This got me thinking about how many books I have.
How many do you have? If you have a spare moment, maybe even count them. I don't know about you, buy I have a ton of books here in Vancouver, and at least another shelf full at my parent's place in Alberta. Now, remember that all those books were once trees.
The cost in money that we paid for the book didn't pay for the environmental impact of that missing tree, or really even the pollution caused by its production and shipping (according to the American Forest and Paper Association, paper manufacturing is the 3rd largest user of fossil fuels worldwide). It is near impossible to actually know these impacts.
Owning all these books seems almost like a sin, and this mass book ownership is a relatively new phenomena. For decades, even centuries before, books were valuable possessions -they were treasured and symbol of wealth (attesting to the amount of energy and resources necessary to their production). Today, most of us can now afford to buy new books, read them and then just stick them on the shelf for eternity. Maybe things shouldn't be like this anymore.
Of course, we do have to support authors, writing is definitely a craft that deserves to be supported! A reader, Paul_A, suggested in a previous post that we switch to using e-books and e-readers such as Kindle. However, this causes even more e-waste from everybody buying e-readers - and most people won't want to lug about a laptop for reading. So, until e-readers become completely sustainable, it is tricky decision with many factors to consider. What is your opinion?
If you have a stack of used books sitting at home, ecofriendly planet has a number of suggestions for what to do with that heap of books or magazines that you are finished with or if you need to buy new books, what to look for:
1) Buy books made of recycled materials. Paper made of 100% recycled materials reduces total energy used by 44%, greenhouse gas emissions by 38%, wastewater by 41% and of course, virgin wood by 100%
2) Visit an awesome used bookstore like Macleods (it make a fun Sunday afternoon outing too!) and buy used books
3) Donate your books: don't throw them out! Donate them to hospitals, thrift stores, schools or other organizations.
4)Sell or trade your used books: a great way to save money!
As for me, I have decided to not buy anymore new books for the rest of the year. Used bookstores and libraries have more than enough books to quench my thirst ( I will add one small condition, though, that I won't buy new books unless I need to buy a textbook for university that I cannot get used or borrow from the library or a friend).
Here are some more photos from Macleods, since I found the store so fascinating and spent about 2 hours perusing the vast and eclectic selection.
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