From Scrolls to Scroll Bars

Does less paper equal less environmental damage?

Before you answer "of course!", think about it, because context is important.

As mentioned Wednesday, Amazon.com recently celebrated its 15th anniversary of selling everything from Tolstoy to trombones. Obviously, the retail giant has changed the way we buy goods, but with e-books now outselling traditional paper books, it's also completely changed the way we do our summer reading.

The knee-jerk reaction, though, is to assume that that's great for the environment.

But what about the environmental impact of creating a Kindle? Sure, less trees may be destroyed to sell the latest Dan Brown novel (which is a shame, really - that Dan Brown gets to keep making novels, not the saved trees), but how much energy goes into making a Kindle?

It's an interesting question, especially with the nearly monthly onslaught of new, better, and faster e-readers coming to the market (iPad, included).

That's not to say that this latest evolution in reading-from scrolls to scroll bars-is a bad thing; ultimately, any process that makes it easier to access information is a good thing. But before upgrading to the latest and greatest, think about the environmental impact of all your gadgets, or, recycle or re-sell your old gadget after you upgrade.

At DotLoop, we understand just how powerful a paperless transaction can be, not just in terms of saved time, stress, and gas, but with saved trees as well. With the average negotiation taking up to 100 pages of paper to complete, and no need for a specialized e-reader to finish an online negotiation, DotLoop certainly helps the environment.

No ifs, ands, or bytes about it.