The Center for American Progress has a series entitled "It's easy being green".1 It includes articles on climate friendly eating, cities where you can get around without cars, smart buildings, using less energy while playing video games,2 composting, and reading green.
Amazon's Kindle (pictured at the left) and Sony's Reader provide an alternative both to paper books and magazines and to traditional on-line access. I have an earlier model of the Kindle. In addition to copies of On the Origin of Species and A Long Walk to Freedom, I automatically receive issues of the Atlantic Monthly, the New Yorker, and Technology Review. Reading on the Kindle isn't quite as convenient as paper, but I can easily carry a lot of books and magazines with me, and I'm using a lot less paper. So long as I keep using it until it's worn out and resist the temptation to buy the newest Kindle, I'm probably doing the planet a small favor. If you do a lot of reading consider buying one yourself.
Amazon's Kindle (pictured at the left) and Sony's Reader provide an alternative both to paper books and magazines and to traditional on-line access. I have an earlier model of the Kindle. In addition to copies of On the Origin of Species and A Long Walk to Freedom, I automatically receive issues of the Atlantic Monthly, the New Yorker, and Technology Review. Reading on the Kindle isn't quite as convenient as paper, but I can easily carry a lot of books and magazines with me, and I'm using a lot less paper. So long as I keep using it until it's worn out and resist the temptation to buy the newest Kindle, I'm probably doing the planet a small favor. If you do a lot of reading consider buying one yourself.
I originally noticed the article about eBook readers at Climate Progress.
1A more appropriate title would be "It's easy being greener." Green isn't a noun. It's an adjective. It comes in degrees. We can't live without having some impact. What we can do is to reduce the impact we have.
2My solution? Don't play video games. Of course, that's easy for me to say. I've never enjoyed them. As for computers, well, you're reading this on a computer, and I wrote it on a computer, but other than the server where you're reading this, I turn off my computers when I'm not using them. And the monitor on this server is turned off except for the rare occasions when I need to do maintenance at the console.
1A more appropriate title would be "It's easy being greener." Green isn't a noun. It's an adjective. It comes in degrees. We can't live without having some impact. What we can do is to reduce the impact we have.
2My solution? Don't play video games. Of course, that's easy for me to say. I've never enjoyed them. As for computers, well, you're reading this on a computer, and I wrote it on a computer, but other than the server where you're reading this, I turn off my computers when I'm not using them. And the monitor on this server is turned off except for the rare occasions when I need to do maintenance at the console.
What if we are not far from that times when reading paper books, magazines and newspapers will be limited by law, or by special tax limitations for paper publishers? Sounds fantastic, but... at least it could do the planet a big favor.