Books

According to the FAO, 40% of wood that is felled for industrial uses is destined to make paper. The paper industry uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry, is the fifth largest consumer of energy and one of those which release more toxic pollution to air and water. Let us look for books printed on recycled paper, which besides saving trees is manufactured with a lot less of water and power than virgin paper and releases far less pollutants.

How can we do it

Nowadays there is paper of the same quality that the virgin one for most uses, even for photocopiers. Only some printings that must have very specific qualities, as for examples full colour very brilliant photos, cannot be made out of recycled paper. Recycled paper has the same durability as virgin one.
Let us look for in our environment those publishers that are printing on recycled paper.
Greenpeace is working with many book publishers so that they commit to the campaign Ancient Forest Friendly' Book papers, but progress is slow. Some authors that have committed to choose recycled paper or FSC for their books are Andrea De Carlo, José Saramago, Isabel Allende, JK Rowling, Ian Rankin, Günter Grass or Marlene Streeruwitz.
One option to save paper might by electronic books, but so far to read on the screen for many people is much more uncomfortable than reading on paper, and so, maybe after we have read some pages we will be eager to print the book also, and then it will be a more uncomfortable book that one printed as usual. The screen book makers may make it easier. The Gutenberg Project offers us for free almost 20,000 titles, for which the copyright reservation has expired.
The audio books are spoken books to be listened to. They are easy to find in the internet (for example here).

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international organization that grants a stamp of guarantee to products derived from forests or plantations managed in environmental standards and without causing social damage. When printing on virgin paper, that it be FSC.

How can we do it

Publishers using FSC paper: Gallimard (France, Belgium), Bloomsbury (United Kingdom), Círculo de Lectores (Spain). Commited to do it soon are: Ediciones Salamandra (Spain), Salani (Italy).

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Data d'actualització: 10/06/2010 - 19:25