...porn dvd?
Paperbacks came along as a cheap, mass-production alternative to hardbound books, and the two of them have coexisted since. The e-book is a cheap, mass-market alternative to hardbound books, and there's no reason it can't similarly coexist next to hardbound books (and probably, eventually, replace the cheap paperback altogether). Die-hard "I like the old, musty smell of rotting paper while reading in my bathtub" people will still be able to buy hardbacks. Paperback readers will migrate to e-books.
And yes, e-books are better for the environment: When you can replace hundreds of paper books with an electronic device the size of one of them, you are vastly saving on resources; when hundreds of books potentially landfilled are replaced with one electronic device whose components can be recycled, you are vastly saving on landfills; and growing trees do a better job sequestering carbon than a book in a plastic bag.
I read my e-books at the beach, and in bed. (I shower.)
A lot of these arguments, like the original date of this thread, are getting pretty old!