‘Junk Mail Effect’ Equals Emissions of 9 Million Cars, 7 US States Combined
NASA Scientist and Gore Advisor Hansen urges support for Do Not Mail Registry
A report released today by ForestEthics pegs junk mail’s contribution to climate change at the equivalent of more than nine million cars, seven US states combined, or the emissions generated by heating nearly 13 million homes for the winter.

The group released the irreverently illustrated report as part of their campaign and petition for a Do Not Mail Registry to give Americans the choice to stop receiving junk mail.

Download the report here: http://forestethics.org/downloads/ClimateReport.pdf

NASA Climate Scientist Dr. James Hansen made the following statement in conjunction with the release:

“20 years after I first testified before Congress on the threats posed by climate change, we have reached a point at which we must remove unnecessary carbon emissions from our lives, or face catastrophic consequences. It is hard to imagine waste more unnecessary than the 100 billion pieces of junk mail Americans receive each year, and these new findings, revealing that the emissions of junk mail are equal to those of over nine million cars, underscore the prudent necessity of a Do Not Mail Registry.”

The report also features a Myth/Fact section that debunks misinformation spread in the wake of ForestEthics’ Do Not Mail campaign (donotmail.org), as well as the appearance of 19 Do Not Mail initiatives in state legislatures over the past two years.

“This report confirms what Americans instinctively know: the scale of junk mail’s waste goes against all common sense,” says Todd Paglia, Executive Director of ForestEthics. “And the junk mail industry is incapable of policing itself on this matter– we need a Do Not Mail Registry to give Americans a choice, and to enforce that choice.”

ForestEthics launched their Do Not Mail campaign on March 12 of this year, and the petition at donotmail.org now has nearly 60,000 signatures, including those of Leonardo DiCaprio, Adrian Grenier, David Crosby and Daryl Hannah.

Contact – William Craven, 415.407.3426

ForestEthics, a nonprofit with staff in Canada, the United States and
Chile, recognizes that individual people can be mobilized to create
positive environmental change—and so can corporations. Armed with this
unique philosophy, ForestEthics has helped protect more than twelve
million acres of Endangered Forests. Visit donotmail.org, for more
information.