How Environmentally Friendly Are E-Book Readers?

These days, it’s probably fair to say that many of us are more environmentally conscious. We are not about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but the most people are quite willing to make a little extra effort to be greener. And that’s fine – it is actually a broad range of small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the biggest difference. The good news is that as well as being more environmentally friendly you can save both time and money at the same time.

For example, a recent study carried out by Carnegie Melon University clearly showed that online shopping has a lower environmental impact than the traditional method of buying from retail outlets. One example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick, and it was found the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% greater than making an identical purchase using the internet.

A parallel study – carried out by CleanTech – found that the carbon footprint of a standard printed book was 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. However, this figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer got into their car, drove to the store, purchased their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered in the mail.

Roughly speaking, 65% of the emissions associated with traditional shopping methods are a consequence of the customer’s transport to the store and the return journey home.

Shopping online is not only better from an environmental perspective – it can save you time and you will frequently find what you’re looking for at a lower price. You can maximize the environmental benefits further just by choosing the right product type.

If you opt to buy electronic books as opposed to the conventional printed type, you will save on paper, ink and the energy required for the printing and binding process. In general, e-books are available at a lower price than the printed versions – and you will save on gas as well. You can even subscribe to get magazines and newspapers delivered to e-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle reader every day.

Likewise, if you opt to download music to your PC or mp3 player, you will save on CDs, packaging and distribution emissions. Downloading movies, which you can now do from Amazon, iTunes and a host of other sites also has both financial and environmental benefits.

So when it comes to buying on the web, why not consider a two pronged attack. Firstly, if you can avoid a trip to the store in your car by buying online then that will generally be a good option. Secondly, if you can substitute downloadable products for physical ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the environment – but you will save time and money into the bargain.

Read more about the Amazon Kindle ebook reader and see how you can save by getting free Kindle books direct from the Amazon website.