Project Earth part of problem

Posted on September 23, 2007
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            In the daily papers last week was a supplement for “Project Earth – Partners in Time.”                                                     It’s about conservation, recycling, pollution treatment and environmental  projects generally.

            Ironically, the supplement itself is an example of waste. Each and every article is printed in both French and English roughly doubling the size of the publication.

            There are some instances when it is practical to include the same piece of information in both French and English in the same publication. This would not seem to be one of them. One would suspect that readers of the Saint John “Telegraph-Journal”, Fredericton “The Daily Gleaner” and Moncton “Times & Transcript,” all speak and read English.

            Yes, it can be problematic producing separate English and French editions of reports and brochures and then ensuring that the right ones wind up in the right places in the right proportions.

            However, it is far from impossible and is often done.

            On the same subject of the reduction in the use of paper, governments could reduce their waste considerably in two ways. One would be to print reasonable numbers of reports and brochures to begin with. I’d be willing to bet a significant proportion of the printed items governments order are never used.

            Another way to reduce government waste would be to ban the use of a picture of the current cabinet minister on all government printed items. So many printed items that could be used for several years are scrapped and reprinted after every cabinet shuffle and election.

            It isn’t proper to promote individual politicians and governments in publications paid for by the public anyway. Let them pay for their own promotion.

                                                                                     David Cadogan

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