Save the Earth discussion

Since this is a reading web site, I thought I might as well bring this up:

Paper books 'vs' ebooks

Ebooks are good for the planet. They reduce the paper used to make books, and all the byproducts of the gule and ink.

On the other hand, there's the feel, smell and look of paper books. How being in a library full of books makes you feel. How a book smells and how it feels in your hands as you flip to the next chapter.

What do you guys think? Should we ditch the tangible world of books and go for ebooks to save the planet or keep the tangible or have a mixture of both?

Great topic! :) I've actually been thinking about that lately :)

I really love the feel and just sort of texture of the book as you've mentioned. I'mn not quite sure if I could let go of the feeling, but I do know that if we cut down on it, we would save SO many trees!

Not quite objecting to the idea of ebooks, but doesn't they run on electricity? It would be great if it's solar powered! I really do hate reading computerized text like on a screen, it just feels so odd and indifferent and cold... But yes it would make a tremndous difference! I think that we should have more opinions though, just to see what comes up. For me, right now a mix is fine :)

I love the feel, too. And the homely feeling I get when I'm holding or around books. Plus after awhile doesn't your eyes begin to hurt after staring at a screen for a long time? And you're right Kaitie. It does feel....non-personal.

There's this sci-fi show that I watch and one of the episodes was in the future, humans built a whole planet to hold paper copies of all the books ever written. That was at a time where all this electronic book stuff was out and most used it. But the whole thing was that humans never get over the feel, smell, and look of paper books. Oh, how I want that to be true....

I absolutely agree. When I stare at the screen while I'm doing research online for too long, my eyes start to ache.

WHOA! That would be a LOT :)

Yeah, and I think that will hold the ebooks back from totally taking over. Paper is just easier to stare at for a while. But we don't want books to become like the music industry, where they didn't do enough to embrace the new and old and just getting suck in the disappearing old....if you know what I mean....

Well, duh. =P That's why they built a WHOLE planet for the books!

Ya I do :) There's nohing wrong with it, but wouldn't it be SUPER cool if there was like a computer or something just like the book but still like papery...but not! :) LIke it would be just a couple pages and it would be a computerized screen but it would have the same feel and touch and new pages and electronic screens would come up as you flip the page :) Cool huh?

Haha true ture

Ya that would be cool...but its still fun to read the paper books for now

Yah. Like electic paper, that is a computer with the same feel as paper. There could be only a few pages, that make up a small book and the words on them change with book/page you're reading. So you can have the experiance of reading paper book and the eco-friendliness of an ebook. Gosh, that would be SO cool!

Yes it would be :)

Ya!! :D

I WOULD LOVE THAT! Since we are speaking of books, this doesn't quite have a relavence to saving the earth but it is about a rebellion and cruelty so I guess it sort of does apply with our theme of Justice. I just finished the Hunger Games & Catching Fire which was AMAAAAAAAAAAAZZING! I absolutely recommend all of you to read it :)

I'm going to read Hunger Games after I'm done with the book I'm reading, and then The Lovely Bones. I've heard that those books are good.

Oh yeha I want to read Lovely Bones too! Trust me, you're going to LOVE the Hunger Games. Has quite a lot of intenseness, romance, hope, rebellion, etc.

So I hear....

Okay this is a random fact, but did you know that Girl Scout Cookie boxes are made of 100% recycled cardboard?

Really?? My friend told me that the cookies contain palm oil which is killing trees

haha that's so funny! My sister's a girlscout and they're startgint to sell cookies :)

Yah, just a fun fact. Look at the bottom of a box. It says it right there.

Oh cool :)

So as I was saying in the other discussion as how my school uses 100% recycled towel paper (I guess you can see where i'm going with this). I already know a couple books that have recycled paper though those are the ones that actually TALK about the environment and right now, sadly it is lacking many fans and customers. So at least for now, I think if we want to keep the feel of the paper, why don't we move to recycled?! :)

That is a good idea, Kaitie! Recycled paper! It's good for the environment and good for those people, like me, that love the feel of paper books!! I don't know why I didn't think about it before.....

Yay!! I don't know why any of us thought of it before! :) It just suddenly came to me :) Like I have seen a couple books that is recycled paper but not many

I wonder why other books are not printed on recycled paper. It would save SO many trees!!

yeah...Maybe it's just easier? That's a sad excuse though, they're killing trees simply because it's "easier".

Well, there will come a time where recycling becomes 'easier' than killing trees. But that will only happen, when trees to cut down are hard to find(either there aren't a lot any more, or their all protected). That's the problem with a free market economy, people usually do what's easiest and cheapest to make the most money, instead of doing what's best for the planet.

Exactly, I hope that time will be in the near future! I have this page-a-day calender (made all out of recycled paper and recyclable plastic ;)) Recently I read a day that said 30 Million trees are cut down every year to produce books sold in the US. Sad, right? :(

Exactly, I hope that time will be in the near future! I have this page-a-day calender (made all out of recycled paper and recyclable plastic ;)) Recently I read a day that said 30 Million trees are cut down every year to produce books sold in the US. Sad, right? :(

Yah, that's really bad and it needs to stop. But you have to remember its books we're talking about, at least they do have some learning value, it's not some junky magazines.

So, I learned yesterday, that my school district was rated #1 in the nation (out of ALL school districts in the US) in buying renewable energy! They get 39% of all their energy from renewable sources. I just think that's totally awesome!

True, people have got to stop reading such crapy magazines. I personally have to admit that I like reading some magazines, usually I sort of tend to keep them heh heh, but I'm starting to think of either recycling or donating them somewhere because I know people who for some odd reason enjoy rereading past stuff.

YAY! That's great! Congrats! :)

Well, in art we are using the pictures in magazines (even old Nat. Geo. ones from the 40s and 50s) to create art. It's actually pretty cool. But I do have to agree, some magazines like People, Playboy, ect. are pretty crapy. But the good thing is that magazines in general (just like books) are becoming online things, so in the future less and less will probably be published.

True true which is great!

Yeah, a lot of printed newspapers are going out of business....

I know. It's kind of sad, actually. Something that kept and the nation and the world informed, is disapearing. But its a sign of the times and all we can do is move on....and look on the bright side, that's less trees going into the making of newspaper.

True, but means not as many people may be informed, or I guess they could move to the leading newspaper. Though when you thinka bout it, it is sort of melancholy.

Yet, bittersweet.

i feel like magazines and newspapers should just keep their websites and post articles on that...

That's probably the way it's going to be in the future. And depending on the way you look at it, it can be a good thing or a bad thing.

ya