Environmental Digitalism

Have you ever thrown out a jewel case? Or a CD, video tape, cassette tape, DVD, DVD case, the plastic packaging your DVDs and CDs come in, that annoying security sticker, or anything from AOL? Do you think anyone else has? Somewhere there must be a measure of what percentage of trash comes from package materials used for CDs, DVDs, and all the expendable media we consume. An easy way to start would be to see how much is produced. Eventually, all of that will likely be in the trash or in a recycling plant using fuel and the expensive chemical compounds that facilitate the recycling process. (I know nothing about how recycling works other than it is not a form of alchemy.)

Wouldn't it be amazing if there was some way that we could eliminate every single piece of waste that is produced by all of our consumable media?

The earth is in luck (the earth's luck seems to have been in short supply during the past couple centuries). Now instead of buying that CD or DVD with liner notes and a bar code you can eliminate your share of that form of pollution. Boot up your personal computer (which is of course also filled with all kinds of toxic chemicals) and download your media from one of the many online retailers.

Imagine if instead of eventually throwing out your jewel cases you never bought them in the first place? Imagine if you walked into Virgin Music and instead of seeing rows upon rows of plastic cases you saw interactive screens that you could browse for enticing music and then, after paying a nominal fee that primarily went directly to the artist, the album or track was transferred and licensed to play on your personal music playing device?

"I recycle all my plastic so it does not matter if I buy some jewel cases. When I get rid of it I'll recycle it and the liner notes as well."

It is more efficient to not produce the plastic in the first place, or use it to produce something more needed like tubing for irrigation. Additionally, recycling does not equate with perpetual motion: it is not resource consumption free. Similarly to fusion power there are circumstances when recycling is not efficient. (I don't know what these circumstances are but they are certainly less likely to occur than the circumstances in which fusion power is efficient, which is currently all circumstances.)

"But the liner notes! They have lyrics and pictures and biographies, plus it supports the artist."

Purchase a poster or a book about the artist with the extra money you save on not paying for plastic. Purchase something directly from the artist so they can see a nice one hundred percent of your appreciation and not the normal nine basis points. (I actually have no idea how much royalties are beyond that they are low.)

Consumers have moved on. Retailers must follow suit eventually.