Are e-readers really green? Is there a significant difference between e-readers, from the Kindle, the Nook and the iPad when it comes to their environmental cred? Does what kind of reader you are affect what kind e-reader you should get? Yes, yes and yes.
If an e-reader is in your future — or you’re planning on buying one as a gift — IzzitGreen has done some research for you:
Are E-Readers Really Green?
Consensus is that yes, e-readers are indeed a green reading option because of the fact that they do not require the paper and fuel-consuming processing that dead tree books, magazines and newspapers require, plus there are no shipping/packing worries.
A study done by Environmental Science & Technology’s Erika Engelhaupt found that if one person subscribed to two electronic newspapers instead of buying them in the paper format and purchased 20 e-books that individual would save upwards of 700 pounds of newsprint per year and 20-40 pounds of paper books per year.
The CO2 emissions from a printed newspaper are “up to 140 times more” than their electronic counterparts.
To drive the point home further, Engelhaupt found that a single subscription to The New York Times generates almost 1,500 pounds of CO2 from production to disposal. This is roughly equivalent, Engelhaupt says of “driving 2,000 miles in a car that gets 25 miles per gallon.” Take into account the 1 million plus weekday subscribers to The New York Times, and you can see the environmental toll just in newspaper. Read more »
