Books have always been an essential resource through the ages, from papyrus to recycled paper. Today’s modern technologies offer electronic books called eBooks. The good thing about these books is that there’s no paper involved. However, the question raises on whether or not reading these books, or newspapers, or magazines  from electronic devices would, in fact, consume more energy than manufacturing an actual book. Fat Knowledge’s comparison shows that “reading the physical version of the NY Times for a year uses 7,300 MJ of energy and emits 700 kg of CO2.” Reading the electronic version of the NY Times for a year using electronic devices such as Amazon’s Kindle “uses 100 MJ of energy and emits 10 kg of CO2.” That creates a saving of 7,200 MJ of energy and 690 kg of CO2. eBooks are also cheaper than their physical counterpart.

You could also read eBooks on your computer. However, depending on the amount of time you spend reading, you might be better off buying the book. For example, if more than 30 minutes is spent reading the news every day, a computer will use more energy and emit more CO2 than a physical newspaper. This all depends on what kind of computer you have. Desktops tend to use more energy than laptops, as do larger screens to smaller.

Anyone willing to invest $359 on a reading device? Maybe it is time to start saving up.

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Tags: ebook, kindle