PAT Testing

Eco friendly cover at least...

Good question, a few recent studies (you can find a good account here) have said the Kindle isa better environmental alternative to buying real paper books. I’m inclined to think it may be true using Barclay’s first law which is simply cost. The cost of something is, discounting tax and maybe the less said about that the better, largely made up of two things, people’s time to design it, make it and sell it and the raw materials (including the usually petroleum derived energy) used to manufacture and transport it. Remember people are very environmentally unfriendly, consuming resources and exhaling CO2 at a more or less constant rate. Barclay’s first law states that the more you pay for an object the more it is likely to have cost the environment. Just a rule of thumb, but using it I equate my Kindle, price wise, with maybe a dozen or so books.

But wait a minute. What bit of the environment are we worried about and why? If we are concerned mostly with green-house gas then perhaps we should reconsider. If I cut down a tree which has trapped tons of carbon, the CO2 cost depends on what I do next. Worst of all must be to burn it and not plant another one. However if I make the tree’s carbon into books, store my valuable volumes carefully AND plant a new tree, the CO2 cost might just be negative. We have a net reduction of atmospheric CO2 and now the Kindle doesn’t look so good.

The key question now becomes ‘how much energy is used in the manufacture of the Kindle device compared to the books?’ and here’s the problem for books made of paper, it may only be a fifth of the total carbon used in the manufacture that’s actually sequestered in the pages. The rest is turned into CO2 during the manufacture and transportation. So can I take up my Kindle again with a satisfied smile? Not so fast. These days we have some say about our fuel sources, maybe I can choose to pay a bit extra for a green-energy manufactured book transported by an electric truck (green sourced electrons) and I’m back to a net sequestration of CO2. Breaks my first law this extra cost but it may be an exception. Then there are the other impacts of even sustainable paper production, (lack of) bio-diversity in managed forests and waste products of production, a good discussion can be found at lovelyasatree.com.

I don’t think we are at the end of the debate yet and some sharp eyed people out there will spot issues I have overlooked. Working out what is green and what is heating the planet can be horribly complex. Still I really don’t think you should feel bad about buying a Kindle. Hmm then you have to get a case to stop it getting damaged – after all it needs to last – buying a new one every year would not help the environment, though it might help Amazon’s bottom line. Have a look round at the case material alternatives, Neoprene, Silicone, Leather…. uh-ho this isn’t sounding so good – but hold it, there is a green alternative here, hemp! Take a look at these Kindle covers from UK based design house Tuff-

Luv.

Presents are an excellent way to showthanks, appreciation or to show you care. Thank you gifts are the best way to do this. If you incorporate something the person likes or cares about then not only are you showing that you care, you are showing you know the person you are giving it too. The great thing about personalised gifts is you can include almost anything you want.

There are lots of different types of gifts that can be personalised and many different methods of doing it. A perfect example is getting engraved gifts. Presents such as hip flasks can be engraved easily and last for a long time. These are great as christening gifts or birthday gifts.

Wedding gifts are another example of where these types of presents work really well. You can thank all those who took part on your big day with bridesmaids gifts and usher gifts. You can then give these gifts to the people at the wedding reception like engraved trophies. Personalised mugs are a brilliant way to thank kids but for teenagers you might want to get them a Paul Frank t-shirt or some other clothing. Usher and bridesmaid gifts require more thought but shouldn?t be that hard to find.

It is possible to search online to find presents like these. Try using phrases like usher gifts or wedding gifts into a search engine to get specific products. Try looking around the stores for inspiration. If you have already got a trinket for your bridesmaid gifts and you want to have it engraved then you could try looking for an engraver online. Using search phrases that refer to your local area will help; try using phrases like Engraving Swindon or Engraving Wiltshire.