Books Exhale Oxygen
I have
been in the print/publishing industry for over 36 years, and heard a great many
things said and many rocks thrown my way.
Let's get
something straight: Reading, or buying, or preferring - or even disposing of -
printed books is significantly better for the environment than ebooks are.
Period. Full stop.
"Printed books are bad for the environment.
If you're Green, go ebooks!" If you believe or
endorse this mantra, you are plainly wrong.
The plain
fact of the matter is, printing - and in turn, paper mills - put more trees in
the ground than they take out.
So, let's
talk about that.
Sometimes
I think the printing industry is its own worst enemy, allowing erroneous myths
and outright lies to continue unchecked. But the printing industry has, by no
means, a unified front.
For
clarity's sake, I will be referring to printing and paper industries
synonymously.
Printed
books and the paper industry gets a reputation for being bad for the
environment. But the modern paper industry is far from destructive. In fact,
the paper industry as a whole has made great leaps and bounds towards
sustainability, especially as environmental-friendly, renewable resources than
nearly any other manufacturing industries.
* * *
Misinformation #1: Printers and Paper and Books
destroys Forests
Although
it’s true that paper requires cellulose pulp and fibres from trees - and trees
remain the most popular source of cellulose for paper products - they are not
synonymous
with clear-cutting loggers.
Companies
like Domtar and International Paper rely on the forest for the continued
success of their business. Sustainability is crucial to the survival of any
paper company. Managed forests are
crucial to the business model of each and every paper manufacturer. (The
harvested areas for paper companies are known as managed forests. Think of a farmer's fields).
For each
tree that is cut down, several are planted or naturally regrown in its place. The paper mills put more trees in the ground
than they remove - ensuring that the forest remains intact, and that the
natural balance of life in the ecosystem is unaffected.
According
to the US Forest Service, over 1.7 million trees are planted by the paper and
wood products industry (excluding naturally regenerated seedlings).
There has
been no significant decrease in the overall US forested land (nearly 750
million acres) over the past 100 years. The annual growth of forests is
actually 36% higher. More trees are planted each year than are removed. That's
a growth of 36%, just to be
clear.
Paper products represent
under 10% of all logging (and over 60% of wood harvested is used for wood
products such as lumber and construction materials, not pulp or paper).
The paper
industry encourages larger, healthier forests – the more paper is used, the more trees are planted - paper
companies are actually helping the natural world stay pristine and intact. It
can be reasonably argued that choosing printed books helps heal the planet.
* * *
Misinformation #2: Paper Is Not Sustainable
These
paper companies don’t just report these statistics out of the kindness of their
hearts. Strict certification systems are in place that manage and police them.
Each one
of Domtar’s 13 mills for the manufacture of pulp and paper are certified by the
one of the three major certification organizations.*
Sustainable forest management helps sequester
carbon, and fight the effects of climate change and contribute towards the
reduction of carbon footprints and global warming.
* * *
Misinformation #3: Print/Paper/Books Consumes
Large Amounts Of Fossil Fuels
Like any
industry, making paper does require some fossil fuels. However, the print/paper
industry, and by necessity - the forestry industry - is at the top of the list when it comes to on-site electricity
generation of any manufacturing sector.
In fact,
the electricity generated by some companies exceeds their usage.
Domtar’s
2012 total use of renewable energy at all operations was 76.3% – and that
energy usage reduces the carbon emissions and fossil fuels necessary to create high-quality
pulp and paper products.
Compared
to other manufacturing sectors such as electronics
and telecommunications systems, the environmental impact of the wood pulp
and paper industry is negligible. In
fact, mobile phones, data centres, and telecommunications networks are slated
to become the single biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses by 2020,
according to consulting firm McKinsey and Company.
....which
brings us to the topic of the "environmental-friendly and green"
ebooks; or at least its myth.
* * *
Ebooks
Remember,
ebooks require some sort of device - a reader, cell phone, laptop, computer,
chargers, etc. - and these devices require batteries. The disposal of (and
manufacturing of) electronic devices and their batteries are far from environmental-friendly
or green as people want to believe.
The
disposal of the batteries is a climate threat. If the battery ends up in a
landfill, it will release toxins, including heavy metals that can leak into the
soil and groundwater. Let's not kid ourselves, lithium is toxic. It is a
poison.
A study from Australia found that 98.3% of
lithium batteries end up in landfills.
The more
batteries in landfills, the higher the chances of landfill fires. Landfill fires can burn for years.
Between June 2017 - Dec. 2020 (3-1/2 years), one landfill in the Pacific
Northwest reported to have had 124 fires due to lithium batteries. And it's
becoming more and more common. This same landfill also reported 21 fires in
2018 and that number increased to 47 by 2020.
Only about 5% of the world’s lithium batteries
are recycled.
And this
doesn't factor in the cost, carbon footprint, and disposal of the electronic
devices themselves.
So, the
printed book vs ebook as an environmental argument is no different than the
paper straw in the plastic cup & plastic lip senario.
It's
silly a best; a token effort. And it's downright irresponsible, damaging, and a
lie at worst.
So,
choose your reading material with literate and enlightened wisdom:
Printed books: trees that breathe oxygen into
the atmosphere....
or
Ebooks: lithium poisoning of the Earth
* FSC – An international nonprofit, the Forest Stewardship
Council is dedicated to sustainability, setting standards on forest products.
SFI – A
North American certification organization, The Sustainable Forestry Initiative
certified forests that are environmentally sustainable.
PEFC –
Based in Switzerland, The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
Schemes is a nonprofit responsible for administering over two-thirds of the
world’s globally certified forested area. In addition, 100% of all Quebecois
lands managed by Domtar are FSC and FSI-certified.
Michel Weatherall
A native of Ottawa, Michel Weatherall grew up living in Europe
and Germany and has since travelled extensively.
Michel is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Broken Keys
Publishing & Press ( www.brokenkeyspublishing.com )
Other work (the poems “Sun & Moon,” "Purgation,"
"This Burden I Bear," “Eleven's Silent Promise," "The
Corridor," "Purgation,” “Nepenthe & Calm,” the sci-fi short story “Rupture,” and horror
short story "Running Water," and the essays "The Doctrine of
Fear," "A Changing and Treacherous Landscape," and "Ebook
Revolution?") have all appeared in Ariel Chart's online journey.
The poem "Jacob's Darkness" has appeared in the Indian
Periodical.
Weatherall's theological essay, “The Voice of Sophia” has been
published in American theologian Thomas Jay Oord's "The Uncontrolling Love
of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence" (2015)
Weatherall's current books in print are,
·The
Symbiot 30th Anniversary, The Nadia Edition
·Necropolis
·The
Refuse Chronicles
·Ngaro's
Sojourney
·A Dark
Corner of My Soul (poetry)
Honours and Awards include
•
Winner of the 2023 Creative Visionary Award,
2023
•
Winner of the 2023 Ottawa Awards for Best
Printer
•
Winner of the CommunityVotes Ottawa 2022-23
for Best Printer
•
Nominated for the Best of the Net Award 2023
(The Asshattery of Statistics)
•
Winner of the 2020 - 2021 Ottawa Awards for
Best Author
•
Winner of the 2020-2022 Ottawa Awards for Best
Publisher (Broken Keys Publishing & Press)
•
Winner of the 2021 CPACT-NCR Best Publisher
Award
•
Winner of the Ottawa Awards 2023 Book of the
Year Award (Ghosts and Other Chthonic Macabres)
•
Winner of the Ottawa Awards 2022 Book of the
Year Award (Love & Catastrophē Poetrē)
•
Winner of the Ottawa Awards 2021 Book of the
Year Award (Thin Places: The Ottawan Anthology)
•
2021 Best of the Net Award Nominee (for
Poetry: Purgation)
•
2020-21 Parliamentary Poet Laureate Nominee
•
2020 Best of the Net Award Nominee (Poetry:
This Burden I Bear)
•
2019 Pushcart Prize Nominee (for Poetry)
•
2019 FEBE Award Nominee for Creative Arts
•
2019 CPACT Awards Nominee for Entertainment
Excellence (Arts)
•
2019 CPACT Awards Nominee for Small Business
Excellence (Broken Keys Publishing