Sony Reader Versus Books: What’s Greener?
The Sony Reader e-book viewer hits the UK today, hoping to “revolutionise” the way we read. Whether you think it’s a hot gadget, a solution in search of a problem, an opportunity for new authors (Toby Young’s opinion) or an over-priced gizmo (Nick Hornby’s take), one question remains: is it green?
Does Sony’s e-book viewer have a smaller environmental impact than the printed book? Let’s take a look. Below, I’ve looked at how the two technologies square up on their environmental impact in three areas. First is the ‘embodied carbon’, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted to
manufacture a book and the Sony Reader in the first place. Second is the carbon running cost — the energy consumed to acquire new books and read them. Lastly, I’ve considered what happens to books and the Reader when they reach their end of life. So, without further ado… let eco battle commence!
Reader My requests for information from Sony on the Reader’s green record fell on deaf ears. So, to guesstimate how much carbon it takes to make one, I’ve used the UN University’s 2004 study on PC manufacturing as a yardstick. According to the UN, the production of one desktop PC
and 17 inch monitor consumes 240kg of fossil fuels. Let’s be generous and assume the hi-tech Reader, which is far smaller than a PC and monitor, uses one tenth of fuel. That’s still 24kg worth of oil and other fossil fuels. The Reader’s most likely made in China or Japan before being shipped to the UK. It’ll then be delivered to a depot before being sent to individual shops. Unlike a book, it has packaging, which adds to the carbon cost of transporting it and producing the packaging in the first place. Score: 3/5
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