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. I grabbed this week’s Fast Fact from one of last week’s Going Green posts, so please forgive the repetition, but I thought it was an important point to make: According to a calculation of its own carbon footprint, UK telecom giant O2 determined that “a one-minute phone call made on the O2 network emits 3.6 grams of CO₂e. This means a five-minute call is the carbon equivalent to boiling water to make one cup of tea.” Why should you care? Back in 2009, stories (such as CNet’s for example) made the rounds that a Google search generated about 7 grams of CO₂. (Google demurred, and claimed the number was inflated, citing a much lower 0.2 g). We can all quibble over the specific numbers, but the point is that everything has some carbon footprint (like, say, wine, and that footprint is probably red from all the grape-stomping). No one is saying that we shouldn’t make mobile phone calls or send text messages (except while driving, of course)—nor should we go out of our way to avoid print and paper which also have a much-bruited carbon footprint. But calculating these footprints helps us establish a benchmark and seek ways of reducing that environmental impact. For more Two Sides facts see www.twosides.us/mythsandfacts.