As individuals, we too have the responsibility to create our
very own mission vision statement. Two words: Go Green!
Did you know that an estimated 3 kg of carbon emission is
being used up in order to produce one book? It might not seem like a lot but
imagine the magnitude of carbon emission released in order to produce the
entire Twilight saga that have sold millions of copies world wide.
There are a lot of aspects that must be considered in
manufacturing a traditional book. Let us keep in mind that aside from the
production of paper and the use of ink, there is also the energy cost of
transporting, storing and binding these books. There is a lot environmental
issues that can be improved simply by cutting down on manufacturing of paper
copies.
According to National Geographic, an estimated 1.5 million
metric tons of paper is used in one year for the purpose of manufacturing
books. It is argued that although electronic devices use energy as well, a
person would have to read 11 hours a day through electronic devices to match
the carbon emission of a single print copy. Therefore, the overall footprint is
lower for patronizing eBooks.
A lot of big companies have shelled out a lot of cash in an
effort to go paperless. We too, in our own little way can make a difference.
Let’s give back to Mother Nature and go green!
Reference:
Hendricks, D. (2012, April 10). eBooks Help the Environment One Download at a Time – News Watch. News Watch - National Geographic News Blog. Retrieved November 27, 2012, from http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/10/ebooks-help-the-environment-one-download-at-a-time/
Mims, C. (n.d.). Are e-books an environmental choice? | Homes | Green Living. Green Living. Retrieved November 27, 2012, from http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/are-e-books-environmental-choice
Hi Katrina,
ReplyDeletei completely agree with idea of eBooks being another feather in cap of the green revolution. We will be saving millions of tress and hence making our earth less polluted, if not pollution free compositely, by going digital in publishing. You would be amazed by facts and figures provided by Epublishers Weekly's post on 10 ideas for sustainable publishing. In US alone, 32 million trees are used every year to produce only the books. The number would be multiplied several times if we consider international publishing as well as newspapers, journals, magazines , etc. Its astonishing to know that one Sunday New York Times issue consumes 75,000 trees.
But we are not growing tree at that rate ? So that would leave the earth barren one day. Technology has given us an option to save our environment and we should be. The end of that posts says we should be planting a tree each time we buy a paper book or download an eBook. That another great step to green earth !!