Friday, September 29, 2017

The Not So Earth-Friendly Ebook industry

The Not So Earth-Friendly Ebook Industry

     E-books are very new in comparison to printed books. Environmentalists often promote them as eco-friendly since they could replace print books. I am led to believe that e-books have lot of advantages but eco-friendliness is not one of them . The primary advantages of e-books is the ability to get them faster and cheaper than printed books as well as their ability to be read everywhere and anywhere. But those of us who use e-books under the idea that they are greener may not be helping the environment after all. After reading several news articles, I have decided that it is better to simply enjoy reading what you prefer. I believe that we all should look at various sets of sources and make the decision ourselves on what to read. Today, I will list several factors that most people don't consider when buying e-books.

1. Using Less Paper May Mean More Deforestation

     Many of our power plants are still powered by coal . In fact, mediashift.org claims it's about 57% percent. Coal mining is a major contributor to the destruction of mountain top forest and other plants. Explosives are used to blow up the actual mountains leaving local streams and rivers polluted(source: earthjustice.org). The electricity used to power our devices use the power that leads to such destruction. Therefore, we are not saving trees by reading on electronics.

2. Electronic Readers Are Often Retired Too Early

     Some individuals buy an electronic device every year. Others buy one every few years. E-waste is a known environmental hazard. Electronics are being thrown in our landfills and we are not yet effectively recycling them. Paper, although still a major part of our landfills, is one of the most recycled items in our society. Although paper products are not pollution free, it is estimated that a book lover would have to read at least 100 books to offset the environmental costs of reading electronically. Most people will not read that many books before they retire their devices.

3. E-book purchases are rising with print book purchases

     Both E-books and print books are rising in sales. The use of e-books have not decreased the amount of print sales, but rather, they have grown alongside of print sales. This means that the environmental impact of e-books has not slowed the production of print books at all. As a matter of fact, publisher often burn unsold copies of print books. In turn, your book purchase might have saved a book from the dumpster or furnace. 

4. Possible Solutions

     Both E-books and print books give pollution to the environment. Therefore, neither is completely green, but there are things we can do to reduce our carbon footprints. The first thing we could do is stop buying so much stuff. Part of our problem is the amount of stuff were are throwing away. If we reduce our waste, we can help the environment. At the same time, going extreme does nothing to help at all, so we should, therefore, be reasonable. The easiest and most reasonable way to help the environment is to keep the stuff we already have and take good care of it to make it last as long as it can. We can also avoid buying things we don't need. When we decide to buy things, we should search for better quality items since they are usually more durable. Buying used items can also help the environment. A print books could be read many times before it is retired. It may also help to keep your current electronic device for as long as they are properly working.

     Individual efforts are not enough to help the environment. The companies producing our products need to change they way they are doing things as well. In the case of books, publishers should use recycled materials and stop doing print runs. When publishers do print runs, they print hundreds, possibly thousands of book copies in hopes a book store or reader will buy them. Instead, they could print books as they are sold so there is no excess. Are E-books greener than print books? What do you think? 


5 comments:

  1. People throw away their books?!?!?!? I do figure E-readers are not environmentally friendly and that trees are town down whether you use them for paper or not.

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    Replies
    1. I suppose most people don't throw away books that are in good condition. But publishers often destroy unsold copies of print books.

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  2. Huh. Well, I really appreciate my e-reader. And since most book bloggers get their ARCs through galleys which is all electronic, I don't know if you'll win too many people over with this one.

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