Blog Action Day & Digital Media

Today is Blog Action Day. What's that? It's the day when an estimated 15,000 blogs will publish posts on the environment and an estimated 12 million readers will consume these posts. Want to learn more? Go to http://www.blogactionday.com.

So what will I say? I could say, go ride your bike to work, or take cooler showers. I could say change out all your light bulbs for those fancy GE ones, or go buy a Prius. I could say bring a travel mug to Starbucks, or start eating vegetarian one or more times per week.

Instead, I'd like spend time thinking about digital vs. traditional media. Consider this:

"Because of [the paper industry's] consumption of energy, the industry — which includes magazines, newspapers, catalogs and writing paper — emits the fourth-highest level of carbon dioxide among manufacturers, according to a 2002 study by the Energy Information Administration, a division of the Department of Energy. The paper industry follows the chemical, petroleum and coal products, and primary metals industries...The life of a magazine or a newspaper starts with trees being cut down in a forest and ends with the burning or recycling of old magazines or papers. The most harmful part of the process is paper production. Breaking down wood fiber to make paper consumes a lot of energy, which in many cases comes from coal plants" (The Hidden Life of Paper and Its Impact on the Environment).

Then consider the energy and chemicals needed to manufacture the ink, print the pages, transport, and finally dispose of or (hopefully) recycle the finished product.

I'm not saying cancel your Wall Street Journal subscription and boycott your local magazine stand. I'm not saying read books online--I think my optometrist would kill me and I'm very sure I would stop reading all together. I'm merely observing. I wonder if we will see newspaper and magazine subscriptions sag as people go online for their news and entertainment, or if the online content will simply compliment the offline offerings?

I am saying buy media that's written on recycled materials. I am saying buy from local, used bookstores. I'm saying recycle your used newspapers, magazines, and catalogs.

Digital food for thought.