With public concern for the environment growing, paper and printing have been getting a bad reputation. Consumers are constantly confronted with “paperless billing” and other similar calls to action – seemingly well-intentioned campaigns that present the public with a false dilemma. The false dilemma is: “By using paper to receive your bills, you are degrading the environment and killing trees.” It’s implied that print media is environmentally destructive and that digital media is environmentally preferable, but it is actually possible that digital media is more destructive to the environment than paper-making and printing.
Digital media technology uses significant amounts of energy from coal-fired power plants, which make a serious contribution to global warming. Add to that the fact that mountaintop-removal coal mining is also a major cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the pollution of more than a thousand miles of headwater streams in the US. The electricity flowing through your digital media devices and their servers is most likely linked to mountaintop-removal coal from the Appalachian Mountains. More than half of the electricity generated in the United States comes from coal, and the Southern Appalachian forest region is responsible for 23% of all coal production in the US.
It’s a little ironic that print media is often targeted for killing trees while digital media is typically touted as the “environmentally friendly” alternative. Here at ColorFX, we recognize the importance of keeping the public aware. As a highly reputable wholesale printing company, we work hard to meet your printing needs!