Digital Book Readers - Better For The Environment?

It's probably fair to say that most of us are more environmentally aware these days. It seems improbable that we are about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but the majority of people are quite happy to make a little effort to be greener. It is actually a whole bunch of small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the difference. The good news is that you can be more environmentally friendly whilst saving both time and money.

A recent study performed by Carnegie Melon University clearly demonstrated that shopping online has less impact on the environment than the conventional method of purchasing goods from retail outlets. The example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick. It was shown that the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% worse than using the internet to make an identical purchase.

Similar research - undertaken by CleanTech - found that a standard printed book had a carbon footprint of 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. This figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer used their car to drive to the shop, bought their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered by post.

Roughly 65% of the emissions produced by traditional shopping methods come about as a direct result of the customer's transportation to and from the store.

Shopping online is not just a better option for the environment - it will save you time and many times you will find what you're looking for at a lower price. You can increase the environmental benefits even further just by selecting the right type of product.

If, for example, you decide to buy e-books instead of the traditional paper type, you will save on ink, paper and the energy consumed in the printing and binding process. Generally speaking, electronic books cost less than the printed versions - plus you save on gas. You can even take out subscriptions to get newspapers and magazines electronically delivered to e-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle reader on a daily basis.

Likewise, if you choose to download music to your mp3 player or PC, you will save on the discks, packaging and distribution emissions. Downloading movies, which you can now do from Amazon, iTunes and many other sites also offers both financial and environmental benefits.

So when it comes to shopping on the internet, consider adopting a twin pronged strategy. First of all, if you can save a car journey to the store by buying online then that will generally be the best option. Secondly, if you can replace physical products with downloadable ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the planet - but you will save yourself time and money as well.

Read more about the Amazon Kindle ebook reader and see how you can save by getting free Kindle books direct from the Amazon website.