14 DAY TRIAL // Recent studies show that, ever since the rise of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and online-based newspapers, society's views on the concept of “the written word” have significantly been altered.
Thus, the amount of paper needed to satisfy humanity's need for information has been reduced to quite a large extent.
As postal offices and newspaper agents can easily tell you, nowadays there are few who still remain faithful to writing traditional letters or postcards to their loved ones, or to reading their morning paper in its printed form, while enjoying a cup of coffee.
It’s not difficult to guess that such a shift both in the communications and in the information industries can only aid the natural world, as fewer forests need to be cut down in order to supply the necessary paper.
As well as this, the number of distribution vans that used to roam the highways in order to deliver letters and newspapers has been reduced, for the obvious reason that they are no longer needed as much.
Having fewer distribution vans driving around leads to fewer gas emissions, so extra points go to environmental protection.
Skeptics might argue that, in spite of the afore-mentioned advantages of social networking and on-line media, there still are some major downfalls that should be looked into.
Their main argument with respect to this issue is that, in order to be fully functional, all of these electronic data centers must be “fed” considerable amounts of energy. Therefore, whatever it is that we gain by not using as much paper as we used to, we lose by having to use more energy.
As greenerideal.com reports, these concerns, although well founded, should not keep green-heads awake at night, as measures are already taken to counteract these drawbacks.
Towards the end of 2011, Facebook, the world's leading social network, announced its decision to switch to renewable energy sources, and Google also plans on going 100% green energy-wise as soon as possible.
All in all, should things continue to develop in this environmentally friendly manner, it is quite likely that the future will provide us with the opportunity to both keep in touch and keep informed whilst at the same time making sure that our planet is safe.