Submitted: The Two Sides Team January 11, 2017

University Professor, Mark Perry, decided to do something about the emails he receives with taglines such as 'please don't print this email.'  In an interview with The College Fix, Perry notes that he views slogans such as 'go green, keep it on the screen,' "as mindless repetitions of feel-good policies that rarely enact any type of change." He decided to tackle "eco-guilt" by including the following tagline on his emails:

Notice: It’s OK to print this email free of any “eco-guilt.” Paper is a biodegradable, renewable, sustainable product made from trees. Growing and harvesting trees provides jobs for millions of Americans. Working forests are good for the environment and provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and carbon storage. Thanks to improved forest management, we have more trees in America today than we had 100 years ago.

In his blog, Perry notes, "I say that we need to get rid of the “Be green, keep it on the screen” and “Think before you print” scolding (“eco-shaming”) messages at the bottom of emails. But that’s only a first step. Our ultimate goal should be to get rid of the errors in thinking, and lack of critical thinking, and blind acceptance of “green nitwitery” that those hectoring green “eco-shaming” email messages have come to represent."

Two Sides has a great compilation of print and paper-friendly email footers – check them out here.

Read the full interview with Mark Perry here.

Read the blog by Mark Perry here.

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