Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
And we cannot treat paper like it's an infinite resource--it isn't. One of the biggest problems in economic evaluations of methods and resources is the assumption that "raw materials"--trees, oil, rocks, water--are free; they only cost what it takes you in tools & labor to fetch them. There's no cost in the item itself, and its destruction is not counted as a loss.
The only cost the producer in tools & labor--but the tree milled for paper can't be milled again tomorrow, or next year. Nor the year after. And recycling, while admirable, is a shrinking resource pool; we lose some every time.
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But of course trees can be replanted. The key is to just keep paper use (and other uses of wood) at a level that is sustainable.
Ebooks will help with that. Paper doesn't have to go away (and won't go away) but it's use should (and will) get scaled back as people adopt electronic alternatives for various purposes and more people recycle.