By Maria Pilar Clark

Books are everywhere, from the overcrowded bookshelf in your son's room to the dog-eared offerings at the local coffee house to the slightly dusty stack on your nightstand that you've been promising yourself you'll read for about the past six months. Each is its own little investment, and believe it or not, makes an impact on the environment. More than 20 million trees are being cut down every year to produce the books sold in the U.S. alone, which is why eco-conscious company Eco-Libris is striving to make its vision of "sustainable reading" a reality by planting a tree for every book us bookworms read. And, not only does Eco-Libris want to balance out half a million books by the end of 2008, but holds out hope that eventually (well, sooner rather than later), books will be made from recycled paper or other eco-friendly materials. After all, taking responsibility for the environmental costs of the books we read is only natural.