1 in 2008 (after a $40.5 million record in 2008). The report said the forest carbon market was worth $21 million in the first half of 2009.

This is a very interesting and important report and you can find it at http://moderncms.ecosystemmarketplace.com/repository/moderncms_documents/SFCM.pdf

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

Getting Ready for Digital Book World 2010 with Mike Shatzkin & Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

A new “Beyond the Book” podcast is released, offering a special preview of first-time conference Digital Book World that kicks off next week in New York City.

Conference chair and industry pundit Mike Shatzkin of the Idea Logical Company, and colleague Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, join host Chris Kenneally to discuss the conference, e-books, e-readers and the overall impact of digital change on the publishing industry.

I found it very a interesting conversation about one of the hottest issues today in the publishing market (even though there was no direct mention "green" related consequences of the digital revolution in the book market..).

Here's just one quote to give you a taste of what you'll hear. This is a quote from Mike Shatzkin:

I think unsettling and disturbing would probably be a far more accurate description than happy. I don’t think that the business that we’ve known for – pretty consistently operated in the same way for the last 50 or 75 years is not going to be particularly recognizable in another five or 10 years, and that can’t make people who have been succeeding in the business as it was very comfortable.

What I would say is that music and newspaper and magazines for that matter had a special problem that’s different from books, which is that they – newspapers and music always sold customers things they didn’t want to buy. You wanted three songs, they sold you an album with 12. You buy the Boston Globe for six different particular things in it, but they sold you 85 other things that you didn’t buy it for.

The podcast can be heard here: http://beyondthebookcast.com/at-digital-book-world-a-is-for-audience/.

A full transcript of the conversation is available here: http://www.beyondthebookcast.com/wp-images/DBWPreviewTranscript.pdf

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

SFI has released an upgraded standard. Will it be enough to compete with FSC?

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a forest certification program, which so far was considered by many not as credible or effective at conserving forest resources as the FSC certification. Now SFI has released a new and upgraded standard. Will it change anything? Will SFI become equal to FSC?

The SFI certification program was founded in 1995 by timber and paper companies as an alternative to FSC program, which was formed in 1993 by international environmental groups. On the SFI website you can read that the SFI® label is "a sign you are buying wood and paper products from a responsible source, backed by a rigorous, third-party certification audit." Others see it a bit differently, like ForestEthics, who argues that the SFI "promotes lax industry-manipulated standards".

A good place to learn more about the claims against the SFI is http://credibleforestcertification.org. This site was launched by the Alliance for Credible Forest Certification, which is comprised of non-profit conservation organizations and others dedicated to credible certification and other market-based solutions for protecting and restoring forest ecosystems, including American Lands Alliance, Dogwood Alliance, ForestEthics, Greenpeace, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Council Maine, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club.

This website includes links to many comparisons between FSC and SFI. The conclusion of all of them is similar - SFI is not as credible as FSC. Here's one example from iGreenBuild.com:

In 2004, the Forests & European Union Resource Network (FERN) released “Footprints in the Forest: Current Practice and Future Challenges in Forest Certification.”2 The report examined eight certification systems from around the globe. While the report raised concerns with all the systems, FERN found the FSC “remains by far the most independent, rigorous and, therefore, credible certification system” and “only the FSC…deserves the confidence of consumers.” FERN found the SFI “[is] probably one of the least credible of all schemes researched” and fails to rely on performance based standards, consult with stakeholders, and use chain-of-custody product tracking.

And now what? Kathy Abusow of SFI updated that "You’ll see our new standard improves conservation of biodiversity, recognizes emerging issues such as climate change and bioenergy, and expands logger training in North America. It has made our fiber sourcing requirements stronger, and complements SFI activities aimed at avoiding controversial or illegal offshore fiber sources."

As reported on Environmental Leader, the standard also has 20 objectives, 39 performance measures and 114 indicators, which is up from 13 objectives, 34 performance measures, and 102 indicators in the previous version. To be certified, forest operations must be third-party audited by independent and accredited certification bodies, says SFI.

You can find a detailed summary of significant revisions in the SFI 2010-2014 Standard on this link.

Will these changes be satisfactory? We'll have to wait and see, but a good indication will be the decision of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), who is considering to revise its current practice not to give points for wood certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Currently the FSC is the only certification system whose wood qualifies for points under the LEED green construction system. If the USGBC will decide to approve SFI-certified wood as well, it will definitely give the revised SFI certification the Kosher stamp it is looking for.

More related stories:
ForestEthics is fighting the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

Will Xerox help to further green up the Espresso Book Machine?

Last September we reported that On Demand Books, the maker of the Espresso Book Machine, signed an agreement with Google, making its over two million public domain titles available directly to consumers. On Thursday On Demand Books announced on a new strategic partnership - this time with Xerox.

According to the press release, "Xerox and On Demand Books will jointly market and sell, on a worldwide basis, the Xerox 4112™ Copier/Printer together with the Espresso Book Machine – a fully integrated solution that prints, binds and trims books with full color covers on demand in retail locations and libraries. The Espresso Book Machine can produce paperbacks in variable combinations of trim sizes between 4.5" x 5.0" and 8.25" x 10.5" for a production cost less than one cent per page."

What does it mean that the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) will be sold from now on with the Xerox 4112 Copier/Printer? Well, firstly, it's about offering a faster and better performance - With the Xerox 4112, the Espresso Book Machine produces a 300-page book in less than four minutes and has the capacity to print more than 40,000 paperback books per year.

But there's more as Judith Rosen points out on PW: "By partnering with Xerox, On Demand will have access to a sales force for the first time and will make joint sales calls with Xerox, which will forward leads."

This partnership is a natural fit for On Demand Books, as the CEO, Dane Neller, explains on the press release “Their solutions, industry leadership, innovative printing technology and worldwide sales and marketing footprint will help us reach our goal – providing book enthusiasts fast and affordable access to millions of digital titles in multiple languages.”

We hope Xerox will contribute not only to the speed of the EBM, but also to further green it up. The EBM has a potential to become a true green alternative as it has a smaller footprint in comparison with the regular printing and distribution system. But there's still the issue of the paper and the challenge is of course to move from virgin paper to recycled paper to further reduce its footprint. We hope Xerox, which has a very good reputation when it comes to integrating sustainability into business, will help EBM to meet this challenge.

Xerox publishing v-p John Conley is quoted on PW saying that "..we have many, many skills that can make them more robust as you set a goal for worldwide capability. We think we can help make this incredibly significant. We like what it can do for the book distribution model.” He's definitely right and we hope Xerox will also use its skills and power to make the EBM not only a model of a better book distribution model, but also a model of a sustainable book production system.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!