4TheRcrd Mag.

{Editors Note: This is a useful post from our friends at ForestEthics, and we’re proud to reproduce it here.} Exactly five years ago, the United States Congress created the immensely popular Do Not Call Registry, giving every American the choice to live free of telemarketing calls.

Today, we’re still forced to live with a different form of harassment: junk mail. Despite the fact that 89% of Americans support a national Do Not Mail Registry in the United States, junk mailers continue to invade our privacy, waste our time and damage our environment.

The time to make Do Not Mail a reality is now. Support our petition to create a national Do Not Mail Registry!

The consequences of junk mail are more serious than a lot of people realize. Did you know that on average, you’ll spend eight months of your life opening junk mail? I know I’d choose to get those eight months back — if I actually had a choice.

Then there’s the devastating impact that the junk mail industry has on the environment. Consider these disturbing facts:

• Junk mail destroys 100 million trees a year — the equivalent of deforesting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
• Largely due to deforestation, junk mail manufacturing creates as much greenhouse gas emissions annually as 3.7 million cars.
• Every year, Americans receive 848 pieces of junk mail per household — 44% of which ends up unopened in a landfill.

This massive waste of time and natural resources has gone on for too long. We at ForestEthics have begun a major campaign to make a national Do Not Mail Registry a reality — and we need your help. Sign our petition urging Congress to create a Do Not Mail Registry!

IMAGE CREDIT: here.