you used literally incorrectly. I kept my books from college. they sit on my shelves with all the books I’ve collected. why? because peer reviewed reference material is becoming increasingly more difficult to find on the Internet. it may be out of date in some cases, but it does give you a path to find exactly what you’re looking for.

so what if you get rid of your textbooks? that’s the whole point. what happens to your textbook after you have discarded it?

someone else picks it up.

I can hear the whine now, “what if I throw it in the trash?” maybe don’t? maybe donate the book to your local library and they can give it to someone who needs it. maybe leave it on a bench on campus with a “free” post-it stuck on it? but even if you throw it in the trash, your garbage goes overseas where someone else might pick it up. the potential reuse of a physical book and the impact to our world is far greater than any environmental impacts. it’s not toxic waste, it’s a fucking book.

your argument that you’re “saving the environment” is just preposterous. it has the same energy as the fools who think using paper straws over plastic is making any dent in environmental impacts. news flash, it makes negligible difference in plastic pollution while the oil and plastic companies continue to do more harm to the environment than any subset of humanity ever has based entirely on their manufacturing processes alone.

the only true crime are the publishers that print books without bindings. but those really can’t be called books then, can they? don’t like it? stage a protest, since you seem so passionate about saving the environment.