Paper or Pixels?

There is a continuing debate over the relative “greenness” of paper versus that of electronic media. Now International Paper has put out a brochure on the subject. “Pixels vs. Paper” is part of the company’s “Down to Earth” series, which also includes brochures on certification, recycled vs. virgin paper, and carbon footprints. (www.ipsustainability.com) As far as the pixel/paper comparisons, paper comes out looking pretty good. It comes from trees, which are a renewable resource, while electronic devices use non-renewable plastics and contain metals and chemicals. The amount of electricity used to run a computer for five months could produce enough paper for the average person to use for a year. Also, paper is biodegradable and nearly 60% of all paper in the U.S. is recycled, while only 18% of all electronic devices are recycled and “e-waste” is the largest single waste export in the U.S. Paper has other attributes, too. Books don’t crash, get viruses, or receive spam. And print is not given to obsolescence like electronic media. You can read a 100-year-old book, but probably can no longer access data stored on a 15-year-old floppy disk. Of course the question is, if I like paper so darned much, why am I writing this electronic blog? I guess that, as in so many other cases, there isn’t an either/or choice and pixels and paper will have to coexist.