[at-l] Rant - cards in magazines

[Bob C]

I pop 'em into the wood stove. They are just a few extra BTUs.

Weary




> ------------Original Message------------
> From: cvano at tmail.com
> To: at-l at mailman.backcountry.net
> Date: Sun, Nov-4-2007 1:27 PM
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Rant - cards in magazines
>
> 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. ~~~_/) ~~~
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