The Amazon Kindle - Is It Green?

These days, it's probably fair to say that many of us are more environmentally conscious. We are not about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but the most people are quite willing to make a little extra effort to be greener. And that's fine - it is actually a broad range of small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the biggest difference. The good news is that as well as being more environmentally friendly you can save both time and money at the same time.

A recent study performed by Carnegie Melon University clearly demonstrated that shopping online has less impact on the environment than the conventional method of purchasing goods from retail outlets. The example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick. It was shown that the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% worse than using the internet to make an identical purchase.

A parallel study - carried out by CleanTech - found that the carbon footprint of a standard printed book was 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. However, this figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer got into their car, drove to the store, purchased their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered in the mail.

Roughly speaking, 65% of the emissions associated with traditional shopping methods are a consequence of the customer's transport to the store and the return journey home.

Shopping online is not only better from an environmental perspective - it can save you time and you will frequently find what you're looking for at a lower price. You can maximize the environmental benefits further just by choosing the right product type.

If, for example, you decide to buy e-books instead of the traditional paper type, you will save on ink, paper and the energy consumed in the printing and binding process. Generally speaking, electronic books cost less than the printed versions - plus you save on gas. You can even take out subscriptions to get newspapers and magazines electronically delivered to e-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle reader on a daily basis.

In a similar manner, if you choose to download music to your PC or mp3 player, you will save on CDs, packaging and distribution emissions. Downloading movies, which you can now do from iTunes, Amazon and a number of other sites also has both cost and environmental benefits.

So when it comes to buying on the web, why not consider a two pronged attack. Firstly, if you can avoid a trip to the store in your car by buying online then that will generally be a good option. Secondly, if you can substitute downloadable products for physical ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the environment - but you will save time and money into the bargain.

Learn more about the Kindle reader and discover how to save money by getting free Kindle books.