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Robertb · 06-09-2009, 08:46 PM

Dear All:

IF everything remained as now and there were no external pressures to change, we could debate the viability of eBook Readers forever despite that sales are climbing thru the roof. Lets ignore that printed books and audio books went way down last year and that eBooks experienced a 171% increase.

All things are NOT going to stay the same. They cannot. There is a Limit to Growth for printed books. Old books, particularly paperbacks and newspapers and magazines ALL are clogging up the landfill. That is NOT going to continue forever without sharp penalties and cost to the consumer. eBooks do NOT cause landfill problems.

Printing of books is a huge drain on power and eBooks are not. Printed books mean trees must be harvested.

The big kicker though is what is known as Toxic Paper-Making Bi-Products. Paper Mill Sludge is decimating our rivers, lakes, and streams. Paper Sludge, caused by the bleaching of paper by chemicals to make it white, contains 30 carcinogens and is pure acid and Canada did a major study on the problem last year and found there is no way to effectively alleviate the risk. Like a time-bomb, Paper Mill Sludge Regulation is going to drive many paper mills out of business.

Like it or not... printed books are going away and the electronic reader is the vehicle people think will eventually win out. WHY?? Because you can store 4,000 books on a 16GB SD card and have them forever. Newspapers, magazines, books... all saved, all categorized by date, all available as a resource long after they are popular.

06-09-2009, 08:46 PM	#29
Robertb Astak Director, Bus. Devl Posts: 2,560 Karma: 2500000 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Astak Pocket PRO	One thing not being discussed... an Inconvenient Point Dear All: IF everything remained as now and there were no external pressures to change, we could debate the viability of eBook Readers forever despite that sales are climbing thru the roof. Lets ignore that printed books and audio books went way down last year and that eBooks experienced a 171% increase. All things are NOT going to stay the same. They cannot. There is a Limit to Growth for printed books. Old books, particularly paperbacks and newspapers and magazines ALL are clogging up the landfill. That is NOT going to continue forever without sharp penalties and cost to the consumer. eBooks do NOT cause landfill problems. Printing of books is a huge drain on power and eBooks are not. Printed books mean trees must be harvested. The big kicker though is what is known as Toxic Paper-Making Bi-Products. Paper Mill Sludge is decimating our rivers, lakes, and streams. Paper Sludge, caused by the bleaching of paper by chemicals to make it white, contains 30 carcinogens and is pure acid and Canada did a major study on the problem last year and found there is no way to effectively alleviate the risk. Like a time-bomb, Paper Mill Sludge Regulation is going to drive many paper mills out of business. Like it or not... printed books are going away and the electronic reader is the vehicle people think will eventually win out. WHY?? Because you can store 4,000 books on a 16GB SD card and have them forever. Newspapers, magazines, books... all saved, all categorized by date, all available as a resource long after they are popular.