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It's definitely an environmental detriment and I think you're overstating how responsibly it's being done. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_
by rapind 15y ago
It's definitely an environmental detriment and I think you're overstating how responsibly it's being done. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_paper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_paper
In the grand scheme of things though, you're definitely better off trading in the SUV than worrying about the environmental footprint of your personal library.
- _delirium 15y agoI agree paper is a significant problem, but books are a really small portion of it, because they tend to be fairly durable goods. The vast majority of paper waste is in disposable things like newspapers, magazines, toilet paper, paper towels, advertisement circulars, etc. Every week I probably throw out* a half-kilo of ads stuffed into my mailbox, one circular every week from every major grocery and department-store chain in the area. It would only take a few months to accumulate as much paper in grocery-store ads as all the books I've bought in my life. * Well, I recycle it, but afaik the recyclability of glossy/coated paper is fairly poor/inefficient.
- rapind 15y agoSomething you might be interested is what happens with our recycling once it hits the curb. I was completely blown away when I heard about this (Toronto specific article, but I imagine you have a similar process south of the border). http://www.thestar.com/article/584523 http://www.thestar.com/article/584523 I agree though, my common sense tells me that books are probably not a real contributor, but I couldn't say for sure without researching it a bit (I've been surprised before).