In the last 200 years we've added more atmospheric CO2 than at any time over the past 650,000 years according to NASA. Excess CO2 creates a dysfunctional planet that responds in unpredictable, dangerous and costly ways.
The Reader has been working with one of the premiere environmental research groups in the country, the Environmental Paper Network, to determine what impact, if any, would come about in total US greenhouse gas emissions from US businesses shifting away from high-frequency "junk mail" advertising models to the quarterly, journalistic Reader direct mail model-- and the results are in.
We determined that when only 1 million of the 27 million locally-owned businesses in the US (4%) shift from advertising in a weekly, junk mail model to the quarterly, journalistic Reader, the shift decreases greenhouse gasses by 6.5 million tons-- a level significant enough that it would take only 1000 projects with equal environmental impact to reduce total US green house gas emissions to net zero.
Our challenge to you is to support The Reader Magazine as it grows to provide businesses the kind of advertising that is environmentally responsible, and provide people with the kind of news that guides good sustainable choices. How can you do that? Watch for our upcoming KickStarter project in which we invite you to come along with us literally and financially on this journey to bring The Reader to every door in America, and create the first magazine in US history to reach everyone, free.
Sources: NASA, Environmental Paper Network, California Manufacturers & Technology Association July 2012 Study AB32 Revisited