Earth Day 2011 - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason no. 4

We continue with our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 4:

I want to plant a tree for my book so that my children will always have a nice quiet spot to read as they grow older! They'll also be able to see how their favorite books were once trees as well! - Cassie

Thank you Cassie for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Cassie, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

A novel about the urban farming and sustainability movement looks for funding on Kickstarter

Nick Esposito, an urban agriculturalist and writer from West Philadelphia who is also the founder of PhillyRooted, have spent the last six months working on a novel about the urban farming and sustainability movement. He will be releasing the novel on April 29th and have set up a Kickstarter page to help raise the funds for printing it.

His goal is to raise $2,500 until April 8 and so far he raised $1,065. If you'd like to support the project or learn more about it, please visit Nick's Kickstarter page. Remember that the goal should be met by April 8, or otherwise the project won't get funded (which, in this situation, all the people who did contributed money to the project will receive it back).

Here's the video clip on his upcoming book:

Here's some more information on the project from the Kickstarter page:

For the past six years of my life, I've been cultivating my experiences, my ideals and my energy into writing my novel, Seeds of Discent. As you read this, you may point out the typo on the word, Discent. Well, it's not a typo. It's all explained at the end of the book. But in order to find this out, I'll need to get the book published. So for now, a little background on how this idea came about. When I first graduated college, I went out in the world to become a writer. But somewhere along the way, I just couldn't deny my natural passion for social justice and activism. So these ideals took me on a long journey into the world of urban farming. In a sense, this book tells the story of that journey. But this is not an autobiography. I hope that the characters of this book and their story captures this vibrant movement in a more encompassing way. I feel that the sustainability movement will be for our generation what the civil rights movement or the enlightenment movement was to past generations. And I hope this book will be a part of helping bring this movement into the mainstream.

I feel that the crux of any movement is in the artistic interpretation of it. So for the past six months I have finally taken the chance to sit down and compile this story. I am in the final revision process with my amazing editor and designer and we are ready to send it off to the printer at the end of April. Because yes, I am self publishing. Five years ago, people would pity a writer for taking this route. But today, with the help of social media and some really talented friends, I couldn't think of a better way. I've been fortunate enough to create a team of my great friends at Carpe Diem Construction Design Company to put together a book that will not only be professionally executed, but also immensely unique in its creativity and scope. I also have a lot of help with publicity from the Philadelphia artist, agriculture and media communities to promote this work.

The money I hope to raise will cover all of my printing costs for my first run of the book, and also to compensate my very talented friends who could probably have made much more money on other projects, but who are willing to work with me because they believe in this project. These funds will be the first investment into other runs that I hope will result in larger distribution and ultimately the broader success of this book.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason #3

We continue with our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 3:

Planting a tree for my book is a good idea because this way my book can "give back" to Mother Nature by starting life again! - Shannon

Thank you Shannon for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Shannon, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Apple reduced the iPad 2 carbon footprint by 20 percent

Last week the environmental report of the iPad 2, where we learned that its carbon footprint is 105 kg CO2e, a reduction of 19.2% comparing to the footprint of the first model.

This is the first out of two posts where we'll analyze the differences between the iPad and iPad 2 from a green point of view. Today we'll focus on the carbon footprint.

So, here's the carbon footprint of the iPad 2:



And here's the carbon footprint of the iPad:


Now let's look at figures instead of percentages as part of the total footprint:

	iPad	iPad 2	Change
Production	75.4	63	-16.4%
Transport	14.3	10.5	-26.6%
Customer use	39	30.45	-21.9%
Recycling	1.3	1.05	-19.2%
Carbon footprint:	130	105	-19.2%

As you can see, we have a reduction in the footprint of each one of the 4 components in the life cycle of the device. The greatest reduction is in transport, followed by customer use, recycling and production.

What's the reason for these changes and does this 20% reduction in the carbon footprint means that the iPad 2 is green? We'll try to answer in these questions on Thursday, on the second part of this analysis.

Comparing the iPad 2 it to paper books:

For this comparison, I'll use the figure of 7.46 kg of CO2 to represent the lifecycle carbon emissions of an average book. This is also the figure I used for the comparison made for the first model of the iPad.

This figure was presented on the Cleantech report (The Environmental Impact of Amazon's Kindle) and according to the report based on three independent studies that used life cycle analysis calculators to assess the impact of raw materials (I know it's much higher from the figure of 4.01 kg presented on the 2008 Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry report, but I believe it helps to make the comparison more balanced).

So, comparing between the two gives us the following breakeven point: iPad 2 = 14.1 paper books.

It means that if you put aside all the other uses of the iPad, then from a carbon footprint point of view, it becomes a more environmental friendly alternative option for book reading once you finished reading your 14th book on your iPad (or 15th book if you want to be more accurate).

If you make the comparison based on the 4.01 kg CO2 per book (provided by the Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry report), the breakeven point is 26.2 books (comparing to 32.4 books for the first iPad).

This is of course a conservative estimate since the iPad, as a tablet computer, has many other users and actually reading ebooks is not the most popular use of these devices. If you take other uses in consideration, the breakeven point may be lower.

Last but not least, although I criticized Apple many times here and in other places, I think they deserve kudos for publishing this report and making it available just within a week of the release of the iPad 2. Right now they're the only ones doing it - Amazon or B&N don't disclose any sort of environmental reports on the Kindle or the Nook, so thank you Apple and I truly wish Amazon and others will try to imitate you not just in technological innovation but also in the level of transparency you're presenting.

More resources on how green is the iPad can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ipad.asp

More resources on the ebooks vs. physical books environmental debate can be found on our website at www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason #2

Yesterday we started our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 2:

Planting a tree for you book represents the circle that life is supposed to be. We give and take and that balance is what keeps everything working the way it is supposed to. It is when one end of the teeter-totter weighs heavier than the other that system doesn't work. Or when one side rows and the other doesn't, we go in circles instead of moving ahead. - Jen Forbus

Thank you Jen for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Jen, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Our Earth Day campaign, 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, is beginning today!

Eco-Libris celebrates the 41st Annual Earth Day with a new campaign, where we ask readers to tell us why planting a tree for their book is a good idea.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days, starting today culminating with Earth Day on April 22, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 1:

I would plant a tree for my book so that people have a nice shady spot where they can read my book and watch the wildlife that helped inspire my book! - Juliet

Thank you Juliet for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Juliet, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Top Ten Books to Read in Your Garden

Believe it or not but it's almost spring and this is definitely the time to start thinking about what you want to plant this year in your garden, buy seeds and get ready to do some gardening work. To celebrate the return of the garden to our life (although it's always in our heart, even when it's covered in snow for weeks..), we have a guest post with recommendations on 10 great books to read in your garden.

Top Ten Books to Read in Your Garden

This guest post was contributed by Garden

Gardening is invigorating, dirty, tender, satisfying work and nothing quite compares to sinking your teeth into a sun-warmed, just-picked tomato, its juice dripping down your chin. One that you planted months prior, first indoors then transplanted out in your composted soil - preparing a plot being an art in itself. Then staking it and pinching its first flowers so seedings establish before fruit production, and finally weeding and mulching and watering and doing it all over again, and again.

Reading a book is a similar, delicious commitment, and one perhaps best enjoyed in your garden.

The following ten books all celebrate the outdoors, some in a grand way, others more quietly. May their contents inspire you to breathe your air more deeply, embrace your environs more fully.

THE BIG PICTURE

Planet Earth - Alastair Fothergill

Maybe you saw the Discovery Channel's program and are already familiar with the wondrous footage, shot over five years, of the world's wildlife and their habitats. Page turn at your leisure through these awe-inspiring images and accompanying text. A particularly enthralling section is a feature on the otherworldly Lechuguilla Cave, it's top-secret entrance and then strenuous subterranean descent.

HOW PLANT PASSION CAN TURN CRIMINAL

The Orchid Thief - Susan Orlean

New Yorker writer Orlean decides to explore the world of John Laroche, awaiting trial for stealing endangered orchids from Florida's Fakahatchee Swamp, after reading about him in a local newspaper. What follows is an eccentric, funny, and revealing story about an orchid-infatuated subculture.


LIVING OFF YOUR LAND

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver

A family's good-humoured and enlightening story about eating food only grown by them or from their local area for a whole year. It also includes recipes and sidebars on industrial agriculture.


AN OVERSEAS GARDEN

French Dirt - Richard Goodman

An enchanting account of Goodman's move from New York City to a French village, and what he discovers from gardening there - about the village's inhabitants and himself.

DREAM BIGGER

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love - Kristin Kimball

City girl moves upstate to start a cooperative farm with the man who will become her husband. The memoir, while initially idealistic, is refreshingly honest about the hard work necessary to build and maintain a farm.


NO DIRT, JUST BUGS

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders - Lorus and Margery Milne

A wonderfully authoritative visual guide - includes 702 photographs - with detailed descriptions of habitats, ranges, food and life cycles of North American insects and spiders.

YUM

Eat Your Yard - Nan K. Chase

Chase details the 35 different trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and flowers that you can grow on your property then enjoy at your next meal!





PERHAPS INSPIRING YOU TO FARM

The Seasons on Henry’s Farm - Terra Brockman

Brockman expertly - and with tremendous heart - writes about the cycle of a year on her Illinois sustainable farm.





MARTHA THEY AREN'T

The Bucolic Plague - Josh Kilmer-Purcell

A hilarious read - and true story - about a gay couple who make a go of the rural life before they became Planet Green's Fabulous Beekman Boys.




THOUGHTFULLY EARTH-MOVING

In the Company of Stone - Dan Snow

Waller Dan Snow builds, yes, walls, but also dams, grottos, pathways, spheres, staircases, terraces, even softball field bleachers, all with found stone and without mortar or nails. Called dry-stone construction and completely hand built, Snow's art is celebrated in Peter Mauss's gorgeous photographs while Snow's prose - equally practical and poetic - are as engaging as his works.