The Amazon Kindle – Is It Green?
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.
A recent study performed by Carnegie Melon University clearly demonstrated that shopping online has less impact on the environment than the conventional method of purchasing goods from retail outlets. The example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick. It was shown that the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% worse than using the internet to make an identical purchase.
Similar research – undertaken by CleanTech – found that a standard printed book had a carbon footprint of 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. This figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer used their car to drive to the shop, bought their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered by post.
Roughly 65% of the emissions produced by traditional shopping methods come about as a direct result of the customer’s transportation to and from the store.
Shopping online is not just a better option for the environment – it will save you time and many times you will find what you’re looking for at a lower price. You can increase the environmental benefits even further just by selecting the right type of product.
For example, if you choose to buy electronic books instead of the conventional printed type, you will save on paper, ink and the energy used in the printing and binding process. As a rule, electronic books are cheaper than the printed versions – plus you save on gas. You can even subscribe to get newspapers and magazines delivered to e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle reader every day.
In a similar manner, if you choose 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 iTunes, Amazon and a number of other sites also has both cost 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.
Discover the Amazon Kindle reader and find out how easy it is to save money by getting free Kindle books.
