Are eReaders Really Green?

[Belfaborac]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The environmentally "nasty" part of a reader is the battery. Battery manufacture is a very "dirty" process involving lots of highly unpleasant chemicals.

Exactly. Basically, there are few things more un-environmental than battery production. Which is why the Toyota Prius and similar hybrid cars are anything but environmental; in fact you can drive a Hummer for at least a couple of decades before a Prius driver gains an advantage in that department.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

If the five-year life cycle is a worry or an annoyance (it certainly is to me), you should be able to go on using it until it dies from non-battery-related causes by buying something like this or this. It won't be as convenient to use any more, but for reading at home, or anywhere you're stationary for some time, it ought to do nicely.

And, of course, even when the battery does die, with most devices you can continue to use the device when it's connected to an external power source.

[ProfCrash]

It seems we get this once a year....

I did buy an e-reader because it was a green option. I got my first Kindle in 2008 and I have over 500 books. At this moment I have three Kindles. I was given the K1, bought a DXG because I wanted the new screen and bigger screen, and bought a K3 about a year later because I wanted something more portable for travel and the new screen. My Mom has a DXG (well, two, she lost one).

So five Kindle purchased on my Kindle account. That is 100 books per Kindle.

On top of that, I cancelled my newspaper and magazine subscriptions and only get them on Kindle, or now for my IPad. I specifically sign up for the digital only subscriptions. So that was cancelling the New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Economist, National Geographic, and Smithsonian paper versions. That right there probably saved more then a few trees.

Never mind the savings that come from driving to and from the store, shipping costs, and all that fun.

Oh, and the fact that all of these devices can be recycled and if people were to do so, the enviromental damage would be a great deal less. We have two boxes of electronics waiting to be recycled. This includes old VCR's, printers, radios, cell phones, a collection of batteries, and the like just waiting for my hubby to go to the dump where they have recycling for electronics and batteries.

[K. Molen]

Hmm. I just thought about another aspect of paper books vs. e-readers that the article doesn't cover: hoarding of unread books.

Looking at my bookcases I probably have 50-75 titles that I've yet to read, and lots of those have sat there for the better part of a decade, and I suspect I'll never get around to reading them. When I bought them I of course intended to read them, but as time has passed my interests have changed and other books have arrived that's piqued my interest more.

This kind of overbuying has zero environmental impact with an e-reader, but obviously not so much when it comes to paper books.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

This kind of overbuying has zero environmental impact with an e-reader, but obviously not so much when it comes to paper books.

But, on the other hand, your unread books are acting as a reservoir for CO2 which would otherwise be in the atmosphere .

[Harry_Y]

Originally Posted by applesauce

I looked into an ereader to purchase a great deal. Everybody I know who so called went to an ipad from an eink reader went back to the reader for books. Now the numbers around here might be different and dont get me wrong they enjoy their ipad for tablet things but when it comes to reading books out comes their trusty ebook reader. A huge reason I am really reluctant to spend big bucks on an ipad for my husband to use as an ereader. I just feel he will want the smaller size no eye strain in the end.

applesauce

I tried reading books on my Tabled and compared to my kindle it not
nearly as easy. I have tried brighter dimmer and different color
schemes but I could not get it as easy to read as it is on the kindle.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But, on the other hand, your unread books are acting as a reservoir for CO2 which would otherwise be in the atmosphere .

Ah, but by buying those unread books as e-books, those trees didn't have to die, and can remain in the forest eating the CO2.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I'm pretty sure I saw something recently about ereader owners reading an average of 24 books a year, so it won't take too long for a net gain.

This might have been it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1405449.html

--
Bill

[bill_mchale]

The article is definitely slanted. I will grant that tablets are definitely selling better than ereaders, and probably will continue to (and it is a key argument to support using the ipad as the author's "ereader" rather than a kindle, nook or Sony PRS), but that doesn't mean that tablets are going to take over the bulk of ereading. Or, even if they do, that it is affair to assign the total environmental cost of a multi-purpose device to a single one of its uses without looking at how the device is used on average (and I would guess that ebook reading is not even 50% of the use of the average iPad).

--
Bill

[gbm]

Originally Posted by flipreads

http://www.themillions.com/2012/05/a...lly-green.html

Some of you might not like the answer..

Who really cares if they are?

Bernie

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The environmentally "nasty" part of a reader is the battery. Battery manufacture is a very "dirty" process involving lots of highly unpleasant chemicals.

But then, so is paper production. And printing.

Probably the dirtiest type of printing is related to color periodicals and newspapers, not to mention that it is that type of printing which most quickly fills up the landfills and recycling plants. As I use my Nook Color to read my magazine subscriptions, I'm trading battery manufacture for monthly printing and disposal, and I'd say the reader comes out on top.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by applesauce

now when they make a solar charger I can go live on a dessert island nobody to constantly say I am not giving them my full attention, husbands and teens hmmmmmmm.

applesauce

Think Geek has a very nice solar charger for around $50, IIRC.

[Harry_Y]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

Ah, but by buying those unread books as e-books, those trees didn't have to die, and can remain in the forest eating the CO2.

Algae does a better job



Thats what I don't clean my aquarium

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

Two years? If it got lost or broken I'd of course replace it, but I'm hoping I can use my Kindle for at least 10 years, hopefully more.

Dream on. They are not built to last.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Dream on. They are not built to last.

Well, from HarryT I've learned that the battery is likely to die after five years, so I guess 10 was too optimistic. But I beg to differ regarding the build quality, I have no complaints at all in that department.

Granted, only time will tell if it'll fall apart on me sometime in the future, but after hundreds upon hundreds of hours with it, and after having travelled with it quite extensively, including a month-long bike trip, everything about it is just as nice as the day I got it.