Welcome to part fifteen of our blog series on Going Green, dedicated to helping attorneys practice law in a more environmentally friendly way.  Last week we discussed incentives for law firms who encourage their lawyers to work remotely.  This week we will focus on the news.

The news is an essential part of most people’s daily routines.  It is customary to pick up a newspaper first thing in the morning, read it on your way into work, and even take some time throughout the day to catch up on what’s going on in your area and around the world.  For many people, it would be unthinkable to go a whole day without the news.

The problem is, newspapers are not good for the environment.  The good news is, we live in an age when you can get all your news without a single piece of paper.  The environmental, and even financial, cost of information has plummeted, and its time to take advantage.

Take a look at this article on TechCrunch this morning.  It shows how 1 newspaper is 850 times worse for the environment than a Google search.  You can use Google to find all the articles and blog posts that you need right on the web.  But if that sounds too difficult, just go straight to the source.  Odds are that the newspaper you read every morning has a website, with all those article you love to read.

If you need the news to support you during your morning and evening commute, then take that information on the go in alternative forms.  Most smart phones, like Blackberry and iPhone, allow you to browse the internet or use various applications to read articles from almost any source.  However, because of the size of those screens and the difficulty that many people have reading them, it’s not for everyone.

What you should be checking out, however, is the Amazon Kindle.  Amazon already has an exclusive deal with the New York Times, and the future of this new gadget is bright.  It is light weight, easy to read off of, and continues to add features and sign partnerships.  This is the new standard in commuter reading, and they are only getting more popular.

So drop the newspaper, and pick up your news from any of these sources.  You will be doing yourself a favor in cost savings, and doing the planet a favor by limiting the use of paper and waste.

Past Installments in this Series
Part One – An Introduction to Going Green
Part Two – Cut Electricity Costs, Just Flip the Switch
Part Three – Forget Paper, Go Digital
Part Four – Travel Together, Travel Less
Part Five – We Recycle
Part Six – Natural Lighting
Part Seven – Know Your Gadgets
Part Eight – Setting Goals
Part Nine – Reusable Bottles and Mugs
Part Ten - Setting Employee Incentives
Part Eleven - Green Products for You
Part Twelve – Greening Your Mail
Part Thirteen – Representing Green Clients
Part Fourteen – Incentives to Work Remotely