So how will the iSlate help? For one thing, every time a real, physical CD (remember those?) is purchased, it is the product of an extensive supply chain. Raw oil is processed into plastics. Plastics are turned into CD blanks. CDs are burnt en masse and liner notes are printed with a variety of synthetic inks. The product is shipped (usually) in little plastic jewel cases which are as fragile as they are infuriating to open with scraps of tape sealing them shut. It is all done on costly machinery in large rooms with fluorescent lighting and the product is transported in a diesel burning truck. Toxic materials, electricity and transport can all be eliminated from this industry by going digital.

The iSlate and any other music over the internet replace all the physical processes above with a data center. Yes, data centers take an enormous amount of power to operate and cool. As much as the entire supply chain of making and distributing CDs? Unlikely. With innovations in data like Locust Storage and improvements in cooling for these warehouse sized facilities, the internet is starting to get even greener. By integrating internet capability (WiFi is assumed, 3G is possible) in the tablet, Apple is making a light weight media platform that could be the only device you carry on a weekend trip.

Notice that the iSlate (or whatever Apple calls it in the end) is a “media” platform. The device could also be disruptive in the print industry. Currently the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook are the most popular e-book readers. Apple won’t be the first but then they weren’t the first to make portable mp3 players, either. If Apple’s tablet even approached the success of its other products, there is potential there to save entire forests worth of trees. It is the same concept as with music, cutting out an entire physical supply chain and replacing it with mobile computing in a light weight media platform.

The other way that an Apple tablet could be better for the environment? Printing and scribbling notes. Not every task is worth hauling my laptop around for. Directions to a date’s house? Reminders about where I am supposed to be over the course of my day? Many users do these functions with their smartphone. A tablet computer could do it better. Aside from a larger display / touchscreen, a tablet would probably have more computing power. Doctors could use a tablet instead of a clipboard. Small business owners could use a tablet instead of the traditional 3″ thick organizer. All of these uses save paper and ink cartridges.

I’ll give Apple partial credit if it integrates solar panels into the iSlate. Charging these devices won’t require dedicated power plants or single handedly wreck the environment. Solar charging is still worth some green street-cred.

Barnes & Noble and Amazon are already reducing the amount of paper used in books. Apple hardly has a monopoly on mp3 audio (in fact, Apple uses the .m4a format) or portable music players. Apple isn’t the exclusive developer of tablet computers, either. So why emphasize Apple? Because Apple’s design work and reputation for advancing existing technologies produces consumer frenzy. The energy behind practically Apple product, especially recently, advances the field it enters. Look at the iPhone and the subsequent touch screen smart phones, like the Nexus One.

There you have it. Three and a half ways that Apple’s tablet and technologies like it could help save the environment. On a per-tablet basis it isn’t much. Multiply the tablets sold by albums and books purchased through them and the environmental savings will be significant.