jacintojackim20
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- Feb 1, 2013
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The paper industry is peeved at Google right now. An industry organization called Two Sides recently published a scathing open letter to the technology giant accusing it of scamming the American people by encouraging them to use less paper in 2013. Our world has become increasingly digitized, and many agree that a reduction in paper use (and thus waste) is good for the planet. More trees = happy Earth, right? Not according to the paper companies.
Two Sides indignantly claims that Googles new initiative is clearly another example of a self interested organisation using an environmentally focused marketing campaign to promote its services while ignoring its own impact upon the environment. Do they have a point? Well take a look after the jump.
Initially, hearing the claim that going paperless has zero environmental benefit made me incredulous. Who does the paper industry think it is? Dont they know we use about 71 million tons of paper in the U.S. each year and only about 37 percent of the fiber used to make new paper products in the US comes from recycled sources? How could using less paper possibly be bad for the environment?!
Googles own environmental impact is astounding, the Two Sides letter states, and its an accusation thats hard to refute. Google uses 2.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, most of which is gobbled up by massive data centers. The letter goes on to point out that digital activities, such as conducting a Google search or watching a YouTube video, combine for massive annual energy consumption and carbon emissions as well. Multiplied by the billions of people doing these things thousands of times a year, its pretty staggering. Theres also the nasty reality of e-waste, the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Going digital inevitably requires the purchase of a device which, though it requires no paper, is full of toxic metals and chemicals. Not exactly environmentally-friendly.
Of course, what Two Sides fails to acknowledge in its letter is the significant threat the paper industry poses to old growth forests here in the U.S., as well as rain forests and the endangered animals that live there. Theres also no mention of the massive amount of water consumed in the paper making process, and then the water and air thats polluted from the toxic chemicals used to make paper oh-so-white and smooth. And we havent even started to discuss the nasty inks and dyes used to create paper packaging.
Theres also the inconvenient truth that Google is working hard to source energy for its data centers from renewable sources. And while its certainly not the norm, thousands of families installed solar, wind, and geothermal power systems at their homes and businesses, meaning that the energy powering their digital devices produces almost no negative emissions.
What do you think? Is Googles Go Paperless campaign nothing but a self-serving marketing ploy, or is the paper industry just sore about becoming obsolete? Tell us in the comments.
Two Sides indignantly claims that Googles new initiative is clearly another example of a self interested organisation using an environmentally focused marketing campaign to promote its services while ignoring its own impact upon the environment. Do they have a point? Well take a look after the jump.
Initially, hearing the claim that going paperless has zero environmental benefit made me incredulous. Who does the paper industry think it is? Dont they know we use about 71 million tons of paper in the U.S. each year and only about 37 percent of the fiber used to make new paper products in the US comes from recycled sources? How could using less paper possibly be bad for the environment?!
Googles own environmental impact is astounding, the Two Sides letter states, and its an accusation thats hard to refute. Google uses 2.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, most of which is gobbled up by massive data centers. The letter goes on to point out that digital activities, such as conducting a Google search or watching a YouTube video, combine for massive annual energy consumption and carbon emissions as well. Multiplied by the billions of people doing these things thousands of times a year, its pretty staggering. Theres also the nasty reality of e-waste, the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Going digital inevitably requires the purchase of a device which, though it requires no paper, is full of toxic metals and chemicals. Not exactly environmentally-friendly.
Of course, what Two Sides fails to acknowledge in its letter is the significant threat the paper industry poses to old growth forests here in the U.S., as well as rain forests and the endangered animals that live there. Theres also no mention of the massive amount of water consumed in the paper making process, and then the water and air thats polluted from the toxic chemicals used to make paper oh-so-white and smooth. And we havent even started to discuss the nasty inks and dyes used to create paper packaging.
Theres also the inconvenient truth that Google is working hard to source energy for its data centers from renewable sources. And while its certainly not the norm, thousands of families installed solar, wind, and geothermal power systems at their homes and businesses, meaning that the energy powering their digital devices produces almost no negative emissions.
What do you think? Is Googles Go Paperless campaign nothing but a self-serving marketing ploy, or is the paper industry just sore about becoming obsolete? Tell us in the comments.
