Photo courtesy: Kevin Rosseel

By Lindley Homol

The publishing industry may be the newest follower in the trend to go green. According to workshops presented at the recent Book Expo America in Los Angeles, there are a number of ways that the industry can limit its damage to the environment. One of the most popular methods presented at the conference, a solution championed by many of the major publishing companies, entailed printing on biodegradable or recyclable paper. As a result, this solution would reduce the amount of waste involved in the publishing process. According to BusinessWeek, publishers advocating this method are attempting to raise their recycled paper usage to thirty percent, a move that would save a billion tons of greenhouse gases. A second option involves printing fewer books, thus reducing the amount of paper products used altogether.

Although both ideas seem like elementary solutions to an ongoing environmental problem, the repercussions associated with these changes may be widespread. The switch to biodegradable paper can adversely affect the aesthetic value of books, since rapidly yellowing pages are an unintended side effect of this particular attempt to go green. Readers concerned with the visual appeal of their favorite works may choose not to buy books printed on recycled paper, thus contributing to the trend of declining book sales. A decision to print fewer books could have effects that are even more wide ranging. Publishers choosing to print fewer books may rely more on e-books and their reading devices, such as Amazon’s Kindle. A reliance on the few companies who produce these e-book readers inspires fear of a monopoly that would result in many lost jobs in traditional publishing companies. An increased use of e-books, however, could possibly help sales in the book industry. This specific green solution aims to offer an unparalleled selection of works, including hard-to-find titles and multiple languages, at consumers’ fingertips in under a minute.

The manufacture of just one book produces 8.85 pounds of carbon emissions, compared to the 1,290 pounds produced with each Apple laptop, according to BusinessWeek. Those individuals against the green initiative may wonder if environmentally-friendly measures will even have a long-term effect when compared to the pollution caused by other industries. For others, however, every little bit done to reduce waste counts. To these parties, being able to eliminate the pollution caused by book production by resorting to e-books could seem very tempting. Whether or not the publishing industry decides to go green, and to what extent it chooses to do so, the effects will be manifold on not only the industry, but also booklovers and the environment alike.

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