You’ve Probably Heard the Claims
E-reader fans insist you’ll save trees and reduce your carbon footprint by switching to a device like a Kindle or an iPad. Are they right?
The Convenience Factor
Over the past few years, I’ve learned how to download Kindle books and sync with my iPhone and personal computer.
- I can start a book on my e-reader and pick up where I left off using my iPhone app while I wait in line at the bank.
- I read more than I have for decades.
- I find digital publications convenient.
- I can locate a book online and start reading within seconds. No more waiting for UPS or postal delivery.
But What About the Environment?
My e-reader is definitesolutely convenient. But what about the environmental effects? Am I helping or harming the planet with my e-habit?
The Internet Always Has the Answer, Right?
Several websites provide varying calculations about the number of books a single tree can produce. But it’s safe to assume that an average tree can create 10,000 to 20,000 sheets of copy paper, or 20,000 to 40,000 book pages. A typical novel contains 250 to 300 words per page. If you consider a book to be about 80,000 words, that’s approximately 300 pages.
So, assuming 30,000 pages as our per-tree production measurement, a tree would yield about 100 books.
Are You an Avid Reader?
If you devour a couple of novels a week, you are personally responsible for destroying one tree every year. How many trees have you demolished over the lifetime of your habit?
How many magazines do you buy per year? Add those to your calculations.
How many resources did sellers expend to ship books to you or the bookstores you frequent? How much plastic did they use in the packaging materials?
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Rocket Scientists Unnecessary
It doesn’t take a degree in math to realize that e-readers can have a huge impact on the environment.
In a perfect world, they would generate a comparable impact on the wallet. Unfortunately, some publishers price e-books just as high as or higher than the print versions. It will take angry reactions or boycotts from readers to change this practice.
The Importance of Impartiality
Let’s get back to calculating the environmental costs of real touch-and-smell-and-feel-the-weight-of books. To be fair, we have to consider the initial manufacturing process for e-readers.
Statistics vary here, too. However, the consensus is that after reading somewhere between twenty and twenty-four digital books, you offset the environmental negatives of e-reader manufacturing by the positive impact of not producing physical books.
Do You Prefer the Feel and Smell of a Real Book?
You’re not alone.
Paperphiles can feed their book-sniffing addiction and reduce their carbon footprint by borrowing from the public library, purchasing from second-hand bookstores, or trading books with friends.
And don’t forget Little Free Library stations, where you can leave a book and take a book. Their mission is “to be a catalyst for building community, inspiring readers, and expanding book access for all through a global network of volunteer-led Little Free Library book-exchange boxes.”
E-readers Are Here to Stay
According to some sources, e-books will increase to 75 percent of market share by 2025. That’s not far away, folks.
Now that you have a few facts, you can make an informed decision. Will you resist the e-trend, or will you join it?
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and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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I don’t read books nowadays, I listen to them using an Android app called FBReader that reads out ePub files. This is because I am before my computer for a long time every day and reading books increases my eye strain. I’ll someday move towards audio books, once they become more common.
The biggest advantage with Kindle, when I was reading using the device, was the enlargeable font size. We can use a large font that is easy on eyes!
Destination Infinity
So far, any reading apps I’ve tried don’t give me a great listening experience. But I’ve downloaded audio files from Librivox. Their volunteer readers create audio files for public domain books. Excellent site.
I like the Kindle’s enlargeable font capability as well.
Well, Kathy, I reckon whatever we do we’re going to use up the planet’s resources. I once had a friendly debate about the virtues of ‘recycling’ with the editor of Britain’s Permaculture magazine. I suggested that, if we recycle everything (and eg. switch from Kindles to sustainable wood pulp), we’d stall the planet’s death by just a few days. Entropy sets in, regardless
That said, I much prefer print books. You can drop them in the sea without remorse. And best-sellers have one virtue, if no other: you can leave them on the deck chair, as a tip to the beach attendant.
Kindles? Well, the screens provide a handy light for those trips to the bathroom at 1am, I find…
My Kindle steered me back toward the reading habit I had many years ago when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth.
I’ve started reading “The Hog Lane Murders”, by the way. I have more than one book on the go, so I’m not sure how long it will take. I can see the typical John Yeoman style shining up at me from within its e-pages. The concept of fictorials that show an author why a certain technique has been used is a unique idea. When will the book be available to the public?
I will join the e-trend 🙂 I do not have enough space to keep all books I buy during my lifetime. I also love E-books because they have encouraged me to read more and more.
I’m with you, Sam. I have hundreds of books on my Kindle. It’s so easy to bring up a book and read whenever I have a few minutes. No need to worry about where I left off, and I can leave remarks or highlight sections without a pen or highlighter.