Get Green? – Part 3

Hello. My name is Richard and I’m addicted to audio books. I have confessed to this obsession twice before. Read my prior confessions here and here.

Fortunately, the library allows me to feed my cravings and still be eco-friendly.

Instead of purchasing multiple audio book CDs that I listen to only once, I check them out of the library. Once checked in, someone else can listen to the same disks. Once checked in again, a second someone can listen to the disks. This is reuse at its finest.

To further decrease my environmental impact, the library offers audio books in eco-friendly formats such as MP3 CDs and downloadables.

Audio book MP3 CDs allow me to reduce the number of CDs required to listen to the book. An entire audio book that may take 12 or more standard CDs can be saved to a single MP3 disk.

This translates to an over 90% reduction in these polycarbonate, plastic and aluminum disks that are not biodegradable, are not easily recycled and will release toxic fumes into the air if incinerated.

As a bonus, MP3 CD versions play the entire audio book uninterrupted, cutting out my need to fumble for the next CD while driving down I-65.

Downloadable audio books are even more eco-friendly than the MP3 CD because downloaded audio books do not generate any physical waste. It uses only reusable drive space. I just delete the file to get rid of a downloaded audio and visit the library website to check out another.

In addition, digital audio books downloaded to my computer eliminates the energy required to transport the CDs to the library and then to me. Analysts estimate that downloading digital audio reduces the energy and CO2 emissions of delivering the audio by up to 80 percent relative to the best-case scenario for a CD.

As you can see, checking out audio books from the library is another easy way to live a bit more lightly on the earth.

This “Get Green” series of posts were written with the knowledge that most of us want to do right by the environment. Yet many have not considered utilizing the library as a simple way to Go Green. Take advantage of the ecological rewards of using your library today.