Decrease your snail mail and save the trees.

NWF, The Ecology Center and the Natural Resources Defense Council have launched a free online service that will help consumers take control of mailbox clutter, simplify their lives and protect the environment from unnecessary waste.

At catalogchoice.org, you can remove your name from the mailing lists of over 600 catalogs. Choose the ones you want to receive, either by mail or electronically. Over time, the service expects to have thousands of catalogs listed in its database.

Laura Hickey, senior director of global warming education, represents NWF on the Catalog Choice taskforce. She shares some key statistics about the environmental impact of the 19 billion catalogs mailed each year to American consumers:
* 53 million trees used
* 3.6 million tons of paper used
* 38 trillion BTUs used to produce this volume of paperenough to power 1.2 million homes per year.
* 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to the annual emissions of two million cars
* 53 billion gallons of waste water dischargedenough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

The Catalog Choice taskforce plans to carefully monitor the success of the online service and explore possible legislative solutions to complement and strengthen the program.

NWF Direct is represented in an advisory group and endorses Catalog Choice. Funding is provided by The Overbrook Foundation, the Kendeda Fund and the Merck Family Fund.

Make your choice today! Take these easy steps:
Visit www.catalogchoice.org and reduce the clutter in your mailbox. Tell your family and friends about this new service. Use the website's "Invite a Friend" feature or forward this message and make their day!