Going green in April - Go electronic

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Several years ago, offices were proclaiming that they would become paperless, but very few paperless offices really exist, let alone homes. Also, I know electronic devices use electricity (which would be much better if it came from renewable resources, but this is also currently rare). But, you can often save money, save space, save resources and time by going electronic where possible.

If you need to keep a photocopy of a form for your records, scan it instead (most scanners can create a multi-page PDF document, and most modern multi-function photocopiers can email the PDF file to you.) Try not to print documents to paper, use the tracking tools in word processing software (or even just different colours) to mark documents for editing. Store documents online with a version number (even using a date in the filename), rather than keeping a physical printout of each version, keep multiple electronic versions. There are PDF readers available that allow you to annotate PDF documents, such as Skim (Mac) or Xournal (Linux), useful for those who prefer to scribble notes all over their documents. Graphics tablets are becoming more common and less expensive, and there are even pens that allow you to record what you write in ink!

Use an online street directory like the most popular Google Maps. Many modern phones have map functionality, and some even have GPS capabilities. Use online phone and business directories (Yellowpages) and cancel delivery of the printed ones. Although it is a good idea to note down important numbers on paper just in case you lose electricity and/or phone coverage.

Most mobile phones have a calendar function, and can store notes. The newer phones have even more bells and whistles, replacing paper based diaries and notebooks. Usually, phones come with software that can synchronise this information with other programs on your computer.

Read e-books instead of purchasing the latest paperback, that you are unlikely to re-read. You can purchase these from many online websites. High school and university textbooks are much more searchable in electronic format - you aren't limited to the book's table of contents and index. Depending on the electronic book's format, you may be able to make annotations like in PDF files as described above. There are e-book readers for many mobile phones, and fantastic advances are being made in 'digital' paper devices like the Kindle by Amazon.com (unfortunately not available in Australia yet).

Email can contain much more information than physical letters. Photos, pictures, documents, animations, audio files, video files, etc. can decorate or be attached to emails. Online email providers typically give you a lot of space to store and archive your email. You can use these to keep an up to date backup of email that you also download to your computer.

Looking past the obvious paper based alternatives, movies can now be rented, bought and stored electronically from some websites. Some require devices like a TiVo, AppleTV, or subscriptions like Foxtel in Australia, or software like iTunes. TV shows, movies, audiobooks, podcasts, phone applications, and more can be bought through iTunes. There are so many different music websites selling music, audiobooks and e-books that you can download, either as MP3s or in proprietary formats. There are also many free alternatives. For example, Project Gutenberg for e-books and audiobooks, Librivox for audiobooks, Podsafe audio (royalty free music that you can use when making your own podcasts), and a world of free, informative, self-help and music podcasts. I've even found free sheet music available online in PDF format.

Electronic alternatives may save you some money, they will definitely save resources, and they usually require less storage space! You still have to clean the dust from your computer, but you'll have fewer shelves of books, maps, boxes of records, CDs, and DVDs to clean. It is important to take regular backups of your electronic data, and store the backups somewhere safe, especially in case of fire or other disaster!

Each month I am posting a 'Going green' tip for a year long electronic swap.