The preferred mode of obtaining music today is through digital download, that is, to download mp3 or other such music files directly from a source via the Internet. The digital download format is the "greenest" and most environmentally friendly mode of music transmission that has ever existed; all other music delivery formats before digital download have been reliant on tangible material, and thus, energy and waste. All music delivery formats produce waste, consume energy, and have an impact on the environment; digital download is the most efficient form music delivery has ever taken, however, absolutely every format of music has an effect on the planet in some way.
The modern music business was born out of the vinyl record. Recording formats such as wax and tinfoil cylinders, as well as shellac based records ("Edison’s Phonograph," n.d.), existed before the vinyl format; however, these formats had many limitations including poor fidelity, break-ability, and high cost of production. Many music forms were popularized before the advent of the vinyl record, however, these formats could not and did not provide the platform for the modern music business. Vinyl proved itself to be the platform capable of exponential growth in music recording and circulation, and thus, the modern recording business. Unlike the cylinder or the shellac based record, vinyl was much less fragile and thus safer to send through the mail to disc jockeys, they were cheaper to produce and sell, and vinyl LP's provided almost an hour of playing time between the two sides of the record ("Vinyl Revolution, " n.d.). Together, 33 and 45 rpm vinyl records gave rise to the modern model of the music business. Although these records were cheaper to produce then former music formats, the true cost of vinyl is still being paid for today.
Fig 1: An Edison wax cylinder
Vinyl records are made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC ("Center For Health," 2004). PVC is incredibly harmful to both the environment and the population of the planet. Producing this "poison plastic", as it is often called, is harmful to the earth and its people from the beginning of its production on down to the disposal of the plastic. PVC requires a number of raw chemicals for production, including highly polluting chlorine, cancer-causing vinyl chloride monomer and ethylene dichloride ("Center For Health," 2004). A study based around the city of Mossville, Louisiana, a city situated near a concentration of PVC producing facilities, citizens showed a three times higher dose of dioxins in the blood as compared to the national average ("Center For Health," 2004). Dioxins are considered the "most toxic man-made organic chemical; its toxicity is second only to radioactive waste" (Campbell, n.d.). Dioxins are chiefly produced "as a by-product of the manufacture, molding, or burning of organic chemicals and plastics that contain chlorine" (Campbell, n.d.). Therefore, as we can see, populations living near PVC manufacturing plants are at a much greater risk of taking in dioxins, whether that be through pollutants in the air, ground water supplies, or through surface water exposure ("Center For Health," 2004).
However, as bad as the manufacturing of PVC is, the disposal of the plastic is much, much worse for the environment and the population. A great deal of PVC is disposed of in various types of incinerators ("Center For Health," 2004). The burning of PVC releases an incredible amount of dioxin into the air, much more then the initial manufacturing of the vinyl. It's estimated that 500 to 600 million pounds of PVC is incinerated each year in the United States alone ("Center For Health," 2004).
Fig 1.1: PVC in a landfill
Landfills are perhaps a more "responsible" way to dispose of PVC, but dumping PVC into a landfill is certainly not an environmentally friendly solution either. PVC within landfills promotes contaminated water runoff as the vinyl begins to breakdown, flowing into streams and rivers. While the threat of contaminated groundwater due to runoff may sound like a much lesser threat then burning PVC and releasing dioxin into the air, its important to keep in mind that a great deal more PVC is disposed of in landfills, between two and four billion pounds a year in the U.S. alone ("Center For Health," 2004). Therefore, while burning PVC is more harmful to the environment and the population, it’s likely that the overall impact of environmental degradation maybe roughly the same between the burning and the dumping of PVC in landfills, as a great deal more PVC is dumped into landfills than is burned.
The production and disposal of polyvinyl chloride, or simply vinyl, is a very dirty process that not only effects our environment, but also directly effects the population. The music format the followed vinyl records, however, was considerably less dirty and harmful. Magnetic tape, whether it be an 8-track tape or a standard cassette, is based on a fairly simple principle. The substrate, or plastic tape, is coated in magnetic particles, which then have a specific magnetic signal imposed upon the tape. The magnetic particles on the substrate rearrange themselves in the form of that specific signal, and when played back, music is played via the magnetic particles alignment.
Iron oxide is a key component to the consistency of the magnetic particle layer on magnetic tape ("What is Magnetic," n.d.). Iron oxide is also harmful to the environment if it is not disposed of properly, as it has a tendency to find its way to water and settle there. Anyone who’s turned on a faucet after it has not been in use for a long time has seen orange water spew out of the tap. That orange water was iron oxide which had settled within the plumbing. After a second or two of running the faucet the iron oxide is gone from the tap, however, iron oxide found in wild places, particularly ponds, can have a much longer, lasting effect.
Fig. 1.2: A pond filled with iron oxide
Like vinyl, magnetic tape posses a threat to groundwater and surface water when dumped in landfills, due to runoff ("Measuring Water," n.d.). Iron oxide has a tendency to settle on top of bodies of water, turning the water to a burnt orange color. This orange colored water can be so thick that it can obscure sunlight in aquatic ecosystems and cause great degradation due to sunlight not being able to penetrate the water ("Measuring Water," n.d.). However, if magnetic tape formats are disposed of properly, i.e. in landfills away from surface water, they are likely the least harmful music format to the environment, only 2nd to digital download. And better yet, they can be easily recycled if only a few moments can be spared to separate the magnetic tape (non-recyclable) from the plastic casing. Compact discs, or CD's, would be the next music format to follow magnetic tape formats, but unfortunately, they will not follow magnetic tapes example of a relatively eco-friendly existence.
The CD is made up of various mined metals, including aluminum, gold, silver, and nickel, and is combined with petroleum-derived plastics, lacquers, and dyes ("Tossing old CDs," n.d.). CDs are made up of very dirty, harmful resources and practices; including mining the ground for metals and pumping oil to produce the petroleum-derived plastic. And like every music format that becomes obsolete due to innovation, CD's are discarded from homes at an ever more rapid rate. Unfortunately, due to the complicated mash-up of metals and plastics that make up the disc, CD's are nearly impossible to recycle ("Tossing old CDs, n.d.). Recycling CD's has to be done by specific CD recycling companies, such as the Washington based company Greendisk. Greendisk collects old CD's by distributing "Technotrash Cans". Once full of old discs, the Technotrash Cans are taken back to the Greendisk plant where the discs are recycled into new plastic products via their own CD recycling technology ("Greendisk," 2005).
Of course, when someone buys any kind of musical format from a store, they don't just receive the format, they also receive packaging. In the case of cassettes and CD's a plastic case is also included, made mostly of polystyrene ("Recycling #6," n.d.). Luckily, the brittle polystyrene is easy to recycle if the time is taken to do so. Vinyl record jackets are made of various papers and cardboards, and although these paper products cost trees to produce, they do not need petroleum to be manufactured, as is the case with plastics, and once thrown out the jackets are biodegradable. There is only one music format to date that does not account for packing cost and waste, and that is the digital download.
Digital download is the final culmination of music delivery formats. The key to the genius of digital downloading is its lack of tangibility. One cannot touch and feel a digital music file, and thus, all the cost and waste of tangible formats is omitted. As previously stated, digital music files do not need to be packaged, which eliminates plastic cases and inked paper from the equation. Nothing needs to be manufactured in order to actually deliver the music files because the files exist without the necessity of a tangible plastic disc or magnetic tape. These two points alone greatly reduce waste and the impact of that waste once discarded into our environment. However, there is a final point that digital download alone can avoid, shipping. More specifically, shipping by 18 wheel semi-trucks up and down and around this planet. Of course, these trucks require diesel fuel to run, polluting our planet, all in the name of delivering plastic music to retailers which the consumer must then drive their car to in order to purchase the music. Digitally downloaded music files eliminate all of these impacts to our planet, from the pollution of producing the format, to the packaging of the format, to the delivery of the format, and finally to the wasting of the format; all are rejected from the equation when downloading music digitally. The only real environmental cost of downloading music digitally would be the electricity used to run a computer, however, every format of music thus far has required some kind of music playing source, whether that be a record, cassette, or CD player. So on this account, it's hard to complain.
Fig. 1.3: The Beatles discography became available for the
first time on the iTunes digital music store in November of 2010.
Digital downloads of music files are the final evolution of music formats. They eliminate all of the worst problems of vinyl records, magnetic tape, and CD's, while still providing the greatest virtue of music delivery formats, the music. Looking back on the dirty history of music formats, it almost seems barbaric to purchase tangible music formats; so much waste, pollution, and environmental degradation comes as a result of them. The advent of downloading music digitally was a groundbreaking idea when it was first introduced, but the true genius of the model isn't recognized until digital music is weighed up against previous forms of music delivery formats. Once a black and white analysis of digital and tangible music is examined, it’s clear that downloading music digitally has a great many more benefits to the world population then just convenience.
References
Campbell, Jonathan. "Dioxin." Remedy for Cancer, AIDS, heart disease, and other Chronic Illness. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
Center For Health, Environment And Justice. (2004, December). Bad News Comes in 3's: The Poison Plastic, Health Hazards, and the Looming Waste Crisis. Tues. 11 Feb. 2011.
"Edison’s Phonograph : 6 Things To Consider." 6 Things To Consider. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
"GreenDisk [Services]." Electronics Recycling Services CD Recycling Services DVD Electronics Video Tape. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
"Measuring Water Quality." Environment Canterbury Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
"Recycling #6 Plastic Polystyrene - Earth911.com." Earth911.com - Find Recycling Centers and Learn How To Recycle. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
"Tossing old CDs, DVDs, jewel cases may be bad for environment." Arizona Local News - Phoenix Arizona News - Phoenix Breaking News - azcentral.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
"Vinyl Revolution - What is Vinyl?." Vinyl Revolution - The World Leaders in Vinyl to CD Remastering. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2011.
"What is Magnetic Tape?." wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
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