Is there an eco-angle in an Apple tablet?

Whether we see a beautiful tablet from Apple Wednesday, there is a clear trend towards the use of electronic devices to read what has been traditional print media. From an environmental point of view, that change is a mixed bag, depending both on user behavior, such as technology.

According to reports, Apple will show off a Tablet PC that can be used with a docking station or an electronic reader.

Media engine size with an electronic device, such as the Amazon Kindle may reduce the amount of energy associated with cutting down trees and making physical journals and books, according to some studies.

But electronics recycling, environmental impact is not good. After all, flying an old newspaper in the recycle bin is much more common and easy to recycle electronics, which is the rate the U.S. is estimated at about 10 percent.

As with many environmental issues, the more you ask, is the most complex. But here are some thoughts:

Who does the box?
Apple has taken heat from watchdog groups in the past, but current products are state of the art when it comes to energy efficiency and materials. In the latter products, Apple has gradually use of PVC plastic and dangerous brominated flame retardant, so it would be surprising if it continued this policy with the new material.

Obviously, people should work Apple tablet from the batteries more than a laptop or desktop computer. Batteries, of course, wear and should be replaced after a few years. Apple says laptop batteries last longer than others, and offers a transfer program to replace batteries, so it gets high marks from environmental groups to score.

On the other hand, after a few years, many people are likely to buy something new, instead of sending a unit to upgrade the batteries, which ultimately generates more e-waste.

Pixels to paper.
Intuitively, it seems that the reduction of paper, using an electronic device consumes less power than the trees to collect, process pulp, printing papers, and delivery to your door. But making blanket conclusion about their energy use through electronic communication is not easy.

The Center for Sustainable Communication in Stockholm, Sweden, conducted a study concludes that reading a newspaper on a PC for 30 minutes results in almost the same carbon as printed newspaper. as a device that is smaller than a PC, the reputation of Apple tablet would have to consume less energy.

Paper Company International Paper goes further to say that the paper-and-paper industry uses resources (trees) that can be managed in a sustainable manner, recycling rates are much higher in the paper than electronics.

Energy intensity
The effectiveness of each tablet or e-reader is definitely worth a comparison with laptops and similarly sized devices. Kindle the Amazon, for example, uses technology E Ink, which is significantly more efficient from a power-screen LCD, for example.

But look how much power a device consumes when in the hands of the end user is not the complete story, notes Casey Harrell, a coordinator for Greenpeace's global campaign online. About half of the embedded energy "in an electronic product from the supply chain of companies supplying Apple or other manufacturers, he said.

What's more, as more and more smartphones and tablets are released, the switch to energy consumption in data centers that connect these gadgets. "One tablet can certainly signal a reduction of environmental footprint over traditional print, but the big question is what energy powering the data center in the cloud;" Harrell said.

How the device is used.
Apple can do something of value retention over five years - a long time in the frantic pace of consumer electronics. However, if the purchaser is replacing within a year, it also adds to the electronic waste stream. The same applies if customers are not using the services of recycling.

Overall, an Apple tablet, or the number of electronic readers are expected this year, can bring many benefits from the digitization of content and even change the way we read, day after day. Either bring net environmental benefit, but has more to do with the owner, outside the institution.