save a tree. And a rainforest.

I remember making paper valentines as a kid. The Kindergarten teacher showed us how to fold a piece of red construction paper in half, draw half a heart shape with the center along the folded edge, and then cut along the line. The wonders of symmetry were not dampened by shaky childhood hand-eye coordination or the lumpy hearts revealed by opening the folded card.

I don't send paper valentines any more, and it's not just because I no longer have the hots for the pigtailed girl in the 2nd row of math class. Paper valentines, like paper grocery bags, are largely made of dead trees, so I've found ways to keep in touch with friends (not to mention objects of irrational lust) that don't rely on clearcutting forests.

So, if you send electronic Valentines rather than paper, you're reducing the demand for virgin wood pulp, which translates in some small way to saving trees.

If you send you Valentine's Day Cards from Care2.com, you generate even more benefits:

1. Care2 saves one square foot of rainforest every time you send a free eCard.
2. Care2 donates a percentage of its revenue to eco-nonprofits.