Odd Observation On Earth Day
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As many of you are aware, today is Earth Day and hopefully you are doing a little something (each and every day preferably) to help make the Earth a better place.
Unfortunately, I have to question the practice of some book publishers and/or authors that have written books about “going green” or living with a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.
It isn’t the material that is discussed in their books but the books themselves.
While strolling through the aisles at Barnes & Noble, I noticed that there was an entire table on display featuring a variety of books on Earth Day, green living, and the environment. As I made my way around the table, I came to a pile of books that made me scratch my head.
The books were all wrapped in plastic!
After the initial humor of the irony passed, I realized that the books must be wrapped in recycled plastic. Picking up the first book, I did see that it was marked as using a recycled plastic wrap.
Unfortunately, none of the other books that were covered in the plastic wrapping had any sort of designation that they were using recycled plastic. While I would still like to give them the benefit of the doubt that they were using recycled plastic - they wouldn’t be that foolish, would they? - it still made me wonder what type of message they were sending.
Have you done or noticed anything out of the ordinary on Earth Day?
As much as I would like to tell you that I didn’t shave this morning in an effort to conserve water, it was really because I woke up late and was trying to rush out the door. While at work, I never turn on my office lights but unfortunately my boss didn’t buy my request to work with my monitor turned off today - although it is energy efficient.
If you’re looking for some interesting information to share with your kids to get them more interested in Earth Day, be sure to check out the For Kids section on the Earth Day website.
Remember, every small action can make a difference - even if it is just setting a positive example as a role model for your children.
Happy Earth Day!
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Just the very nature of the printed book would be a little anti-Earth Day, wouldn’t it?
1. The books are made of paper, requiring the cutting of trees, the transportation of the wood, and the processing of the wood into paper.
2. Recycled paper is better than regular paper, but there is still some pollution emitted from the recycling process, I’d imagine.
3. The delivery of the books to the stores requires trucks and so on, and those pollute.
4. The aforementioned plastic wrap can’t be good.
The list can go on and on. Assuming that there is “green” electricity in your area (Vancouver gets its electricity from hydro power), would it not be better for the environment to take the route of digital delivery and e-books?
Michael Kwan’s last blog post..Upgraded to Wordpress 2.5
Kwan said what I was thinking…
Israel’s last blog post..Earth Day, What’s The Big Deal?
@Michael :: I had thoughts of taking the post in that direction but wasn’t sure where I would stop.
As a freelance writer, is all of your work in a digital media or do you do print work as well?
@Israel :: Thanks for stopping by!
In situations like this, I look to Al Gore
Stephen’s last blog post..Saitek Cyborg 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset Review
@Derek :: Is your use of the ampersand brought on by Twitter or have you always responded to comments like that?
Back on topic, I’d say that 99.9% of my freelance work is online. I’ve come across a few small jobs for print/offline, but those are few and far between.
@Stephen :: Don’t forget about Canada’s David Suzuki too.
Michael Kwan’s last blog post..Case Study: Twitter + StumbleUpon = Massive Traffic
Michael, when not using threaded comments and replying to multiple comments in one response, I have used that designation for quite some time - well before I signed on with twitter.
Thanks for the feedback on your freelance work with regard to online vs. print.