Thinking about Carbon Footprints

In today's society, it is very important to be environmentally conscious because of the effects our choices have on global warming. A person can be aware of their impact on the environment by tracking their carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is defined as "a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a person, organization, or location at a given time" (dictionary.com).
Everything has a carbon footprint, even wine corks and wine screw caps! The figure to the right shows the difference in the carbon footprint left by natural corks compared to screw caps. Screw caps have a carbon footprint at least 4 times higher than that of a natural cork and at least double that of a Nomacorc (synthetic plastic) cork.
What are your thoughts -is that enough of a difference to make an impact on your decision of whether to buy a wine with a cork compared to a wine with a screw cap?

15 billion corks a year, most of which end up in landfills

In recent news, a winery in Oregon has teamed up with Whole Foods Market to spur a "Cork Reharvest Program." Along with Western Pulp Products, their efforts go toward recycling wine corks, with the goal of producing less waste and keeping the winery as sustainable as possible.

It'd be great to get Nova Scotia on board with a similar project. Local pulp and paper mills could help out the growing wine industry, and in the process, make environmentally responsible choices.

Cork is a valuable resource: "The cork forests are second only to the Amazon rainforest in their importance to the world's biosphere," said Jim Bernau, founder and president of Willamette Valley Vineyards. Cork trees take nearly four decades to reach maturity, at which point the live trees are stripped to create corks as we know them. They come off in huge sheets, and the live trees then spend the next nine years growing back the missing bark before it can be stripped again.

For more information, please see: http://www.vinessetoday.com/artmanVT/publish/Green_Is_Good/Cork_Recycling_Program_Is_Introduced.cfm