Canadian Firm Prints Harry Potter on Green Pages (Laugh-till-you-die Alert)

Environment News Service (ENS) ^ | June 20, 2003 | Some Green Moron

[nwrep]

Canadian Firm Prints Harry Potter on Green Pages

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 19, 2003 (ENS) - Fans of the Harry Potter (news - web sites) books probably do not associate the little wizard with rainforests or recycling, but that will change for at least 935,000 readers of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." The Canadian edition of the eagerly anticipated book--all 935,000 copies--has been printed by Canadian publisher Raincoast Books on 100 percent recycled, endangered forest free paper, a move that many believe represents a landmark event for environmentally friendly publishing.

•	Sierra Club of Canada - British Columbia Chapter
•	Greenpeace: Action to Protect Ancient Forests
•	OneWorld on Forests

Supported by
Cable & Wireless

"By printing the latest Harry Potter book on 100 percent recycled paper, Raincoast has set the stage for a complete transformation of the publishing industry," said Lafcadio Cortesi, director of the Boreal Campaign at ForestEthics. "Readers everywhere appreciate that the magic is not just what is written on the pages, it is the very pages themselves."

And the author of the largest selling fiction book in history has penned her own heartfelt endorsement of Raincoast's decision to publish Potter's latest adventure on ancient forest friendly paper.

"The forest at Hogwarts is home to magical creatures like unicorns and centaurs," Rowling writes in an endorsement that appears prominently in the Canadian edition.

"Because the Canadian editions are printed on Ancient-Forest Friendly paper, the Harry Potter books are helping to save magnificent forests in the muggle world, forests that are home of magical animals such as Orangutans, Wolves and Bears," Rowling wrote. "It is a good idea to respect ancient trees, especially if they have a temper like the Whomping Willow."

According to research done by Markets Initiative--a coalition project of three environmental organizations, Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Greenpeace Canada and the British Columbia Chapter of Sierra Club (news - web sites) of Canada--the 935,000 books printed by Raincoast Books will save almost 30,000 trees in forests such as the Boreal forest of Canada, as well as in Canada's rainforests and throughout the Rockies region.

In addition, it will conserve 20,248 BTUs of electricity--195 years of electricity to power the average American home--and 2,679,548 pounds of greenhouse gases, which equals 2.4 million miles traveled by car with average fuel efficiency.

The paper used in the books printed by Raincoast was produced by San Francisco-based New Leaf Paper.

The greening of Potter is part of a broader effort by publishers and writers in Canada and the U.S., led by Markets Initiative, to increase the use of environmentally friendly papers in their books.

Thus far, 35 Canadian and 20 U.S. publishers have made formal commitments to use recycled and other environmentally preferable papers, and millions of forest-friendly books have been printed on such paper in Canada during the past 18 months.

"We look forward to seeing publishers in other countries follow the lead of their Canadian colleagues in helping to safeguard biodiversity and the world's remaining ancient forests," said Markets Initiative's Campaigns Director Nicole Rycroft.

In addition, Green Press Initiative is pressuring U.S. publishers, including the U.S. publisher of the Potter books, Scholastic, to secure endangered-forest free commitments.

According to Green Press, if Scholastic made an endangered-forest free commitment and switched to 100 percent recycled paper for the next Potter book, and printed the same quantity, it would conserve an area of trees some 13 times the size of New York's Central Park and some 24 million pounds of greenhouse gases--equal to the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by a car with average fuel efficiency traveling 21.81 million miles.

According to American Forest and Paper Association figures, less than five percent of the paper used by the printing and writing paper sector contains recycled fibers--in the year 2000 the association says one million tons of paper were used by U.S. book publishers.

The groups promoting the eco-friendly Potter print suggest that fans who live outside of Canada go online to purchase the Canadian edition.

[nwrep]

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[prisoner6]

...20,248 BTUs of electricity--195 years of electricity to power the average American home...

Ah....NO! Not even CLOSE, LOL! That amount of BTU would get used up in a couple of hours easily at my house!

prisoner6

[MHGinTN]

I'm from the South where loblolly pines are what the paper companies use for book pages. Is there some other tree the Cannucks use? What is this wierdism about old forests? ... Isn't 'old timber' used in construction lumber?

[cyborg]

Sounds like a good idea. Nothing wrong with recycling stuff that is either leftover from production. The best thing to recycle is trashed paper.

[Imal]

The Canadian edition of the eagerly anticipated book--all 935,000 copies--has been printed by Canadian publisher Raincoast Books on 100 percent recycled, endangered forest free paper, a move that many believe represents a landmark event for environmentally friendly publishing.

Ahh, but they didn't say it was dolphin safe! How many innocent dolphins were slaughtered to print these books? Considering how quiet they are about it, the number must be in the thousands.

Save the dolphins! Boycott Harry Potter!

By the way, I like the picture you added. It definitely has the right ambience for the article. :^)

And it also is reminiscent of the theme for the next movie, titled Harry Potter and the Crucible of Stoning, which portrays our plucky protagonists as they muddle through their teen years...

"Hey Hermione, don't bogart that crucible, man!"

[freedom9]

You need to spend some time in an old growth forest on the west coast to appreciate what it's about

[MHGinTN]

Would those be Douglas Firs? I can't see using any Sequoias for paper production.

[freedom9]

Firs, cedars, hemlock, oaks

[Leo Carpathian]

Like Canada doesn't have enough dead trees! They rather have them burned by forest fires than process it and replenish. Socialist crap is creeping into Canuck land. Oh Canada, quo vadis?

[MHGinTN]

Cedars and oaks wouldn't be used for paper, but I can see why it is alarming if timbering in old growth forests taking younger trees would harm the old oaks and old cedars. I am a believer in old oaks ... one over the hill from my house is at leaszt 150 years old. There are Beech Trees on my Mother's property that are likely near 200 years old.

[freedom9]

I like the outdoors and I especially enjoyed fishing and camping on the west coast in old growth.
I've also chained down a fair amount of big trees.

Selective logging beats the hell out of clear cut

But there's something about an unspoiled wilderness. Need to keep some.

[MHGinTN]

We have a few spots of old growth here in the Appalachians. I've spent many hours over a lifetime among those trees. Maybe it's just me, but I get an odd feeling of timelessness when I'm among those ancient living things ... some are as old as the Republic. I cannot imagine what it must ahve been like to still have the ancient gigantic Chesnuts that our ancestors witnessed. There were boards in my Grandfather's old home place (circa 1830's) two feet wide with a bead on both edges, out of old chesnut, just pegged up as paneling!

[goodnesswins]

I think these "people" are uninformed....wood chips, the by product, AFTER a tree has been used for OTHER (lumber for homes, etc.) purposes....are what make paper, according to my Paper Industry (pulp & paper) husband. Paper is the WASTE product of a tree that cannot be used for other larger purposes. In other words their argument is faulty.

[autoresponder]

The NYT sure does not use any high content of recycled paper.

They also use really cheap ink that gets all over hands and white sheets or other places.

Or so I am told by a lady editor of newpapers in NY, CT, DC, NY, PA, AK, NY.....

What gypsies the media types are.

[autoresponder]

America has more trees and deer now then it did when my ancestors arrived one cold November day met by other ancestors here first for over 10000 years.

More Buffalo then in 1900.

They used to use rag content in paper whereas now it is mostly wood pulp paper.

America has an immense % of National and State parks, as well as City parks compared to other nations.

Vanderbuilt brought a German forestor over to start the Pisgal National forests in w-NC and TN.

Cradle of forestry is in Pisgah, between Horseshoe and Brevard NC.

Visit Asheville NC and see Biltmore House, Estate, Dairy and Wineries.

I fought with my building construction engineer builder brother and my bank to cut as few trees as possible on my five acres.

Only cut one BIG oak; had dogwood trees arched over on the my upper drive.

(used flexible green electrical wire to carefully interlace the dogwood trees together above my rock drive)

All natural growth except for the small bit of grass I had to plant to satisfy the bank and cover the septic tank, room for a clothesline, some room for a doghouse, and to throw a football.

Everyone else went to the forests to see the beauty.

I lived in it.

When I wanted to see grass I drove by the golf courses!

[Think free or die]

Over the years, I've visited a number of paper companies. From what I remember, they raise pine trees expressly for the purpose of paper production. The wood is pulped and used to produce paper, while the pine bark is used for landscaping mulch or other applications. The paper technologists explained that when trees are harvested for paper production, they are promptly replaced with new seedlings. It's a crop, much like corn or oats, but with longer cycle time. They also pointed out that the rapidly growing young trees produce proportionately more oxygen than old, slow growing trees.

I don't disagree with the value of recycling or re-using where it is economical. I also love old forests and don't want them clear cut. However, I don't lose sleep over the use of young pines for paper production. It's just another crop.

[autoresponder]

Yup.

Seirra Club, ELF, ALF, Ruckus, NRDC, EArth First.

Offices and homes.

All built containing lotsa wood!

Plastics and sythetic clothing made from wood by-products, oil, coal...

All the enviro-Nutzis wear sythetic fabrics and shoes made from trees, petroleum, coal...

Never ever hear that, do you!

[JohnBovenmyer]

I just finished Order of the Phoenix. There are many themes in it that should resonate here. Although there is some good vs. evil there is also a lot of good (Harry's side) vs. libs, RINOs and their media allies. Oh, our libs will try to place the race card and compare the anti-Mudblood forces to their false stereotype of Trent Lott. But if you review the words and actions of the forces arrayed against Harry in the middle of the book they are strikingly similar to what the left has been doing here. Umbridge would make an excellent Democratic presidential candidate. She's against the war on terror or even the need for it. She wants more state control of and through education. She's against letting people defend themselves. She wants to ban any media that disagrees with her spin. She talks to people as if they were small children and tells them she's doing this for their own good. She even has Hillary's temper.