How Green is the Kindle?

Pretty green, according to a new report by the Cleantech Group.  For every Kindle currently in use, there are about 22.5 less books that are sold each year.  In terms of carbon emissions,  this should be a saving of something around 168 kg of CO2.

Of course, what really matters is whether the Kindle’s savings offset the carbon used to manufacture one.  Luckily, according to the report, it only takes one year of use for a Kindle to make up any emissions from the manufacturing process. This also takes into account the electricity used to run the device; the highly efficient eInk display keeps the energy usage of the Kindle to a minimum.  The best part is that Cleantech’s findings show that even if a user continually upgrades to newer models, they only need to use each Kindle for a year to have a positive impact on the environment.

This is all great news for eReader users.  I can imagine that as public schools and business start using eReaders (replacing tons of paper documents/textbooks) these savings should really skyrocket.  One of the coolest parts of the report is how the savings drastically increase with the increase in eReaders.  By 2012, the number of eReaders in circulation will be so far past the number being produced that the reduce in emissions will be drastic.  Check out the following projections from Cleantech: