Books have a similar past to diets, because both share a composition about what they need and produce, and we can compare it not only with that, but also with everything around us. However, throughout this article, you will see the impact of the following sentence: Not everything is what it seems. Therefore, we’ll begin to compare the results for each way of reading and its impact on our nature through its production of CO2.

According to Green Office Wageningen (2014), a physical book adds 2.7 kg of CO2 to the carbon footprint. Perhaps, this figure is not so alarming when it refers to a single book; however, when we talk about dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, and so on of copies of the same book thanks to its unique success, this production footprint becomes increasingly worrying. Pointing out other aspects, let me show you the impact of other electronic devices and/or platforms such as iPad, Kindle, Desktop and laptops. Before mentioning the information for each, it is important to emphasize that the amount of CO2 produced by the consumption of electricity depends on the electricity provider. For example, the average CO2 production in electricity in Spain is 0.649 kgCO2/kWh (Foundation for Energy Efficiency and the Environment, 2016).

An iPad uses 3.16 Watts, so if we consider this information and multiply 0.00316 x 0.649, the result will be 0.00205084 kilo of CO2 per hour of usage. Similarly, when compared to a computer or laptop, the numbers increase when the system uses several options at once, such as having windows or applications open, causing the production of CO2 to increase for every hour of use. Taking this into consideration, “an averaged sized laptop has a carbon footprint of 560 kg CO2, while the production of a desktop produces 380 kg CO2” (Green Office Wageningen, 2014). In the case of Kindle, there’s no doubt that it produces less than the iPad, since it only uses 0.7 Watts in its electricity consumption. The total CO2 production of this platform is 168.6 kg. The reason for this amount is that users use Kindle only for reading, while on the iPad there may be several applications open, which consumes more energy and produces more CO2.

To end up, it’s important to bear in mind that when we do an activity in general, we must take into consideration that we will inevitably be expelling CO2, because just by breathing we already do so. However, our goal is trying to reduce this amazing amount of production to safeguard our environment, thus improving the quality of life of all living beings on this planet.

Resources:

-       Green Office Wageningen. (2014). What is the best device for reading in terms of CO2? Green Office Wageningen. Taken from: https://gowageningen.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/co2-footprints-of-kindle-vs-ipad-vs-books.pdf

-       Foundation for Energy Efficiency and the Environment. (2016). Gas Natural, Butano, Electricidad, Propano y Gasóleo. Foundation for Energy Efficiency and the Environment. Taken from: http://www.f2e.es/es/gas-natural-butano-electricidad-propano-y-gasoleo-que-energia-emite-mas-co2