[EQAB-list] Fwd: campaign to create a national Do Not Mail Registry

[Ellen Smith <smithellen at comcast.net>]

Although directed to David Mosby, this was sent to the whole City Council. I think that EQAB members would be interested in this initiative. 

-- Ellen 

----- Forwarded Message ----- 
From: "andrea sanchez" <andreasanchezphd at yahoo.com> 
To: ccouncil at cortn.org 
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2009 4:35:50 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: please read, meeting requested 




Dear Council Member Mosby , 



My name is Andrea Sanchez and I am working with ForestEthics, a national non-profit forest advocacy organization. I am currently reaching out to members of the National League of Cities EENR Committee because we need your help on our campaign to create a national Do Not Mail Registry modeled after the popular Do Not Call Registry ( www.donotmail.org ). In the last several years, 18 states have introduced similar bills that would create statewide Do Not Mail Registries. In fact, over 100,000 people have already signed a ForestEthics petition and written comments supporting a national Do Not Mail Registry. Prior to becoming a federal registry, Do Not Call Registries were enacted in about 30 states. 



ForestEthics recently authored a symbolic resolution, sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, and successfully passed it through the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by a 9 to 2 vote. The resolution calls on the California state legislature to create a Do Not Mail Registry. Now similar resolutions are in the works across the state of California. This is great news and we’d like to grow this municipal movement. That’s were you can help! We would like to have the NLC’s EENR Committee’s endorsement for Do Not Mail and we would also love to have you sponsor a Do Not Mail symbolic resolution in Oak Ridge. Help in either of these areas would be greatly appreciated. 



In a recent Zogby International poll commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream, 89% of people surveyed stated that they would support a Do Not Mail Registry. Unfortunately, Americans are still waiting for such a companion registry. Freedom from telemarketers is now a single phone call away, while numerous letters to credit bureaus, banks, the Direct Marketing Association, and other voluntary programs block only a fraction of unwanted ad mail from entering our homes. A simple registry modeled after Do Not Call could improve Americans’ quality of life, protect their privacy, and save energy and other resources. 



For your review, I've attached a draft copy of our resolution passed here in San Francisco and I am hopeful that this will be able to save you some time in the drafting process and serve as a quality framework for an Oak Ridge resolution. 



I would like to set up a brief phone meeting to further discuss the possibility of our working together to pass this important resolution. 



I look forward to hearing back from you. 



Andrea Sanchez 

Forest Ethics Intern 


Charlie Fredrick 

Paper Campaigner 



ForestEthics: 

because protecting forests is everyone’s business 



One Haight St. 

San Francisco, CA 94117 

phone: 415.863.4563 x. 330 

email: charlie at forestethics.org 

email: andreasanchezphd at yahoo.com 


forestethics.org 

Resolution Template: 



[ Requesting ( Your State ) Establish a Do Not Mail Registry ] 



Resolution urging the ( Your State ) State Legislature to establish a Do Not Mail Registry 



WHEREAS, The amount of junk mail delivered in the United States each year has substantial environmental and social costs that can be significantly reduced by the creation of a Do Not Mail Registry; and, 

WHEREAS, The production, distribution, and disposal of junk mail contributes to climate change by producing 51 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions [1] - equivalent to that of over 9 million automobiles [2] - at a point when current environmental challenges demand significant and urgent reductions in our carbon footprint; and, 

WHEREAS, The amount of paper required to produce the 105 billion pieces of junk mail distributed each year in the United States [3] requires the annual harvest of approximately 100 million trees [4] that, if left standing, would act as important carbon storehouses; and, 

WHEREAS, approximately 44% of all unsolicited junk mail arrives in landfills unopened [5] , thereby placing unnecessary stress on our waste disposal systems; and, 

WHEREAS, Junk mail is an invasion of privacy and has the potential to contribute to the ongoing problem of identity theft; and, 

WHEREAS, The requested Do Not Mail Registry would be modeled after the national Do Not Call Registry, which is the most popular consumer rights bill in history; and, 

WHEREAS, 93% of likely voters and 89% of likely voters nationwide voiced support for a Do Not Mail Registry in a 2007 national poll commissioned by Zogby International [6] ; and, 

WHEREAS, A multitude of states have previously proposed Do Not Mail bills including; Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington [7] ; and, 

WHEREAS, The success of statewide Do Not Mail registries will pave the way for an equivalent registry at the national level; now, therefore, be it 

RESOLVED, That the (your city) Board of Supervisors urges the State of (your state) to establish a Do Not Mail registry to provide persons of (your state) with an effective, user-friendly system to voluntarily stop the receipt of unsolicited direct mail to their property; and, be it 

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall forward a fully conformed copy of this resolution to (your city) state legislative delegation as well as the President Pro Tem of the (your state) Senate and Speaker of the (your state) Assembly. 






[1] ForestEthics. “Climate Report”. Appendix A. 2008, pp. 5 


[2] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates average carbon dioxide equivalent emissions as 8.8 kilograms per gallon of gas, and average fuel economy of passenger cars and light trucks as 20.3 miles per gallon. 


[3] United States Postal Service (USPS). “The Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2006.” March 2007, pp. 1. 


[4] Center for New American Dream calculation from Conservatree and U.S. Forest Service statistics. 


[5] 41pounds.org: http://41pounds.org/impact/default.asp. 


[6] National Poll Commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream and conducted from September 13-16, 2007 by Zogby International. The survey was administered by phone to 1011 likely voters nationwide. Findings from the survey have a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. 


[7] Direct Marketing Association, “State Do Not Mail Bills – 2007,” available at: http://www.the-dma.org/donotmail/2007legislation.sthml , accessed October 7, 2008.