Materials required. Paper makes up the most important material needed to in the U.S. book and newspaper industries, making up 75% of the publishing industry’s footprint. In fact, in an article published in Environmental Science & Technology in 2008, author Erika Engelhaupt asserts that a decrease in paper usage actually propagates more advantages as opposed to conserving trees themselves. She argues that this would preserve the natural habitats of wildlife in forests as 71% of the world’s paper supply comes from our natural forests, home to many diverse wildlife.

Manufacture of Print Books. In total, paper is responsible for almost 75% of the publishing industry’s carbon footprint, coupled with the 153 billion gallons of water guzzled by paper mills to produce books and newspapers annually. Stacking e-readers directly against print books, manufacturing the average print book uses up 7 gallons of water while only 2 cups are needed to do so for an e-reader.

Furthermore, in printing each page of our paperbacks and hardcovers, ink emissions amount to 1% per printed product, releasing toxins such as toluene and xylene into the water and air around us. The presence of such volatile compounds in the atmosphere have increased the risk for asthma attacks in a survey done amongst Americans. Altogether, the large amounts of solid waste and gas emissions such as nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide particles further exacerbate problems like smog and the respiratory problems that arise from such.

Therefore, books have the highest per-unit carbon footprint in the publishing sector.

Transportation Costs. Driving to the bookstore to purchase the latest novel by our favourite authors actually amounts to 10 times the pollution and resource depletion as compared to producing the print books themselves! Also, in the highly cited Cleantech group report, driving to the bookstore can double the emissions of carbon dioxide as opposed to having the book delivered in the mail. This is largely due to the burning of fossil fuels in addition to the high rate of unsold books

However, it is difficult to ultimately quantify the transportation costs for the production and consumption of books and a point to note here is that the research done as generalised the typical consumer behaviour of print books readers.

Usage of Print Books. The negative environmental impact of reading print books is often pinpointed to the glaring fact that paper has been used to manufacture it. Yet, the negative environmental impact of print books really stems from the rate at which one reads their print books. One study highlighted that reading ebooks on the Amazon Kindle, for example, is only more green having read 23 books on the device.

Disposal of Print Books. Brick-and-motar bookstores more often than not stock up on more books than they can sell, and while Dr Shimizu Hirokazu’s analysis of books in Japan found that the large majority are recycled, the numbers in the U.S. present a different picture. Emma Ritch’s Cleantech report highlights that most unsold books in the U.S. are incinerated, disposed of and minimally recycled, adding onto the carbon footprint and negative environmental impact.

A highest per-unit carbon footprint has been therefore been recorded in the manufacture and usage of print books, together with the similar trajectories of an increasing global demand for printed books and eBooks, leading to the significant negative impact print books have on our environment.