The new age of publishing - Guest Post by SB Knight

Our week-long event continues with a fascinating guest post by SB Knight who shares his insight on publishing and the environment. If you missed yesterday's Meet & Greet ... never fear ... it will stay open until Friday evening and you can link up HERE.

The new age of publishing!

Printing, publishing, and the process of delivering the written word to readers all over the world has drastically changed. Actually, there are certain milestones throughout history that have greatly impacted the world of writing. Of course it all started with chipping symbols in store and/or painting them. From there we developed ink and the quill. Jump a few years and the world invented the ink pen. Technology took a nap but rebounded with the typewriter. Boy was that an invention. Books were published at a rapid rate by that time. Things did not slow down after that, soon the computer and laptop sprang onto the scene. To complete the leap we now have eBooks and eReaders. What is very sad is even with all of these advances the one thing that trailed behind was the environmental impact. Trees suffer the largest impact from book publishing but other hazards exist from the adhesive used for the binding to the ink used on the pages. Yes, we enjoy reading and although it is not often that books end up in the landfill or burned the true impact to the environment happens on the production side instead of the aftermarket such as we see with so many other items such as cardboard, empty plastic bottles, etc.

That was the bad news. Here is the good news. Technology, commerce, and financial feasibility have collided and a change is being seen in the publishing world. Allow me to get the most obvious out of the way right now. With the popularity of eBooks and eReaders the impact to our forest and trees is decreasing. Some may think that the fact that eBooks must be charged will use more energy but the Kindle, for example, can hold a charge for thirty days easy. That is twelve charges a year. I’m willing to bet that is on par or maybe even less than what a television uses in a year’s time.

With that out of the way let’s move on to the second most obvious jump in environmentally safe processes for publishing books. That would be…say it with me…recycled paper. Now here is a little something about recycled paper; each time paper is processed the fibers that make up the page breaks down which means the paper breaks down and loses quality. You know what I’m talking about, when you get paper at work and it looks flimsy and off white, maybe even a little thin but the package reads that it is recycled. It is recycled but it is recycled with paper products that have been processed a number of times. Publishing companies originally used virgin paper which is processed right from the tree with no added recycled materials. That has changed, Eco-friendly publishing companies use recycled paper with almost a 50/50 split of virgin paper and recycled material. This provides the thickness, crisp color, and paper quality everyone expects from a published book. This greatly cuts down the impact on trees. We may even see the day when there is no virgin paper used at all.

How do we know how much virgin paper and recycled material is actually used? I’m glad you asked. There are certification programs provided through councils and initiatives that track virgin paper use, recycled paper use, deforestation, and protection of regulated forest areas. Here are a few:

• Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

Other techniques and processes that lessen the impact on the environment are soy based ink and a process called coldset drying. This process not only saves energy but it greatly reduces pollutants from entering the atmosphere.

As you can see publishing companies have made great strides in reducing their footprints on the environment. I now have a fun assignment for you. What? I heard that groan but trust me, you will enjoy this. Click on the following website and take the quiz (click on ‘click to begin’) http://www.webcomlink.com/enviro/. With each correct answer the tree grows. Once you are done scroll down for more information about all the topics I talked about here. So, what do you think of the environmentally friendly techniques and processes publishing companies are taking? One more thing – how many questions did you get right on the quiz? Be honest.

Thanks to Brian for a wonderful post. I don't know about you ... but I learned a lot! Oh ... and to answer your question, Brian ... I completed the assignment and, thanks to the information you provided, I got all but one question right!

Join us tomorrow when we'll start a brand new "Change The World Wednesday" challenge ... inspired by the release of Brian's debut novel Born of Blood.

Born of Blood by S.B. Knight is available at:
MuseItUp Bookstore
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

Don't have an eReader device? No problem ... download a free application HERE for use on your computer, iPhone, etc.

Vegan Recipe

Are you hear looking for our monthly recipe? Well, we're currently busy with daily challenges so ... we're going to suspend posting new recipes until the first Friday in May. In the meantime, check out our Vegan Recipes page (either click the tab at the top of the blog or click HERE).

Vegan Recipe - Vegan Poutine

It is the first Friday of the month and that means ... another delicious, vegan recipe. Why?? Because eating a plant-based diet is one (if not the) easiest ways to walk gently on the earth. Adding just one meatless meal to your week has a huge impact. In an article (found on the Environmental Defense Fund site) about Meatless Mondays, author Dominique Browning says "If all of us adopted this simple initiative, we would save enough energy annually – from avoided meat production – equivalent to taking eight million cars off the road." Imagine ... just one vegetarian/vegan meal a week!

I'd like to introduce you to Nicole and Eco-Veg Footprint (EVF). EVF is unlike any other vegan site. It is as varied, and interesting, as Nicole herself who hosts a 2-hour radio program called Maximum Joy, is involved with Food Not Bombs and speaks out on such topics as Feminism, Fracking and "Our Street London". Sprinkled liberally among posts about green living, you'll find fabulous vegan recipes ... things like Veg Nachos, Curry Potato Mash & Cuke Salad with Always Special Sauce and Bloody Beet Root, Apple & Kale Salad. EVF is a fabulous site ... it leaves me feeling empowered and with a sense that, with people like Nicole in our world, we can make a difference.

Nicole has graciously agreed to share a recipe with us ... Vegan Poutine. I first heard about Poutine when I lived in Florida and frequented a "flea" market hosted by some folks from Quebec. The original version is a high-fat dish consisting of french fries topped with cheese curds and covered with gravy. Nicole has created a healthy, vegan version that looks delicious. I hope you and your family will give it a try:

Vegan Poutine

Serves 3-4

On baking sheets:

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into fries
dressed with :
oil (mustard, grapeseed, olive, etc.)
1 small Spanish onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
paprika, cumin, sea salt and pepper,
dash of cayenne pepper/chili powder
Bake at 350 for 25 mins

1 large zucchini, cut into halved disks
1 can of white beans
1 large beet, shredded or cut into small cubes
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
Bake at 350 for 15 mins

Prepare a bowl of 5-6 med-large carrots, shredded
Serve as topping or mix with creamy curry sauce and serve as "gravy"

Creamy Curry Sauce
4 tbsp vegan mayonaise
1 tbsp rice milk
1 avocado
1 tsp mustard
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp curry powder
add crumbled tofu for desired consistency
mix in a blender, especially for larger portions!

Serve with option of balsamic vinegar dressing, chimichurri sauce, or ketchup!

Serve sweet potato fries as the base, the zucchini and bean mix as a "cheese curd replacement" topping and the creamy curry sauce with carrots as the "gravy".

Thanks, so much, to Nicole for sharing that dish with us. For additional information on this dish and some variations, click HERE.

If you have a vegan recipe which you'd like to share, please send it to me HERE. And for all the recipes we've shared so far, be sure to visit our recipe page using the tabs at the top of this blog ... or by clicking HERE.