Digital Media Greener than Print? Maybe Not?

Digital Media Greener than Print? Maybe Not?

The common understanding of digital media is that it is more sustainable than traditional paper print. And the biggest reason is that all digital media do not require to consume trees to produce, while paper media is entirely based on a tree-killing paper industry.

How ever, there has been an argument that digital media is actually very resource-consuming and not as sustainable as people think. Don Carli in his aticle introduce the term digital deforestation, It is the notion that the electricity that the massive servers consumed to keep records of digital data is in fact enormous and environmentally insustainable. In Australia, 73% of the overall power generation comes from coal power plant. 

As a result, electricity-based digital media can be associated with the carbon emission generated from coal industry. Also, the cellular networks and computers that digital media relies on also brings emission and deforestation to the environment.

The client-side devices we use to receive digital media and information can also bring negative impact to our environment. The life span of electronic devices shortens as the technologies evolves faster. The average life span of an average smartphone is 18 month and the used ones are rarely recycled. Comparing with traditional paper print, the resource it used is equally damaging if not so.

The exit of traditional paper print is almost certain due to the rise of digital media. However, when make the argument that digital media is more sustainable than its prodecessor, one have to consider that digital media also has to consume resource in order to exist. And maybe it is not as green as people would think.

Reference:

http://mediashift.org/2010/03/is-digital-media-worse-for-the-environment-than-print090/

https://www.originenergy.com.au/blog/about-energy/energy-in-australia.html