[at-l] Rant - cards in magazines

[cvano at tmail.com]

Re: fuel used.  You know what?  Yes, I did think of that before I sent 
that post.  BUT, how much fuel is wasted in clear-cutting to make them 
in the first place?  I don't think clear-cutting is such a problem on 
the east coast as it is here, but I haven't been there in a couple of 
decades.  I see it here every day.  It is a scar on the land and a rape 
of nature.  I could write a small book about that!

Lets say 200 cards arrive at the publisher on Tuesday.  That weighs 
maybe 5 pounds at most.  The mail carrier was probably going there 
anyway, so the added fuel for 200 cards over the 2000 mile average 
journy might add up to half a cup.  During that process however, each 
card will be scanned and sorted electrically and mechanically numerous 
times.  That all adds up!  The human factor must also be weighed.  How 
many PEOPLE actually handled each card?  Is this job security for some?

I think that mailing them back is a wash as far as the carbon footprint 
goes.  If they were to stop making and inserting them however, it could 
make a differance.  Of course some people would have less to do at work 
and maybe get an extra 10 minute break.  So I may have spent a bit of 
carbon in my feable attempt to reduce consumption.  I realize this.  The 
way I see it (and I could be wrong) is that its kind of like investing 
for the future.

I'm not consistant in this protest.  I just do it every once in a while 
when I get really irked.  The main problem of course is that the 
responsible party will probably never even see my seven cards.  They 
will just be deposited in the waste basket by some data entry person.  
'Someone' will empty the trash into the dumpster - end of story.  The 
dumpster will be empty the next morning as if by magic (no one ever 
wonders where the trash goes) and everyone will go on to have a 
wonderful day and not give my little cards even the smallest thought.

Now, if that data entry person started getting 20 or 30 a day like that, 
he/she would probably bring it to the boss' attention.  If this went on 
for a while, the boss would surly mention it to the responsible party.  
Were THAT to happen several times, they would see a pattern, and maybe 
realize what they are wasting on the manufacture, printing, inserting, 
postage, and labor, not to mention natural resources.  They might also 
realize that people don't like them and might cancel their subscriptions 
if they continue, especially if notes to that effect were written on the 
cards.

Direct mail (junk mail.)  I could write a book on that too.  It is a 
problem much worse that bingo cards in magazines.  When I last drove a 
truck, ONE postal substation in LA received an average of ten semi loads 
(45,000 lbs each) on a daily basis in 1990.  That's almost 54,000 TONS a 
year! That's a LOT of garbage/litter/trees/fuel/carbon.  How many 
substations are located throughout California?  The US?  The planet?

I do have to complement Campmor for their approach.  They only send 
their catalog to people who ask for it, its all on recycled paper, no 
glossy pages, the only colored ink is on the cover, and the old ones 
make nice kindeling and a good substitute for mountain money.

Oh if I were only King of the World.....

On Sun, 4 Nov 2007 5:35 am, camojack at comcast.net wrote:
> Think of the fuel that would be required for the post office to 
> transport those annoying little cards back to their sources if everyone 
> did that.
>
> (Carbon footprint, did you say?)
>
> Personally, I use 'em for writing notes upon...
>
> -"Camo"

Beyond this point
There be dragons...

Chris ~ S/V Drifter
Anacortes, WA. ~~~_/) ~~~