Do you know how much energy, paper, water and other resources go into making a single textbook? 900 grams to 2 kg of wood pulp (93% of which comes from trees),  25-28 litres of water along with a carbon footprint of around 15-16 pounds, all go into producing just one textbook.

Now, think of how many books and textbooks you require in one academic year. On average, I'm going to assume that the answer to that is around 10 textbooks which means multiplying all of the above statistics by ten. That's the amount of resources wasted for just one student in a single year.

To many, this huge wastage of resources is not too concerning, but let me remind you, we only have one planet to live on, not for and this planet alone supports 8.5 billion human beings along with countless other living orgamisms, all with an unimaginable number of needs.

Is it too big a deal for us to use a textbook handed down by a senior? Why must we throw away old textbooks, only to buy new copies of the exact same content?

The next time you buy new books when you have the option of using second-hand ones, think about the number of trees cut down, the amount of water consumed, and the carbon footprint created. Then spare a thought for those who do not have access to the facilities and resources that you do.