What do you think about when you consider the latest high technology gadgets? It will vary from person to person. Some might think that they’re cool. 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 “must have” electronic gadget with doing your bit for the environment – but electronic devices can, in the right circumstances, be environmentally friendly.
Digital photo frames for example have become very popular over the last two or three years. Due to competition in the market, prices have fallen dramatically and you can now pick up perfectly serviceable examples for around about the same price that you might pay for a conventional 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.
A lot will depend upon how many photographs you take in an average year, but if you are in the habit of getting a bit snap happy then using a digital frame to display your photo collection could have a positive environmental impact. Whether you avoid having photos printed out at a processing lab or if you just print out less on your computer printer you will wind up using fewer materials.
Another good, and very topical, example is the current trendy gadget – 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. Huge amounts of water, energy and a whole host of chemicals are also consumed to feed 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 gas used by customers who drive to and from the retail outlet is also a factor in determining the carbon footprint of a typical book.
Of course, e-books do not consume large quantities of paper, ink etc. in their production. Also, given that there is no physical product, electronic books may be downloaded from the internet instead of using road delivery.
Of course, as both e-book readers and digital photo frames are themselves physical products, they do require both materials and energy for their production. They also require delivery to the point of sale or direct to the final customer. Nevertheless, studies have shown that, even when these materials are offset against the savings in paper, energy, ink etc. that such devices can be better for the environment (though it will depend, to a certain extent, on how many books you read or how many photos you process each year).