Survey: Do You Read "Green" Magazines?

I'm a quasi-luddite so I do in fact read magazines - and books. Do I pick them up because they're having a "green issue"? No. In fact I wrote Vanity Fair a nasty letter because there was no green in their green issue. However, magazines like Dwell, Urban Climber, And Yoga Journal are printed on a significant percentage of recycled paper and at least one of them is a carbon-neutral publication. Considering that I then pass these on (what I don't keep for my own archives) to my sister who allows her students to cut images for collages and then recycles what's left...I feel like I responsibly fill my need for some solid (mass, not necessarily content) reading.

Aren't we beyond 'raising awareness'? Can we move on to actual solutions soon? If you only have one green issue a year, you're admitting that every other issue you publish is therefore depletist.

"No, I do all my reading online, it is hypocritical to do anything else."

I'd be interested in knowing how much energy a computer uses while reading online.

ok, I voted 'no, i do all my reading online' because it most closely fit. I don't read any of these magazines - except articles referenced which I try to look up on line; if i can find them, then online is the only place i read them.
But, I do read plenty of paper stuff, too. Books, work stuff, school stuff, kid stuff, even stuff my husband gives me to read and tell him about because he doesn't want to take the time to read it himself

I do get E magazine and read it bi-monthly. Then I store it for future reference. When the life of the magazine has expired I will recycle it as I do with other paper products. I think that "green-washing" is a big problem in the magazine industry and that mags like "vanity fair" and "time" need to stick to the fluff and new and leave the Environment to those who make it their lifes work.

I actually happened to pick up the Vanity Fair yesterday from a table while I was waiting to meet with someone. I really couldn't find much "green" about it.

One of the main articles was about torture tactics being used in Iraq and Guantanamo. It just happened to be titled, "Green Light."

What a sham(e).

I also find it ironic that Vanity Fair and other similar magazines with "green issues" push fashion and consumption like crazy. 60% of the pages in their magazines are advertisements for high fashion, luxury cars, and perfumes. Every time I turned the page I got hit in the face with another new scent, mixed with whatever lingered from the previous one.

I have a subscription to VegNews magazine. Other than that, all my periodical reading is online.

I agree with Rajio. It would be interesting to see a comparison in energy use for producing a 30% PCRC print magazine vs. producing, storing and reading the same magazine online. Trees, if properly managed, are a renewable resource. Fossil fuels are not.

If its a green magazine then it better be printed on recycled paper or sustainable paper and i hope that the company producing the magazine is taking measures to cut down their footprint. Though i do a lot of reading on line, I also like to curl up with an informative read, its just not the same on my laptop, plus, if i read outside i cant see the screen.

We are NEVER beyond raising awareness, as was commented above, that is a naive comment in my eyes. You never know what angle is going to crack a wall of defense - there are still millions of people who know nothing about the issues facing the planet. The more information and types of information that is put out there the better.

As a teacher, I do read magazines, so I can share articles with my students. Online articles are good for ocurrent news, but they rarely go into the literary detail that magazine articles do.

While I prefer to do most of my reading online, I think that magazines that don’t specialize in “green” are doing a good thing by having a green issue. My g/f is from the suburbs of Chicago and has admitted to not having thought much about the environment prior to meeting me. After reading the green issue of Vanity Fair she came to me expressing interest in organic cotton towels, jeans, and bed sheets, which I think is pretty cool. This also allowed me to remind her of other choices she can make. Anyway, we’re moving in together and she is still a little apprehensive about things like vermiculture but I think these magazines are pushing people, like her, in the right direction. It’s all about small steps, we live in a capitalistic consumer society and people aren’t going to completely change their way of life because they read one book or article. But if every reader takes one or two suggestions and implements them they can all add up to make a difference. Bravo to Vanity Fair, I wish magazines like Maxim, FHM, and Men’s Health (which many of my guy friends read) would follow suit, if anything to get people thinking.

Derek
Madison, WI

Seeing "Green" on the cover never makes me pick up a magazine I don't already read. But it's probably good for each of these markets to be exposed to what "green" may mean in relation to their areas of interest.

Tip: our local library has a bookshelf in the front of the lobby where you can leave books and magazines for others to pick up and take home for free. That's where my magazine subs go when I'm done with them. They get snapped up very quickly!

I don't read magazines, but I do read green books. The thing is though, I only read green books that are printed on recycled paper and with plant based inks. If the writer of the book is truly passionate about the envrironment I figured they would do whatever they could to make it as green as possible, I believe it is kind of hypocritical if they don't.

I happen to do the majority of my reading online, but I don't really feel like vilifying those who read print magazines. The truth is, it's more tiring on the eyes to read online and sometimes it's really refreshing to read something in print. Not to mention that it's virtually impossible to read something online if I'm outside (because of glare as well as access to power).

I have said this before and will say it again, please do not make polls where you put opinions in our mouths. I may not read a lot of paper magazines, but that doesn't mean I'm pointing the finger that other people are hypocritical.

I am not big on the computer. I have had one for 1 yr. and still do not know much about it. At least i can save the book and get the info. without turning on the comp. I can not see sleeping it all day when i just need it once and a while.

I want to coin a new word. I believe this word will soon be common usage for the recent onslaught of media gone "green". The word is "greenography". You heard it here first. I personally am obsessed with "greenography" and waste many hours trolling through pages of Treehugger postings and links. I can't get enough. Greenography will soon be a separate genre of media.

Thanks for the article.
This is a GreenerMag by Grant Lyons
Tip? Read the articles in full screen.
http://www.greenermags.com/frmag