WhatTheyThink’s Going Green has joined forces with Two Sides to help address the “perceptions” that paper destroys forests, that electronic media are “greener” than print and paper, and that recycling is the solution to all environmental ills. Toward this end, we are introducing this new weekly Fast Fact as part of Going Green. Look for a new Fast Fact each week in the Going Green Digest e-newsletter. According to a study conducted in Finland, print and paper comprise only about 1% of the average household carbon footprint. Why should you care? A recent study, the Leader Project (link opens PDF), conducted by the Finnish Research institute VTT, examined the carbon footprint and environmental impacts of various print products from cradle to grave. As it turned out, while print and paper only comprised about 1% of the average Finnish household’s carbon footprint, housing (predominantly heating, cooling, and general electricity use) accounted for 28% of total impacts, food 16%, and automobiles 13%. In essence, the study found, “The greenhouse gas emissions produced by a single newspaper during its entire life cycle correspond to a car journey of approximately one kilometer (0.62 mile).” If we are truly concerned about our effect on the environment, there are other human activities that have greater impact. For more Two Sides facts see http://www.twosides.us/mythsandfacts