| There has been a real interest shown in electronic | | | | the strongest of sunlight. |
| book readers of late, even to the point of some | | | | Those advancements have pushed electronic book |
| industry experts predicting that these new | | | | readers right to the edge of a quantum leap into the |
| generation of digital book readers will result in ebook | | | | mainstream. Authors are starting to publish straight to |
| sales eventually overtaking those of paperback and | | | | the ebook format at launch. Two of the most |
| hardback copy. If that is to be the case, with thinking | | | | famous authors to have done this are Stephen King |
| being more towards eco friendly, carbon neutrality | | | | and Dan Browne, both released their ebooks at the |
| and generally protecting the environment, it needs to | | | | time of launch of the Kindle2 and Sony Edition range |
| be asked, "Will these digital ebook reader devices be | | | | of eat-book readers paving the way that others will |
| good for the environment." | | | | follow in greater numbers. |
| It needs to be pointed out that the introduction of | | | | As the Green Press Initiative have reported that the |
| electronic book readers into the home, school, collage | | | | US alone is responsible for the use of twenty million |
| and university facilities across the globe would result, | | | | trees every year for book production alone. Then |
| in the short term at least, in an instant benefit. Less | | | | add to that the reported ninety five million |
| natural resources and raw material used, such as | | | | (95,000,000) trees used in the newspaper industry |
| wood for the paper, gas for the production of the | | | | every year, you can see how, if reading devices |
| book and the ink used in the printing process, is the | | | | become the norm, that these numbers can be |
| first area to be addressed, but when you look | | | | reduced quite considerably. |
| further into it, the savings to the environment can be | | | | We are all getting more conscious recycling wise but |
| far greater in the long term. | | | | at one point, the GPI stated that landfills held 25% of |
| Let's start by saying, this is not about online | | | | paper products omitting, through decomposition, toxic |
| shopping, it is about digital production and delivery. | | | | greenhouse gas methane. Not all that pollutant is |
| With online shopping the product still has to be | | | | from the disposal of book admittedly, but carbon |
| delivered to your door, even after the possible | | | | dioxide produced during printing and production of |
| thousands of miles it has traveled prior to that, but | | | | hard copy is. Over 12 million tons of carbon dioxide |
| digital deliver is just that. No last mile delivery, no | | | | are produced annually from the production of |
| storage, in fact, very minimal impact on the | | | | traditional books, and you can guess where that ends |
| environment no matter what continent you order it | | | | up. That equates to a shockingly on-Co Friendly nine |
| from. | | | | pounds of carbon dioxide for every book produced |
| To get to this point, the technology has to be | | | | not taking into account carbon produced from |
| available to more people, or should I say affordable | | | | transport or premises. |
| to more people. Yes we know, historically new | | | | Neither taken into account is the immeasurable |
| technology is always more expensive when it first | | | | amount of carbon produced through illegal |
| appears, but it seems to me that the electronic book | | | | deforestation that is occurring globally. Much of the |
| readers manufacturers are missing a rather big trick | | | | timber from these areas could end up in paper used |
| here. If these devices were more affordable to the | | | | for printing, who knows. Then there is the scars left |
| masses then the masses would embrace them and | | | | on many landscapes through out the country from |
| when that happens we will be in the realms of | | | | legitimate logging operations, tropical forests in |
| serious benefits to the environment. | | | | Indonesia lose four and a half million acres, the Boreal |
| The way things had been going , eat-paper was only | | | | forest Canada two million acres annually, with two |
| perceived as a temporary alterative to printed paper, | | | | thirds ending up as paper for reading or writing and |
| a way of receiving your purchase instantly but never | | | | over six million acres of forest in America's South |
| a replacement for hard copy. This stemmed from the | | | | Eastern region going the same way. |
| short comings of eat-paper in the early days of | | | | All the above environmental disasters can and would |
| Digital Book Readers, hard to read, bad contrast and | | | | be greatly helped if electronic book readers do in |
| short battery life, but this has changed. With the | | | | dead take that leap. As you can see from the areas |
| advent of eat-ink paper technology came the answer | | | | highlighted above, digital ebook readers do have a big |
| to those problems, exceptional battery life from the | | | | part to play in the protection of raw materials, natural |
| improved contrast and a real paper like quality to the | | | | resources and the ultimately environment but only if |
| screen background and a text that can be read in | | | | we allow them to. |