“We’re trying to minimize the footprint that NUVO leaves on the earth,” says NUVO Publisher/Editor Kevin McKinney.

The impact of using recycled content is, to our mind, significant. (See our TOC chart on in the paper for specifics.) The downside to some is that the photos, in the parlance of hipster journalists like us, don’t “pop.” If you look at a publication that doesn’t use paper that contains recycled content, you’ll see that the page is a brighter white — thus the color photographs “pop” off the page. In addition, less recycled content paper can hold color more effectively.

Let’s provide an example. The Gannett-owned INtake prints their product on 100 percent virgin paper. The number of trees they use each year, however, is almost seven times the amount that we use.

“Perhaps if other newspapers understand that 80 percent recycled content has so many benefits,” McKinney says, “they’ll explore doing it themselves. I can’t think of a reason why they wouldn’t.”

If you agree, then take the time to ask your favorite local newspaper to consider a higher-recycled content. The Indianapolis Star, for example, says that for 2003, “the average percentage of recycled fiber in our recycled newsprint was 34.7 percent.” Not bad, but could be better.

Other winners of environment awards at HEC’s meeting at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church include: Jane and Tom Dustin (for the Robert Klawitter Lifetime Environmental Achievement), Heartwood (for Environmental Organization of the Year), Dr. Pat Andrews (for the Frontline Award), Mike Mullett (for the Max Goodwin Environmental Litigator of the Year), People in Need of Environmental Safety, or PINES (for the Grassroots Organization of the Year), the Bloomington City Council (for Excellence in Government) and Meg and Jim Irsay, winners of the William L. Fortune Benefactor of the Year Award. There were four winners for Excellence in News Media: Dr. Jack Miller, Seth Slabaugh, Tom Healy and Steve Higgs.

For more information on Hoosier Environmental Council: www.hecweb.org