When you consider the latest high technology gadgets what goes through your head? It will differ from one individual to another. Some may think that they’re trendy. Others might feel that they cost way too much. Maybe you think that they’re confusing and often difficult to operate. It very much depends on your own individual viewpoint. However, it’s probably a fair bet to say that you almost certainly don’t associate the latest geeky electronic gizmo with doing your bit for the environment – even so, electronic devices can, used properly, be environmentally friendly.
Digital photo frames for example have become very popular over the last two or three years. As a result of fierce competition, prices have reduced considerably and you can now pick up perfectly serviceable digital frames for more or less the same price that you might expect to pay for a traditional photo frame. Digital frames have a number of perceived advantages, one of which is their ability to display hundreds of different photographs using a single frame.
Much will depend upon just how many photographs you usually print out in a typical year, but if you are in the habit of taking a lot of snaps, then the use of a digital frame to display your photo collection could have a positive environmental impact. Whether you remove the need to have hard copies of photos developed at a processing lab or if you just print out less using your computer, you will wind up consuming fewer materials.
Another very topical, example is the hot gadget of the moment – the e-book reader. These have actually been around for quite a while, but they really took off in 2009 and look set to make even more sales in 2010. The Kindle reader is currently the most popular by a long way and Sony have also established a good market presence.
125 million trees are cut down every year to provide the paper required to supply the U.S. book, magazine and newspaper industry sector. Large amounts of water, energy and a whole host of chemicals are also required to satisfy the nation’s reading habit. On top of that, since books are a physical product they need to be delivered from the publisher to the book store – generally using road transport. The fuel used by customers who make a car trip to and from the store is also a factor in determining the final carbon footprint of a standard book.
Of course, e-books do not consume large quantities of paper, ink etc. in their production. Additonally, since they are not a physical product, it’s possible to deliver them over the internet rather than by using the road transport network.
Needless to say, both digital photo frames and e-book readers, being physical products themselves, do consume materials in their production. They also need to be delivered to the retail outlet or direct to the end user. Even so, according to studies have shown that, even when the materials consumed are offset against the savings in paper, energy, ink etc. that devices of this type can be better for the environment (though it will depend, to some extent, on the number of books you read or how many photos you usually print each year).
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