Suddenly, Earth-Friendly E-Readers Are Everywhere

Johnd9442 appears to be the only person who sees the irony in the argument. They are suggesting that you stop using a renewable resource (paper pulp from managed tree farms) and start using a plastic/electronic devise that will need replacement within 24/36 months manufactured from oil (totally non-renewable resource). I am sure they are the same brilliant people who drink filtered water from a plastic bottle because it has a cute mountain stream on the label, then throws their plastic bottle in the garbage.

Books are so much bettere than plastic.
Can you see reading an e-reader to your children . When they get older and something is not there to read on a machine they won't even know how to look things up.
we have to always think of our children to make the world a better place,not ourself.
Why can't you just buy a book to read on the plane.

Just a month ago Amazon realized they were selling two George Orwell books without proper permission. Overnight they DELETED these books from thousands of Kindles without warning or action from the reader! No more confiscating books from homes and burning them. If another bunch of Nazis wants to take over, all they have do is punch a few key stokes at Amazon and your whole library is GONE! I'll keep my books sitting on my shelf, thank-you-very-MUCH!

We could easily be making high quality paper from Hemp, which is completely renewable. The US Constitution is written on it. Unfortunately, hemp is also the plant marijuana comes from and our drug war paranoia is blinding us to the litterally dozens of uses this amazing plant has.

If you are concerned about the environment, buy your books from a locally owned used book dealer (recycled!) and support the use of hemp plants for commercial purposes.

I can hardly agree that replacing biodegradable, recyclable paper books with something made of non-biodegradable plastics, electronic components, and environmentally hazardous batteries constitutes reducing your carbon footprint.
Quite the opposite. We would be better to change our habits to things that actually help, like using the library, book sharing clubs, buying used books rather than new, and if we must finally dispose of them, do so in the recycling bin.
On the production end we could resolve to only print books on 100% post consumer recycled paper.
As a convenience electronic books make sense. Environmentally they do not.

I love reading. I love it a lot, it's something I spend most of my free time doing. I get the allure of an E-Reader, but it takes some of the appeal of a book from you. The smell of the paper, the feel of the crisp pages. I love all that. I love being able to see my progress in a concrete way. I'm all for saving the environment, believe me, but my books will be the LAST thing I give up.

Whoever came up with the concept of e books should be shot. That is not a book but a toy. When I read a book I want to feel it, I want to turn the pages, be able to write in the margins. Can e books do any of this, NO. Anyone who gets most or all of their news or information from ANY electronic source is a fool. We need our books, our newspapers for they are what news and information is about, not all this high tech crap. The internet and hi tech have their place but not to the point where they destroy what is best in life. And if that makes me old fashioned, so be it.

The whole reason I like to read a book is because it requires no batteries, no internet service, nothing other than enough light (preferably natural) to kick back and read. A book lets you go off the grid and relax. I've taken them camping and spent hours enjoying a paperback while lounging on a hammock. A book never gets viruses, never needs updates, doesn't need batteries, doesn't need a USB cable, and doesn't get recalled. Want to save the environment? Go to the library and borrow a book for free, or check out a used bookstore. Thrift stores like the Salvation Army and Goodwill always have CHEAP used paperbacks if you really need to buy one (and sometimes, you do). When you are done with a book, donate it to a library or one of the organizations listed above. Also, last I checked, E-Readers are made of plastic, which is a petroleum by-product. Therefore, their production burns greenhouse gases. Also, they have to be plugged in and charged at the wall.

For magazines and newspapers, I can get all that on my laptop. Since I have that with me at work, I stop at places on my lunch break that have WIFI, which means that I can get my news that way. A G3 device like an Iphone or Blackberry will also do the same. Why would I pay for something that does less than what my laptop or other portable device can do?

E-readers have a place, but they will never replace books. I am a big gadget geek, but seriously, there is nothing more liberating than being able to get away from my e-stuff and going off the grid. We're addicted to our technology. Try going out the door without your cell for a day. You'll have withdrawals.

Did anyone ever hear of the Public Library? Costs nothing, reduces clutter and saves trees.

As a graduate student, I have to do a lot of reading and research. Books that are both fiction and nonfiction alike must be read, compared, and reflected upon. This means that I do a lot of highlighting, underlining, and write lots of reflective notes and observations in my books which I go back to later when I need to write my papers. Please tell me how well a highlighter and a pencil works on a Kindle? Will marking up that little screen void my warranty?

One last thing, at least a book is biodegradable and recyclable. 2000 years from now, our plastic gadgetry will be in a museum in perfect children, as our descendants marvel at our little toys.

You know I want to reduce my carbon footprint as much as the next guy, but I love reading books. I'm not gonna start gluing my eyes to my computer or iPod screen when I want to read a good story. You know what I do?

I BORROW BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY

How about going (& supporting) your LOCAL LIBRARY!!!

Why not just go to a website that has online books, instead of buying these expensive devices?

Magic, In answer to you:

Yes. You can do that. You can write notes on any ebook reader (Not sure about the sony, but the rest you can). These are not toys, but expensive readers which make people's lives easier. You can even add your own documents to them. Stephen King uses his to put his speeches on so he doesn't fumble with notecards. I think I saw a picture where his is pink. Ewwww. LOL.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying a good print book, but don't belittle those who do like the technology, just like people once belittled the internet, the microwave or the telephone. Don't consider me a fool because I research my news online, don't call me a fool because reading to me is a comfortable, enjoyable time in my life and I do it when I have time, not when I have time to run to the store to buy a new book.

Print books are not going away just because ebook readers are out, so dont' feel so freakin' threatened! They are two different markets. It will probably be 30-50 years before the print book phases out and by then, you and I probably will be too old to read anyway.

I like ebooks. Ebooks offers more than just a benefit to the reader. They offer benefits to the author. Did you know authors make about .17C on that paperback book you hold? They make about $2.20 off that ebook that gets read. Did you know the threat ebooks provide isn't to you, the reader, but to the NY publishing angencies? They have lost control of the market they once kept in their iron fist. It's trickling away, right through their fingers, as smaller publishers have realized the ebook market makes publishing easier. More authors are being "Discovered" through ebooks.

You're missing out on a ton of those if you stay closed minded.

Having an ebook reader is not a crime. It's a benefit to that person. I won't list the benefits, because anyone who calls me a fool is too caught up in denial to really care.

Just remember, they once thought electricity was of the devil. Freedom is something which didn't exist before the 18th century. We've come leaps and bounds ahead in technology and dragged people like you kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Odd, I don't call YOU a fool.

I'm probably as well educated as you. When it comes to the internet and news, I bet I'm even better. Tell me, do you know where to find the current Health care reform bill so you can make your own judgements on whether it's good for this country or not? Or do you just read what they have in the papers? Well, I've read it, and formed my own opinion. So don't call me a fool for going online to keep myself informed, or going online to purchase books in a flat 30 seconds as opposed to running down to the book store which is 25 miles away.

Do I want to see book stores leave us? No. Do I want print books to be a thing of the past? No. Neither is for everyone. There's room in our world for both.

Anyone who truly loves to read will not want an "e-reader". How boring and horrible. There's nothing better on a rainy Sunday than to spend it in a book store with REAL books. I love the way old book stores smell and I like the feel of the paper under my fingers. PLUS, they can't take a book away from you once you pay for it as Kindle did with a couple of their books because the didn't own the "rights" to it. You know, sometimes "new" doesn't mean "better."

Dads, Great letter except for your info on hemp. It is in the same family as marijuana but in reality cannot be used like weed. It was and is a multi purpose plant that provides many necessary and useful products. The finest ro-pes are made from it. It is used in almost every theatre to move the curtains and other lifts backstage, can be used to make clothes, and much more. It is cultivated and used around the world. In America I believe it can be grown, but under strict government interference. The Feds cannot see the forest for the seeds. If the farmers could grow it , it would provide a whole new area of industry in this country. Spread the word. Books? They are going to have to pry several items from my cold dead hands. Books will be in the right hand, and you can imagine what will be in my left.

I like the idea of curling up with a good book, especially my favorite books which I read and "visit" like old friends. the best way to save trees is to change the publishing business. make them more accountable for the kinds of books they print. A lot of stuff out there is just crap.....Of course we have freedom of speech which includes freedom of printing, but saving tres is NOT what the publishing business is all about, it is about making money. ALSO...when you have finished reading a paperback book, give it to the good will or some other plaace, or give it to a friend...recycle the book a few times before it goes into the trash......or burn the book when done in the fire place...instead of getting it burried in the ground.