Wood-Free Publishing Is On The Horizon

Changes are taking place on the publishing front regarding TRULY green options for our future. Young people in America are finally beginning to see the big picture.  Katie Padilla, a recent college graduate and budding young journalist out of Texas did a nice job summing it up.

Would you believe?

According to Hardy Green in "Pulpless Fiction" (The Business Week, June 23, 2008) an average of 30 million trees pay the price each year for our reading material.

and

Margo Baldwin, in "Zero-Waste Publishing" (Publishers Weekly, August 14, 2006) calculated that each book releases roughly 8.9 pounds of emission. In 2004, the gross sales of consumer books averaged a total of 188 million pounds of diesel fuel simply through transport.

She goes on to identify the changes taking place as the collective consciousness of humanity begins to correct this huge environmental impact.  It begins above, in the ether, through the proliferation of digital media on the Global webisphere.

Solutions to this problem are three-tiered. The first tier, already in full force, is through e-publishing. It is relatively easy to do; many e-books require a simple Adobe Reader or Microsoft Player download

The second tier, already implemented yet still kept rather under wraps, is the brain-child of Amazon.com...(read the full article)

Meanwhile, back here on the tera firma, our journalilst begins to enlighten us on the economic advantages of using wood-pulp alternatives

The third tier, which will be the biggest once it becomes more developed, is the development to find alternative methods to paper-making aside from traditional wood-pulp. The conservation of trees is not necessarily an issue, but rather the other elements that are involved in paper-making. There is research pending on more "green" paper, using fibers ranging from the bagasse plant (sugar cane), to kenaf (a long-fiber plant that originated in the East Indes and is grown in the U.S.). Kenaf, for example, can be produced at about half the cost-per-unit of wood pulp. Hemp is even a viable option; it can be recycled seven times, impressive compared to the four times for wood. Jim Motavalli states in "The Paper Chase" (E--The Environmental Magazine, May/June 2004) that hemp is stronger than wood, lasts longer, and the paper made from its pulp is both acid- and chlorine-free after treatments.

I would like to have seen the author put a little more emphasis on the hemp solution, as my research indicates hemp as the most ecological solution that will benefit society on a multitude of levels.  More on that will be reported soon, so stay tuned. And I am proud to report that I am in full agreement with Katie's conclusion that

The future of publishing looks very green on the horizon, and as the Digital Age progresses the written word will see a new light. Whether pushing the button or physically turning the page, trees are on their way out. In their place is a breath of fresh, clean, and pure air, and in their wake is a small footprint.

Amen to that!

Out here in the Webisphere, there is no air pollution. It's like heaven.  As above, so below. Let's plant those seeds and grow, grow, grow!

Peace from Above,
RJ

Source: The Future of Publishing is Wood-Free (full article)

Digital Journal News
Published September 10, 2010 by Katie Padilla