Rating **  

     I just came in from wading through my mailbox. Since junk mail is not forwarded, living in a rental has always meant putting up with catalogues, advertisements, etc. addressed to the former tenant. Adding this to my own junk mail, I find myself drowning in it. I used to just grin and bear it, dumping it all right from the mailbox into the recycle bin, but lately I have found it really offensive. It seems that, once your name is on a mailing list, you live on at that address, through perpetuity. It's absolutely frightening, not to mention rediculous. On any one day I can peruse a catalogue for designer dog clothes, firefighter memorabilia, and every tool a man could possibly want. I never order anything from these catalogues, but they keep on coming... some every month. (Is firefighter memorabilia seasonal?) I get coupons for everything from Preparation H to Pampers, and the political campaign ads are particularly annoying.
     Well, I finally decided that enough is enough. Considering the wasted resources spent on these nuisances, and the availability of online catalogues for anyone so inclined, I have declared my own personal campaign against printed waste that finds its way into my box. Considering the fact that junk mail in the United States accounts for one-third of all the mail delivered in the world, and that 44% of that mail goes to landfills unopened, and since we spend 8 months of our lives dealing with it all, and it consumes over 100 million trees a year to support it, I figured that there must be an internet site or a telephone number to contact to remove a name from the junk mail lists. It surprised me to find out that there is not. Just as the Do Not Call Registry freed Americans from telemarketers, a Do Not Mail Registry would give us the choice to stop junk mailers from violating our privacy, wasting our time and damaging the environment. If you agree you might want to visit 
 http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/281/t/5980/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=941
sponsored by an organization called ForestEthics, which offers you an opportunity to sign a petition asking congress to sponsor just such a bill. While you're there, you can use their tool to cut down on the junk mail you are receiving until our lawmakers sponsor and then pass this very needed legislation. Just one more gift you can give your grandchildren!

** Nona's Smiling Grandchild Rating

  reduces footprint in one area of concern
 reduces footprint in two areas of concern
 reduces footprint in multiple areas of concern



For more on Enlightened Grandparenting visit Nona Nita's Nook
and click My Path Productions for ideas that support conscious living.