By Paul Goulding

Everyone is talking about Global Warming, the environment and Green alternatives: in governments and places of learning; in the press on the television and in pubs and offices and factories around the world. However there is relatively very little that has been published on these subjects in books and journals. There quite simply are not that many books available on these subjects although the demand for information is huge. For example a title search on Amazon shows that in the field of economics there are 80,000 titles available. In the field of ‘green economics' there are only 86 titles in print.

Given the urgency and importance of green issues and the demand for information publishers everywhere are keen to establish green publishing programmes. Many major publishers have approached the Green Economics Institute to establish a publishing alliance. The Directors of the institute attended the Frankfurt Book Fair in October to explore the opportunities. The Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest Book Fair in the world and brings together publishers from everywhere. The Directors of the institute met with publishers from the UK, Europe, USA and Asia.

The Green Economics Institute has a solid reputation and grounding in green economics and related issues. It has an astounding range of members, associates, professionals and activists in the field and a successful track record in publishing both books and journals. All these attributes are very attractive to publishers. The Institute feels that publishing books and journals can be a core activity in disseminating information and raising awareness of the issues.

However there are many issues and challenges the Institute needs to consider. Some books may be targeted at the general public and should be published as trade books. Others may be targeted at Universities and libraries and should be published as academic books. The publishing process for trade and academic books is quite different.

( 2 of 2) The Institute also needs to evaluate new publishing technology such as electronic books (ebooks) and ‘print on demand'. Many journals are now distributed online. The Institute is not only looking for the best publishing solutions but the most environmentally friendly publishing solutions. If the Institute can deliver information across the world online and avoid chopping down trees to make paper which is then turned into books that are airfreighted around the globe then the Institute is duty bound to consider the alternatives.

These are very exciting times and the Institute is keen to move ahead with major publishing initiatives. So watch this space and if you have any interest in becoming an Institute author please get in touch. greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com

Paul Goulding has an MA in International Affairs and began his career helping to publish school books in Africa in the 1980's. He lived in Asia for fifteen years and was President-Asia for Times Mirror International Publishers and Harcourt Brace Publishers. He now lives in Berkshire and runs his own business which is involved in publishing scientific, technical and medical books from India and China.