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Chopping down trees to make books is good for environment

boingboing.net — The editorial staff of the UK's Bookseller magazine want you to know that lining your exterior walls with books is practically a moral imperative, since it reduces your energy costs and saves the world. You don't have to tell me -- I've been lining my walls with books for decades.

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  • fitqueenb, on 04/21/2008, -3/+8True enough, but which house would want book shelves on every exterior wall to make it really effective?
    • cdahlkvist, on 04/21/2008, -0/+5Way to steal a comment off of the articles comment section.
  • hummstheword, on 04/21/2008, -1/+12I cant imagine the money you save in heating would cover the amount you would spend lining your walls with books. Unless you inherited a few thousand books.
    • bosssmiley, on 04/21/2008, -0/+9Not a problem. Once you get more than a couple of hundred of the things books start to spontaneously congregate at your house anyway. :-)
      • Modiga, on 04/21/2008, -1/+11Damn L-space.

        For those who don't know, L-space (or Library space) arises because books contain knowledge, knowledge is power, power implies the existence of energy and E=mc² dictates that enough energy has a mass so a library is effectively a well-read black hole that warps space time and causes all libraries to be interconnected.
  • RainNIU, on 04/21/2008, -9/+1Why not...move somewhere warm?
    • sponeil, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2They'd probably end up spending even more on AC if they did that. Florida was the most miserable climate I've ever had to live in. It's a GD swamp with beaches (and they're not even nice beaches until you get to southern Florida). We still had the AC on almost every Christmas day I lived there.
      • Philbert, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1I only lived there for a year (for school), but I found the weather in Orlando quite nice, sure it rains every day in the summer, but only for a half hour or so. I turned my AC off when I left the house in the summer, in the winter I didn't need it.
  • mlw4428, on 04/21/2008, -3/+23I also hear books make great firestarters.
  • Jovensdesciple, on 04/21/2008, -5/+12Chopping downs trees is awesome no matter how you look at it. You ever see a huge tree fall? It's sweet. Plus you gotta get rid of the old trees so that new better trees can grow. Plus we do all kinds of great things with them once they're brought down.
    • Tomchei, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Chopping down trees is like mowing fields of wheat to make bread.
      It is an awesome experience to bring down a mammoth tree.
  • piratearggghhh, on 04/21/2008, -2/+34I'm glad he saved us all time by cutting out all the scientific proof and just got to the conclusion.
  • uberchaoslord, on 04/21/2008, -3/+6Also keep in mind young trees are vastly better removers of carbon from the atmosphere than old barely-growing trees. So if you all truly do believe in Anthropogenic CO2 as a cause of global warming, you should begin cutting trees down immediately (as long as you don't burn them and the ground on which they stood), and replanting the land with young trees.
    • kfed2, on 04/21/2008, -3/+1And don't forget methane and water vapor - both are produced by trees, and both are MUCH stronger greenhouse gases than CO2
    • tmbrwolf19, on 04/21/2008, -1/+4Of course that ignores other environmental issues completely. Such as the ecosystems that develop in old growth forests only after hundreds of years. Not to mention replanted trees tend to exist as mono cultures making them vulnerable to disease and by extension, intense forest fire. But its not like there is some sort of terrible paper shortage, so there is no logical reason to start cutting down old growth for the sake of CO2 uptake.
      • CodeCobalt, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1We have national forests and only designated parts that can be forested, leaving a large part of the ecosystem in tact. Most of our paper comes from tree farms, and eventually completely will, leaving the old forests untouched thankfully.

        It is a hard balancing act. We love the environment and the forests are amazing, but we need paper as well. I for one feel that this is one issue our country has done an amazing job at.
    • rollem, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Actually, the older the forest, the more carbon it removes every year, mostly due to below-ground processes. But a book does capture carbon for many years, so I'm not sure what the actual carbon effect is. Obviously, no research was done here.
  • irvin666, on 04/21/2008, -3/+11Penn and Teller explained this a few years ago.
    • tmbrwolf19, on 04/21/2008, -11/+3Does anyone actually believe any of the crap they shovel? That show is so horrible slanted and filled with false arguments it would be hilarious to watch if people didn't take it so seriously. My grade school papers had more cohesive arguments than that show.
      • dagnome1984, on 04/21/2008, -0/+13We farm trees like an any other crop. This notion that we need to cut down virgin forest for paper is nonsense.
        • daRoach, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2If you're around the Mt. St. Helens area I recommend checking out the tree farms up there, it's pretty cool to see the trees at the different stages, from seedlings to be harvested in the next 20 years to the trees ready for harvest.
      • heliox, on 04/21/2008, -3/+5Agree'd, same with Mythbusters.
      • ArmandoM, on 04/21/2008, -1/+5No way... I believe that John Edwards really talks to the dead. Penn and Teller are full of it, can't they see John Edwards is magic?

        The moon landing was definately faked, from a sound stage on Mars no less! Penn and Teller are a tool of the establishment! They refuse to open their eyes!

        The whole bottled water thing? I spend $1.50 per bottle of water I drink, it MUST be better.. Penn and Teller must be working on the side for the municipal water suppliers!

        Creationism, E.S.P., Alien Abductions, "Alternative" medicine, Ouiji Boards, The War on Drugs, The Bible... all things we should just accept blindly. Penn and Teller should not be sticking their nose into governments and organized religion's business!

        And those are just the ones I've seen.
        • tmbrwolf19, on 04/21/2008, -3/+2If you need two magicians from Las Vegas to explain any of those things to you, you're already behind the 8 ball. They generalize an argument, and then by some crazy logic, extend that generalization all facets of the argument or related topics. Just because the initial proposition is correct, doesn't mean their entire argument is by extension. It's a show that encourages blind cynicism, and nothing more.
          • ArmandoM, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2I never said I needed them to explain anything, the shows listed above are the only ones I've seen, because they were telling me things I already knew, and it was a waste of time.

            However, the fact is that the "crap they shoveled" was correct in every episode I watched.
          • KingMoses, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1To quote Penn from the July 19, 2006 episode of his radio show (with guest Trey Parker):
            "I worship skepticism, I think skepticism is the most important thing in the world, and nothing seems more evil to me than cynicism, and it troubles me that people don't even think about that distinction because that distinction is everything."
        • Tomchei, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1Then tell me how NOT cutting down trees is a good thing.
          By the way, do you eat bread? Aren't you killing wheat to make that bread?
          What about sugar? All those cane fields that are burned every year can't be good.
          • ArmandoM, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1Did I make an argument for or against cutting down trees? I don't remember..

            Oh, that's right...I didn't make an argument either way!

            I can tell you how NOT putting words in other people's mouths is a good thing however.
  • DaGr33k, on 04/21/2008, -1/+0Does that mean wasting all that paper at schools worth it too?
    • nekochan, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2only if you stuff it all into your walls when you're done.
  • andrewpmk, on 04/21/2008, -8/+5This is BS
  • lpmiller, on 04/21/2008, -0/+6Line my house? I could make a house out of all my books. Apparently, they procreate.
  • noahhoward, on 04/21/2008, -0/+8No conflict of interests there at all.

    "***** the trees, buy more books!" - The Booksellers.
  • olbap, on 04/21/2008, -7/+1Lining your walls with books is elitist and pretentious. E-readers and electronic devices, FTW. Portability, mobility - my library goes with me anywhere I go and I am unbounded from the actual physical presence of books. A couple of computers can house an entire media library. Old time libraries are so old fashioned and quite inefficient!!!
    • HalfGiraffe, on 04/21/2008, -0/+4I insulate my walls with electronic devices.
    • metaliq, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Just to say something (with no intention of arguing): I prefer books because I get a headache if I stare at a screen for too long. Granted, the new wave of LCD screens and stuff help, but I still prefer something that can't just die on me in the middle of reading it.
    • InferiorWang, on 04/21/2008, -1/+1I can only read a book on the computer for so long. I print a lot of e-books I read and put them in binders. The university only let me add a minimum of $15 to my card, but at $.02 a page, I'm getting my money's worth.
    • buddamus, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Nothing beats the feel of an old book
      • HalfGiraffe, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Except for the feel of a young girl.
  • CodeCobalt, on 04/21/2008, -0/+8FYI, 2/3rds of the trees chopped down in the US (I know this is from the U.K.) are from tree farms, with that percentage growing daily. AND it actually takes more energy to recycle paper than it takes to grow a tree, chop it down, etc until its paper. Hence why, when you go to Office Max or the grocery store, and compare regular paper with recycled paper, even 30% recycled costs about 30% more than the non-recycled equivalent.

    I understand wanting to help. and its nice because it reduces landfill size, but landfills are becoming very tech-savvy, and operate very clean, and have plenty of room for more trash.. If anything just try to buy unbleached paper.
    • uberfu, on 04/21/2008, -3/+2But it's not as quick_ As tree farms usually need at least 5-10 years to replenish each group that is chopped down_ the recycling is faster by far_

      Unless they come up with a way to grow full sized trees within an anual season like any other "crop"_
      • Otto, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3Don't be stupid. This is not rocket surgery here.

        They plant and grow 20-30 years worth of trees, and simply rotate what they harvest. Or do you think we have not been making paper long enough for somebody to have figured out "hey, it might be a good idea to ensure that we have supplies in the future, especially since our supply grows quite slowly"...
      • ArmandoM, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Or you could just make the tree farms bigger. It might take a few years for the current batch to catch up to demand, but when they do, it would be both cheaper, and able to meet demand.
    • HotSaucePanCake, on 04/21/2008, -1/+0I'm going to nominate you the official tree expert on Digg, Seriously that is some great objective data.
      +1
  • mbhe, on 04/21/2008, -2/+2That's why I read Digg instead of books
  • uberfu, on 04/21/2008, -7/+1"Chopping down trees to make books is good for environment"

    Actually - no it's not!

    Every time you chop down a tree and cut it up - it gives off the CO2 that has been absorbed by the tree since it was planted - more so when wood or paper is burned_
    • ArmandoM, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Apparently we need to work on a system to drain the tree's CO2 storage tanks before cutting them down.
  • bobartig, on 04/21/2008, -1/+2What's a lot better than books is cellulose insulation (at least more price efficient), which is made primarily from recycled newspaper. Maybe we could shred the books for their precious cellulose instead and make even better insulation.
  • dragis101, on 04/21/2008, -0/+3"I've been lining my walls with books (and DND minis) for decades."

    This is why you live alone.
  • buddamus, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2I love books, and I love them more everyday
  • MortalynFlux, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1Just don't put them next to the window. The humidity will quickly ruin them.
  • Philbert, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1This article reminded me of the anime Read Or Die. If you've seen it you'll know why. If you haven't go watch it on animecrazy.net
  • Radical5, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2...people still read books??
  • HotSaucePanCake, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0Junk mail is better.I get it day in and day out. Too bad they don't make it illegal. I guarantee we could solve "global warming" by stopping junk mail.

    But then USPS would go bankrupt, and stamps would cost $4 a piece... kinda like gas!!
    • eightyk88, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0i used to have junk mail bonfires every other month, i dont know how many people lived in that house and didnt change their address.
      it was very effective when i realized we had no wood and invited people over for a fire.
  • LOVEANDEQUALITY, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1tree killers!

    hilary Clinton is going to win!
  • alvarezg, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1I've switched to ebooks- much less clutter. Also, don't forget the library; books for free.
  • vagabond45, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0Having walls lined with books is more aesthetic for me. No wall hangings or gawdy nick nacks. Oh, and if you live in a rough neck neighborhood, heavy bookcases might also stop or impede bullets, too. Let's also not forget the noise insulation. There's some more uses for them.
  • eightyk88, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0so a couple ten thousand video games and movies would work too?
  • Synematic, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0This isn't news. Terry Pratchett wrote about this almost a decade ago in The Science of Discworld.
  • Butterfly9, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Stuffing animals is just as good to. you know how much c02 they make by breathing. don't even make me talk about the other end...
  • Obelia, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Lining your exterior walls with books may help to insulate them, but if you live in an old house without cavity-wall insulation you shouldn't do this because they could all get damp.
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