Books are unarguably vital to people. Unfortunately, it causes great harm to the environment.
In this age and time, we can go on a limb here and say pretty much every human has come in contact with books in their lifetime. While many of us may not consider the harm brought to the environment by books, it doesn’t change the fact that paper books cause great harm to the environment.
For instance, it takes 24 trees to make one tonne of paper. Meaning the more books produced the more trees are cut down, which is really bad for the environment.
There’s no doubt that books are important and we are not insinuating people should stop reading books, but strongly recommend you reduce the effect these traditionally printed books have on the environment by substituting traditionally printed books with electronic books (e-books).
Thanks to the digital revolution, over 60% of the world’s population has access to a digital device. Therefore, opting for e-books is now easier than ever. E-books are the electronic version of traditionally printed books.
They are usually read on digital devices. Although traditional prints are still largely in use today, we, however, have to play a role in keeping our environment safe by choosing e-books over the traditional books.
We totally get it, physically holding books sets the mood right for reading. It somehow enables you to read better and longer.
However, when we look into the harm traditionally printed books cause to our environment, learning to read digitally is totally worth it. You will be surprised how much good you will do by simply switching to ebooks.
If you are still contemplating about switching traditionally printed books for e-books, our team came up with these 7 Surprisingly Amazing Environmental Benefits Of E-books.
These environmental benefits of e-books would definitely show you how substituting your traditionally printed books for e-books can save the environment. Without further ado let’s get the ball rolling!
Save Trees
Undoubtedly, this is the first [and most important] benefits of using e-books. The production of traditionally printed books and newspapers require millions of trees to be cut down every year.
Of course, we know trees are essential for life as they give oxygen, stabilize the soil, and give life to wildlife. Trees also absorb carbon dioxide which helps to keep the atmosphere clean.
Now, consider what happens when these trees are cut down to make books? The environment suffers and we experience global warming.
To prevent this from happening, opting for e-books instead of traditional prints is very necessary. Although e-books require resources to make them function properly, it is friendly to the environment and trees. And that is what counts!
While it might be difficult for the world to go paperless, making a move by using e-books rather than traditionally produced books can save trees and save the environment at last.
Reduce Carbon emission
Everyone has a specific amount of carbon footprint they contribute to the environment. Nevertheless, printing industries have been recognized as one of the major contributors to the global carbon footprint in the environment.
Over the years, the printing industry has caused untold danger to the environment - from the enormous amount of paper it consumes annually to the trees used to produce these papers and the release of loads of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and other noxious greenhouse gases into the environment.
So, we believe you now understand that the need to opt for electronic books cannot be overemphasized.
Apart from the fact that electronic books consume little resources, electronic books also do not release as much carbon footprint into the environment like printed books. As a result of the reduced carbon footprint from e-books, they are ultimately the best choice for a healthy planet.
Reduce Printing
If you are looking for ways to reduce carbon footprint as a bookworm, using electronic readers might just be the best way to go.
Printing books require a lot of electricity to produce traditional books. This means that more energy has to be utilized in the process. With our already diminishing energy, we can both agree that this is a detrimental exercise to the planet.
On the other hand, e-books do not require this energy-consumption process. It doesn’t also require lots of electricity to make it work which makes it a simple way to save the environment.
Less Pollution
Another reason e-books are better for the environment compared to conventionally printed books is that it causes less pollution to the environment. As mentioned earlier, printed books have been reported to contribute a huge part to the carbon footprint in the environment.
Pulp, alcohol, inorganic materials, and paper mills are used for making paper, however, they are often released into water bodies during the book production process. Ultimately, this causes a great deal of harm to water bodies, polluting surfacing waters which are the natural home of aquatic animals.
Having considered the tons of trouble caused by producing paper books, it makes sense that simply purchasing an e-book is a little effort everyone should be happy to entertain.
Save Space
Have you considered the amount of space paper books consume? Books consume a lot of space especially when they are kept on book shelves or in storage boxes. It is rare for people to read books over and over again which means once a book is bought, it could be read just once or occasionally made reference to.
When we think about the amount of energy required to keep these books warm or cool in warehouses or in our offices, we realize this also has a negative effect on the environment. On the other hand, e-books only take up space on your digital devices. It does not require the amount of energy required by printed books for preservation. Want to know more? These books could easily be referred to at any time.
Reduce Waste
E-books help in reducing the amount of waste in our landfills. When you check landfills, you would be surprised to find out that over 26% of trash all over the world are discarded paper and paperboard.
Although paper recycling can check the impact printed paper has on landfills, the negative effect it has on the environment is still indisputable. For this reason, e-books are very important. Electronic books can’t be discarded on land which makes them perfect for the environment.
Save resources
Lastly, e-books are better for the environment because they consume less natural resources compared to printed books. Printing industries require a lot of freshwater for book production. In fact, they are responsible for the consumption of a large share of freshwater.
As well as freshwater, printing books also requires lots of energy which also causes harm to the environment.
Conversely, e-books don’t require as much energy or natural resources for production. Although it requires its own materials, e-books are however nicer to the environment compared to traditional prints.
The debate on traditionally printed books and e-books has been ongoing for many years now. But the truth is, the only way we can save the environment is by choosing digital books.
Although living without paper would be very hard to accomplish, the rise in environmental issues has led us to find better options for reading. Incorporating small changes in our reading habits, for instance opting for e-books rather than using printed books, can go a really long way in saving the environment.
E-books save the environment by reducing carbon footprints, it drastically reduces deforestation, pollution, and the use of natural resources. Save the environment today by substituting traditional prints for e-books.
Are you searching for other ways to save the environment? If so, kindly check out our previous article on 6 Steps To Carrying On With An Eco-friendly Life.
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