Today's quiz, students, contains a few stumpers (ha!) and trick questions. How much to you really know about the environmental impact of magazine publishing - and printing in general?
By day, the pseudonymous
D. Eadward Tree is a magazine manager dealing with such oh-so-20th Century concerns as printing, paper, and postage as he tries to make dead-tree publications more economically and environmentally sustainable. By night, he becomes Chief Arborist of
Dead Tree Edition, where he told us this week:
It took me a long time to realize that much of what I believed regarding the environmental impact of magazine publishing was misguided or just plain wrong. The realization that I'm "an environmental idiot" has inspired me to devote many of the articles at Dead Tree Edition to publishing-related environmental issues.
Rather than subjecting you to another let’s-all-go-green pep talk, I compiled the following quiz to help you recognize gaps in your knowledge. I hope it provides you useful information you can use to make informed decisions about the environment.
After you've had a go at these questions, you can
find the answers here.
Q: Which of the following constitutes the largest portion of the typical American magazine’s carbon footprint?
a) Printing
b) Distributing the magazine, including freight and postal services
c) Paper manufacturing
d) Cutting the trees to produce the paper
e) The hot air generated by loquacious writers and pompous editors.
Q: True or false, anything you do to make your publication greener will cost you money?
Q: Which has a lower carbon footprint?
a) Paper made nearby at a mill with a high carbon footprint, or
b) Paper shipped halfway across the continent from a low-carbon mill?
Q: Is it easy to compare the carbon footprints of two competing paper mills?
Q: True or false, environmentally preferable paper always has high PCW (post-consumer waste) content?
Q: When you buy paper that has virgin content, you should favor suppliers who promise to plant one tree for every one they harvest, right?
Q: Does all sustainably harvested fiber have a certification from an organization like the Forest Stewardship Council or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative?
Q: Are printers and paper mills that have chain-of-custody certification more environmentally friendly than those that don’t?
Q: Does the harvesting of trees in North America cause or prevent deforestation?
Q: Does delivering content electronically rather than in printed products save trees and help the environment?
Q: Will publishers that make their products more environmentally sustainable be more profitable as a result?
So, how did you do?
