Just Read It!

Share this post:

Like many of our edotters, I love to read.  Fiction, nonfiction, blogs, magazines…you name it, I’ll read it.  A few weeks ago, when we were updating our categories on the edot site, we received a suggestion that we award “dots” for downloading an ebook.

I have to admit, I struggled with the request.  Not because I don’t like downloading books–a quick look at my Amazon account will show otherwise.  I read on my phone, my Kindle, my computer..pretty much anywhere I can.  But I also love the feeling of pages in my hands and the tangible goodness of a solid cover.  I dog-ear my pages, write in the margins, and pretty much attach myself to a book.

Then the angel on my other shoulder joined the conversation.  “Trees.”  “Oil.”  “Transportation costs.” I realized the irony of the moment when I found myself reading a section (in a paperback) about the transportation of food in Peter Singer’s The Ethics of What We Eat. Books are food for the mind.  No doubt.  So shouldn’t we consider the same costs to the environment?

Our objective at edot is not to become extremists but to encourage and help motivate each other to make small changes that collectively make a difference.  This doesn’t mean that every day should be a “meatless day” but that a decision to have a “Meatless Monday” does make an positive impact on the environment and global warming.  We don’t think hard copies of books are obsolete, but we do want to encourage people to consider a variety of alternative ways to help the environment.