Starve a Bookworm, Save a Tree: The Pros and Cons of Going Paperless
One of the great benefits of technology nowadays is the ability to do many, many things electronically. With a decent connection (even dial-up, used by poor stone-age folks like me), a willingness to trust sensitive data to cyberspace, and companies offering e-services, you can do everything from pay your bills to read the newspaper online. And, of course, you can e-communicate, too: Why write a crotchety old letter when you could e-mail, IM, blog, teleconference…?
Besides the general convenience and speed that going paperless provides, managing your life electronically also can help out the Earth. When you go paperless you require less paper, ergo you reduce the number of trees that have to be cut down, ground up into pulp, and then magically transformed into yet another bill, catalogue, or credit card offer.
The number of trees saved when you do it the e-way is pretty significant. Paxton Ramsdell at The Nature Conservancy shares these numbers:
If only one in five households switched to electronic bills, statements and payments, the collective impact would save 151 million pounds of paper, avoid filling 8.6 million garbage bags and eliminate 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.1
Since our friends the trees do so much for us, from sequestering carbon to producing oxygen to inspiring our wonder and our fear, you can feel great about going paperless in every way. Yes, sometimes being an environmentalist has its benefits–in this case convenience cum sustainability. So why not go e-green?
Well, here is one possibly good reason to be wary of going paperless in toto. At least I think it is a good one.
Long before I was a conscientious environmentalist, I was…a bookworm. And more than that, I was…a bibliophile…a book addict with a serious craving. I have an affinity for old books in particular. The ones that make you sneeze with dust when you open them. The ones that require tweezers and padded cushions even to be read. The ones that cannot even be looked at too hard or too long lest you damage them. The ones that require climate-controlled basement rooms without windows kept precisely at specific temperatures and humidity levels.
