Paper VS Digital

Shall we save paper and turn to the digital world?

“Do not print this mail, save paper.”

This well-intentioned plea suggests that digital communication is greener than paper based communication. But is it? The choice to go paperless is not as green or simple as some would like think.

Another caption I read was “Let’s celebrate eco-friendly Christmas by making a pledge to recycle paper”.  Seems, the term “eco-friendly” is getting associated with grandest of festivals.

However, some very pertinent questions stung my mind and before I am adjudged the nemesis of our eco-system, I did a small research. The research was conducive enough to say with conviction that switching to digital medium will most certainly add to our current miseries.

Nuclear energy, hydroelectricity, solar power, wind energy, geothermal, natural gas, and off shore wind energy are all probable ways to generate electricity. Hydro-electricity is the cheapest form but hydro-power plants are not possible to construct everywhere. Coal is one of the natural resources that’s primarily used in thermal power stations but due to the fear of its scarcity and possible extinction in coming 25 years alternatives are suggested. No wonders electricity is becoming as precious as gold!

Now dwell on this. Digital world has even more complexities and gobbles more power than you can think of. Digital world does not exist without electricity. To operate gadgets, major drift of electricity goes to its production. Electricity consumes coal which in-turn releases carbon elements- the prime accuse of dissonance in eco-system by depleting Ozone layer and adding heat via greenhouse effect.

As opposed to this the cost of producing paper comes out to be 0.03 cent per sheet and if we follow reduce, reuse, and recycle of environmental protection then paper is the best medium. If a sheet of paper is recycled, it requires almost 1/3rd part of the new pulp and rest of the used one. If we start only using recycle-able paper then cutting down of trees can be reduced considerably. What is amazing is that recycling of paper cause 34% lesser air pollution and about 70% lesser water pollution as compared to pollution caused while manufacturing paper.

A very important fact one cannot ignore is that documents are the alibis of existence if they are in “hard copies” whereas digital copy can be mutilated and often tainted for misuse. Digital media can’t surpass the robustness and simplicity of paper.

Last but not the least the Human factor. What do you prefer more- newspapers or PDFs? What enthralls you more- a sketch/art work/painting or a digitally rendered image? What do you prefer to read- a hard bound book or an e-book? Which document you trust more- an email/online order or a copy of a bill or a promise written on paper?

I would say, “Think hard before following the environmental slogan religiously.”