Consumer printers are going greener all the time with features like auto-duplexing and reduced energy consumption. Now the government is getting into the act by saving ink and paper as it prints nearly 120 million forms for the 2010 Census. These are the main measures being taken to green the process:
- The form will feature only 10 questions, making it one of the shortest since 1790.
- 30% less ink will be used compared to the 2000 Census.
- Paper will feature 30% recycled material.
All well and good, but it begs the following question – why isn’t the census online? In a USA Today article from October 2008, the Census Bureau expressed concern over security issues, and that harder-to-count areas like small rural towns would be less likely to have Internet access anyway. Recent problems with electronic balloting and the naturally deliberate pace of change in a bureaucracy could also explain the reluctance to go online. In any case, it’s nice to know the government is meeting eco-activists halfway as it greens the census printing process.
(Story via TreeHugger.com, Photo via Census.gov)
