I got to thinking about my own carbon footprint. I have always been against e-readers because I like holding a book in my hands. I never thought that it was that selfish, specifically because I didn’t want to see written work become obsolete. Then I started wondering if it was better to buy a kindle or just buy a book.
That depends on how much you read. Kindles can be hazardous waste if you’re the kind of person that upgrades when every new model comes out. A biproduct of producing books is carbon dioxide emissions. If you’re an avid reader, and you keep your device for a few years, its better for the environment to read on a kindle. The environmental impact of one book is less than one kindle, in the long run, but when you start adding issues on the kindle instead of brand new books, the kindle becomes the better choice.
What I was thinking about though, is that everyone reads at least several books in their lifetime so it really just makes sense to get a kindle as soon as you can and rely on that instead of buying one book, even if you might not read one for another 6 months. Just take care of your e-reader and it’ll be the smarter thing to do.
Here’s the link that I referred to for creating the blogpost:
I think that it is a definite personal decision. I have a kindle and I hate using it. It’s helpful if you want to download your books on the spot, but nothing compares to holding an actual book in your hands. From a sustainability standpoint I can definitly see how an e-reader helps the environment. But if you take care of your books, there are plenty of places to recycle actual books, in fact there are many places to donate books to elderly living homes, or schools- particularly those in higher poverty areas, and even some homeless shelters. Yes e-readers help the environment, but an actual book can help sustain a community- it’s total a moral dillemma.
I would have to agree with the comment above mine. The publishing industry to make newspapers, books and magazines it costs the world 125 millions trees per year. However from my research it states that producing a single kindle produces 371 lbs of carbon emissions, however by the 23rd download of a book half the emissions are covered. So in a way a Kindle is carbon effective, however only if the person buying the kindle is an avid book reader, and not just purchasing it as a status symbol.
http://www.dailytech.com/Amazon+Kindle+is+Doing+Its+Part+to+Save+Forests+One+Tree+at+a+Time/article19485.htm
I recently purchased a nook from Barnes and Noble and I found it much less wasteful than purchasing books that were made from killing thousands of trees. Going along with harmful waste I researched ways to recycle electronics. According to the environmental protection agency several companies offer programs that recycle used electronics and programs to donate them. This conserves many important natural resources. Overall though they state what you said above that you should take care of your products and update them to use them as long as possible
Source: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm