Are e-readers more environmentally friendly than paper books?

[Waylander]

I'm curious about this. I guess e-readers cause less paper usage, but apart from that I can't think of why they would be more environmentally friendly. Opinions? Facts? Statistics?

[DrNefario]

I'd guess they will eventually work out more friendly if you use them long enough.

Paper books are biodegradable and don't consume any energy when in use, but they are physical things that require manufacturing and shipping. I believe paper stock is generally sustainable, but the printing works and trucks still need to consume resources.

Ereaders contain batteries, which are never very good, and probably other non-recyclable materials. They are also physical things that require manufacture and shipping, but in far smaller quantities than books, because you get many ebooks for a single ereader. Sooner or later the saving on the shipping of pbooks will offset the ereader shipping and other pollutants and power consumption. I have no idea how many books you'd need to read to break even. Wasn't there a thread about it some time ago?

[Waylander]

I don't know, I haven't been here for long. It sounds interesting though, and what you're saying is sort of along the lines of what I was thinking. However, paper for books usually now comes from specially managed forests that are grown just for paper, which means that hopefully other forests aren't being damaged, and these plantations may have some effect on the carbon emissions. I don't know, just some thoughts.

[HarryT]

Paper manufacture is not a terribly environmentally-friendly process. See:

Environmental Impact of Paper

With readers, the main pollutant is the manufacture of the battery and the screen. In essence, you're swapping one polluting manufacturing process with another. It's difficult to compare environmental impacts directly, because they're different types of pollution.

[fjtorres]

Moving pbooks around relies mostly on fossil fuels. That can add up.

[cfrizz]

Don't know, nor do I care. LOL.

[Namekuseijin]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Moving pbooks around relies mostly on fossil fuels. That can add up.

moving ebooks around relies on electric relays charged by nuclear power plants

touché

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Paper books are biodegradable and don't consume any energy when in use ...

If you read them in the evening or at night, they indirectly do. Newer e-readers typically have a frontlight built in, which uses relatively less energy.

[OtterBooks]

I think that a comparison includes so many material and behavioral variables that it would take an enormous work of analysis to determine.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

moving ebooks around relies on electric relays charged by nuclear power plants

touché

It is a little-known fact that Amazon owns their own hydroelectric plant that powers their ebook data centers.

[Rbneader]

I would guess not. Electricity does have environmental impacts. Manufacturing rechargeable batteries and computer components has a very large impact. Paper can at least be recycled many times, while many electronics cannot.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I think that a comparison includes so many material and behavioral variables that it would take an enormous work of analysis to determine.

Spoilsport.
Why bring rationality into the game?
It's a dreary monday with no real news...

[rdfry]

Thoughts about this make your head hurt.

[speakingtohe]

I have read around 800 books in just under 3 years with my ereaders. I think I read about 25 books a month in paper for 50+ years. Even assuming that most of the approximately 300 books I read annually are read by others that is still a lot of books that don't have to be manufactured, transported and/or recycled.

Recycling is not inexpensive I am told and I think that the cost of recycling an ereader battery if they do recycle them would be less than recycling the equivalent amount of books I read using that one battery. On the other hand I never threw out a book, I always gave them away or occasionally traded them. But I have seen books (current best sellers in my buildings recycling bin, and I know people who buy read and through out in the regular trash.

But then I have given away 3 readers to people who read a book or more a week and they are still being used.

Pure speculation, but I think that ereaders have marginally less environmental impact.

Helen

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Don't know, nor do I care. LOL.

Pretty much sums up my feelings.