Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
While I hate to further complicate your decisions...
Yes, although paper is 100% bio-degradable, the fact is that paper production not only causes significant deforestation (not all paper is farmed, yet), but in the actual production, massive amounts of chemicals and bleaches are used in most processes. The runoff from those chemicals is simply dumped into the nearest river. So paper isn't as environmentally friendly as it may seem.
And while an e-book reader may require production of electronic components, which involves its own waste cycle, you can compare that to the fact that a reader can potentially replace hundreds, even thousands, of paper books, which would make it less net-wasteful than books.
(Of course, if you already have a device capable of reading e-books, like a cellphone, PDA, etc... you don't need to get a reader, and that much less production waste is generated...)
There are always trade-offs involved in being green (which I, as a 30+ year green advocate, know well). You don't have to be 100% green for it to count... you just do what you can, when you can, and be mindful of avoiding waste. If you measure your plusses against your minuses, and you are producing less net waste than the average American, you're doing well.
|
I'd also like to point out that for every mmp sold, a good three or five are ctripped of their covers and thrown in the trash (same for magazines). Used to bug the crap out of my when I worked at the bookstore, but then there really wasn't a viable option for them. Stores can't stock that many, can't donate them because then it gets all black market and stuff, and can't sell it at a discount because the bookstores won't get the profits (not sure how it works, but I think the stores get paid when they are sold, and when they send back the covers they don't get charged).
So its not just the paperbacks you read, but a whole lot more. I don't know if ebooks will ever have a major impact on this, but I can hope it will.