| Dear
EarthTalk: I would think that the glossy paper
used by most magazines is bad for the environment, yet most
publishers still use it, even the outdoors and environmental
titles. What’s the scoop? Is paper made glossy by
using chemicals that are not safe?
-- Kellina Higgins, via e-mail
It’s
no secret that glossy coatings on magazine covers make pictures
really “pop” and attract the eye, thus helping
publications compete for attention on ever more crowded
newsstands. According to Jerry Stranahan of Lane Press,
a Vermont-based printer that produces some 350 different
magazines, publishers are increasingly putting the emphasis
on graphics and photography, and glossy papers have become
the industry norm, for both covers and interior pages. And,
yes, this includes many outdoors and nature titles.
The
basic glossy finish of a magazine cover or inside page is
usually built into the paper itself at the time of manufacture,
and is typically made of either clay or calcium carbonate.
From a materials perspective, clay-based kaolin is the more
environmentally friendly of the two, though clay makes the
re-pulping of paper “gunkier” and thus more
difficult to work with in the subsequent recycling process.
Calcium carbonate also has its pros and cons: “The
calcium is lighter, thus it takes less fuel to transport
it, and it acts as a whitener, so less chlorine is needed
to bleach the paper,” says Frank Locantore, who directs
the WoodWise program for the nonprofit Coop America. “But
it drives the destruction of mountain tops in Vermont and
elsewhere in order to get at the mineral.”
Other
glossy coatings are sometimes applied later at the printer
as the last step in the printing process. In addition to
enhancing the look of the cover, these coatings are used
for the purpose of reducing the scuffing covers endure in
handling and through the mail. Publishers generally have
three choices: “varnish,” “aqueous”
or “UV” coatings.
“Varnish”
is essentially a clear petroleum based ink (no pigment),
and is similar to the other inks that have already been
applied to the paper. “Aqueous” coatings are
water-based clear inks that use few chemicals but need a
lot of heat to dry them, thus entailing greater energy usage.
Another option is “UV coating,” a very glossy
finish applied usually to heavier cover stocks and often
used by fashion magazines and others going for a very slick
appearance. The “UV” refers to the ultra-violet
light used to dry it after application. It consumes less
energy than heat, though the UV coatings themselves contain
large amounts of petroleum-derived chemicals.
“Magazines
want to be competitive on the newsstands, and most need
to have a glossy cover in order to do so,” says Locantore.
“Government,” he says, “should create
incentives for R&D that develops hazardous chemical-free
processes for papermaking and printing.” Locantore
also says that consumers can play a key role in moving the
industry forward by making their preferences for sustainable
choices known to the magazines they read and subscribe to.
Emails, phone calls or letters to publishers urging greener
sourcing and operations will not go unnoticed, he says.
CONTACTS:
Lane
Press; Coop
America’s WoodWise Program.
Dear
EarthTalk: In lieu of federal action in the
U.S. to combat global warming, have any states taken local
measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
-- David, Monterey, CA
Though the Bush
administration has been slow to even admit that global warming
is a serious issue, and has rejected the terms of the Kyoto
Protocol (an international agreement calling on developed
nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions), more than 30
U.S. states have passed legislation and/or formed regional
coalitions on their own to promote energy efficiency and
reduce the emissions that cause global warming.
The leading state
in the battle against climate change is California, which
as early as 2002 began calling on carmakers to reduce the
greenhouse gases generated by new vehicles sold there. In
2003, California joined neighbors Oregon and Washington
in laying out a set of recommendations for how states could
combat global warming by setting emissions reduction targets
for state vehicle fleets and enacting energy efficiency
standards for a wide range of other products. By the end
of 2004, the west coast triumvirate had jointly adopted
the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions upwards of
15 percent by 2015.
Always pushing
the envelope, California then adopted a controversial measure
requiring automakers to reduce their vehicles’ greenhouse
gas emissions 30 percent by 2016. Since then, 14 other states—Arizona,
Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont and Washington—have adopted California’s
tough standards. With Canada’s government following
suit in 2004, some 40 percent of North America’s new
car fleet could be much cleaner within a decade—although
carmakers are fighting the proposal tooth and nail.
Beyond automotive
emissions, California is leading the charge against global
warming in other ways. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued
an executive order in 2004 calling for reducing overall
greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 80 percent over five
decades. And in 2006 the state assembly passed its landmark
Global Warming Solutions Act limiting the output of greenhouse
gases there to 1990 levels by 2020. California is the world’s
sixth largest economy and 12th largest producer of greenhouse
gases, so its proactive stance should have a large impact
on overall efforts to mitigate climate change.
Other efforts
are underway as well. In 2006, seven northeastern states
formed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to create
a system of economic incentives for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions. Each participating state—Connecticut,
Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and
Vermont—has agreed to stabilize current emissions
through 2015 followed by a 10 percent reduction over the
following five years. Meanwhile 18 states, led by New York,
Hawaii, Maine and California, have legislated that some
of the electricity they consume must come from non-polluting
renewable sources.
Given the
groundswell of action to mitigate global warming at the
state level—more than half of the U.S. population
lives in states where reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
are or will become mandatory—America may be able to
meet the requirements laid out by the Kyoto Protocol, even
without federal participation.
CONTACTS:
California
Climate Change Portal; Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative. |
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