Blog Action Day

"What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day?
One issue. One day. Thousands of voices."

Today, October 15th, is Blog Action Day. This is the inaugural year of what looks to be an ongoing event in which bloggers around the world will unite to put forth ideas on a single, important topic. The topic this year is the environment. Unfortunately, taking care of the planet we all live on has become a political football with both sides often striking rather ridiculous chords. Personally I'm tired of listening to either side and am just trying to do my part to keep our environment clean and safe. I'm not doing anything dramatic (yet) but I really believe that if everyone did relatively easy things like recycling, reducing energy use, avoiding toxic chemicals as much as possible, etc. that we would see dramatic results.

One thing I had never thought of was how many trees are consumed in the printing of books. I am a major book lover and happen to think books are a reasonable use of trees. Still if there were something a book lover like me could do to lessen the impact of their passion that would be a good thing. That's where Eco-Libris comes in.

Here is a bit of information about Eco-Libris from their website:

"What is Eco-Libris?
Once upon a time there was Ex-Libris (a Latin phrase meaning ‘from the books’), a label people used to paste on their books to indicate ownership. We see Eco-Libris as the new, green version of Ex-Libris. In our vision people will balance out their books by planting trees and will indicate their commitment to sustainability by putting an Eco-Libris sticker on the sleeves of these books. As people once showed their love for books with Ex-Libris, we hope to see people show their love for books and the environment with Eco-Libris."

Briefly, you "balance out" your books by paying to have trees planted. For each book you balance out, you receive a sticker (made from recycled paper, of course) to place on the cover of your book thus demonstrating your commitment to sustainability and responsible use of natural resources.

I just learned of Eco-Libris recently and haven't yet participated but I think it is an interesting concept and one worth sharing with others.