Quote:
Originally Posted by KenJackson
But I don't buy either argument--whether e-readers or pbooks are better for the environment. Human life has an impact on the earth, but the earth is here for human life. The reason to be responsible with the environment is because it's beneficial to us. The reason to buy an e-reader is because it's convenient.
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I like this line of thinking. If people are buying an e-reader thinking it's going to "save the planet", (which I think is a silly idea -- the planet will do just fine. It's
us that'll be screwed if the planet heats up too much) then they should just save their money.
Having said that, paper manufacture has a deep environmental impact
wherever the trees that supply the paper come from. Here's a
breakdown of the subject. From that source, it appears that only 16% of the world's paper comes from tree farms.
I think over the long haul, e-readers could have a significant impact on paper consumption (together with tablets, of course). But people should buy whichever they're comfortable with. Personally, I think most people will eventually go electronic, but that's just a guess, and not a well-researched one, at that.