Ask Pablo: Will iPads in the Cockpit Really Lower Airlines'
Paper Use?  Photo by comedy_nose via Flickr CC Dear Pablo: Two
airlines have recently switched from paper flight records to
iPads. Is this really an environmental improvement? TreeHugger
recently covered news of two airlines (, followed by United
Continental) that have switched to iPads to replace about 38
pounds of paper in the cockpit and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by an estimated 3,208 metric tons. Writer Jaymi
Heimbuch asks "But when you stop to think that the savings is
equivalent to about two people flying across the country, is the
savings really worth it?" Well, is it? And is the iPad really
better than all that paper?  What Is The Impact Of An iPad?
Apple publishes LCA data on their products so information on so
the environmental impact of iPads is relatively easy to obtain,
although we are taking their word for the accuracy of their
numbers. Apple estimates that the total life-cycle greenhouse
gas emissions of an iPad are 105 kg CO2e