Stop Junk Mail

Follow this link to a very informative Salon article about how to stop junk mail with links to junk-mail-busting websites, including free ones. Why am I blogging this on an environmental site? According to Salon, junk mail is a significant source of pollution:

In fact, the annual greenhouse-gas emissions from the production of junk mail are equal to those of 3.5 million cars. (That figure doesn't include emissions from transporting and disposing of the stuff.) Beyond that, each year junk mail production in the U.S. consumes more than 96.7 billion gallons of water and more than 100 million trees, ForestEthics estimates. Most of those, says Chester Vance, come from carbon-dioxide-sequestering, biologically diverse old-growth forests, rather than from sustainably managed tree farms. And according to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about a third of all junk mail is recycled. "All that for a response rate of less than 3 percent," Chester Vance notes, referring to the fact that fewer than 3 percent of people -- often even fewer -- respond to the solicitations.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 25 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.Find discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/

Junking Junk Mail

How much would you pay to stop the flow of junk mail clogging your mailbox? An article from the New York Times excerpted below discusses some new options for doing just that, but in some cases, it ain't cheap:

Now a new online service called Catalog Choice (www.catalogchoice.org) is facilitating attempts to unsubscribe. The site was developed by three nonprofit environmental groups — the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Ecology Center — to relay requests en masse to specific retailers. Since it was introduced last Wednesday, more than 20,000 people have registered.
Retailers have thus far supported efforts to target consumers more effectively, but not legislation to enact do-not-mail lists (which would operate similarly to do-not-call lists). The Direct Marketing Association, a trade group that advocates direct mail as an effective form of retail advertising, offers its own “mail preference service,” although it requires a $1 payment by credit card to register online. Several other sites charge $15 to $41 for services that stop junk mail and catalogs.
Catalog Choice, which does not charge a fee, helps retailers “to maintain a ‘clean’ list so that they are not mailing to people who don’t want their catalogs,” said Kate Sinding, a senior lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
There have been some surprises: The most requests have come from people who wish to stop receiving the catalogs of L. L. Bean, a company built on an image of embracing the great outdoors.
Carolyn Beem, an L. L. Bean spokeswoman, said the company mails 250 million catalogs annually, “and we have one of the cleanest lists in the industry.” It monitors its mailings to prevent duplicates and allows customers to specify how many catalogs they wish to receive — if any. She said the company would be open to requests from an outside service like Catalog Choice.

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 states and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htmEnjoy discounts on energy saving products at http://www.shopipl.org/.

Junk the Junk Mail

Save a Tree (and some carbon dioxide). Pledge to get off of junkmail lists as part of this month's Carbon Conscious Consumer Challenge.

Why you should take this pledge:
Everything we consume has a climate impact, but paper more so than most commodities. According to the Department of Energy, the forest products industry is the third largest industrial consumer of energy, behind only petroleum and chemicals, and the pulp and paper industry uses the vast majority of that energy. The production and disposal of direct mail alone consumes more energy than 3 million cars! So if junk mail adds clutter and annoyance to your life AND exacerbates climate change, why not take action to lighten your load?

Interfaith Power and Light is a religious response to global warming with chapters in 22 (Including Maine) and Greater Washington, D.C. Find a link to your local chapter at http://www.theregenerationproject.org/State.htm