Final Harry Potter tome is "greenest book in publishing history"

Welcome Back, Potter

Feel that crackle in the air? That's millions of Harry Potter fans trying not to fidget as they wait for the book's midnight release. (Or trying not to freeze, in the case of an Australian fan who was rescued after diving into a frigid lake to retrieve his pre-purchase receipt.) The final installment of the mugglicious series is said to be the greenest book in publishing history -- a good thing, since it's set sales records at retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Sixteen publishers around the world used eco-friendly paper for the edition, including U.S. publisher Scholastic, which went the conventional route for the last Harry book and faced a boycott as a result. In all, says Markets Initiative, a Vancouver-based group that helps publishers go green, the switch for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has saved nearly 200,000 trees and avoided almost 8,700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Which totally makes up for the fact that Harry dies in the end. Oops, did we say that out loud?

straight to the source: Brisbane Times, Australian Associated Press, 20 Jul 2007

straight to the source: Bloomberg News, Katie Hoffmann, 20 Jul 2007

straight to the source: Financial Post, CanWest News Service, Mary Lamey, 18 Jul 2007

see also, in Gristmill: Next thing you know even Voldemort will be hugging trees

see also, in Grist: An interview with Nicole Rycroft, recycled-paper pusher

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Comments: (3 comments)

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Welcome back, Potter

"Which totally makes up for the fact that Harry dies in the end. Oops, did we say that out loud?"

Sometimes you guys are just sooooo really, really cute and exceptionally very, very cool -- which just about makes up for everything, doesn't it?

Susan

by Swade3231 at 1:46 PM on 20 Jul 2007

Harry Potter

Please tell me that this is NOT the real end. i would hate to think you gave it away -- when it is just coming out today. It would really spoil it to know the ending...
JillM

by jillm at 10:39 AM on 21 Jul 2007

Greenest Book?

I don't think so. Here's a tip: If you want to read a "greener book," check out "Cradle to Cradle/Remaking the Way We Make Things." It's a book by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. It's a "treeless" book.

by Mark Barnett at 9:28 AM on 25 Jul 2007

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