With digital communication quickly usurping conventional postal mail and faxing it is more often than not the case that any written communication we receive is more binary than it is tangible. Although this turn to the electronic may prevent future generations from finding caches of historical manuscripts in the centuries to come and similarly, the heart-strings are less likely to plucked by reading texts from a sweetheart than scented, hand-written notes: there is good to come out of this.
Email, text messaging, VOIP calling, social networking and instant messaging are increasingly sculpting the way in which we communicate with others. They are cheaper, faster and for the most part more convenient than conventional letter writing and posting or indeed faxing. More importantly in the grand scheme of things: they also minimise our reliance upon paper as a medium of communication; which can only be a good thing. Timber is not a limitless resource; the rapid decline in the presence of rainforest pays painful and poignant testament to this- as such it makes sense that a text message is considerably more ecology sound than a letter or indeed a hand delivered note.
Even books and newspapers are beginning to feel the pangs of competition from intangible alternatives. The E Book is gaining popularity, not least as a consequence of developments in e-reader technology and the considerable price cuts for these units which have accompanied the progression in innovation. In the modern day, it is even possible to read a book on your mobile phone. It is worth considering the environmental implications of this for a moment:
A book is written by an author and following negotiations, meetings and edits is finally sent to be printed. The printing of the book uses electricity to run the presses which in turn consume ink and paper at a rapid rate. The finished book goes on a journey from press to warehouse- by motor vehicle; from the publisher's warehouse to the distributors warehouse= by motor vehicle, cargo ship or air freight; from the publisher's warehouse to the stockist...I'm sure you can see the point here. Essentially a printed book has not only required the consumption of the materials that you hold in your hand but also travelled a great number of miles in reaching you. By comparison, an e book has travelled down a cable in electronic form in a matter of seconds- or in the case of an e book downloaded direct to a mobile phone- the intangible book has literally materialised on the screen from the sky.
In the light of all these considerations about just how much benefit digital communication and publishing has on the environment: I urge you to think twice before needlessly printing that email that you've already read on the screen.
Written by Jamie Rock Lyons on behalf of DGOS ethical Office Supplies Bradford and environmentally aware Office Supplies Leeds.
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