Environmental study: 30 min of e-paper reading = 30 mins of print reading

[bob_ninja]

Here is the poll I created:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=bob_ninja

About 1/3 would like 2-3 or more years, but surprisingly are satisfied with only 1 year of use!?!!? Seems a lot of users are fickle and look to upgrade sooner. Still, as comments point out old devices are not thrown into garbage but sold on eBay to recover some value for purchasing a new version. Therefore most devices are used for well over 1 year.

The other failing of the study (which I don't have time to read, but based on conclusion is obvious) is that they didn't examine HOW MUCH content is actually consumed. My local newspapers are so bad that when I get them I read maybe 5% of their content AT MOST!!! Therefore, 95% of the paper production costs are pure waste.

If I did have a device like Kindle that automatically downloads certain newspapers, then I would have a far greater choice of newspapers and would likely select the ones that have content which appeals to me. I would probably read much more, 10%-20% of that content. Thus not only is energy of eNespaper delivery much lower (compared to printing pNewspapers) but I would also consume much more of it!!!

So the proper comparison would be how much energy is spent per UCI (unit of consumed information) for paper newspaper and for electronic newspaper.

Yeah, this conclusion is useless.

[HappyMartin]

I have been thinking about this for a while and something about it seems odd. Thirty minutes on a e ink device versus 30 minutes of a p book. Surely the p book impact is fixed at manufacture but the readers depends on number of books read and has nothing to do with its lifespan measured in years?

[Goshzilla]

The only way I can see how ebooks could reduce the environmental impact upon each reading is using far less electricity than it currently uses, and a source of power that is seperate from power plants. I would have to think the only things that would make any sense is a.) a bicycle generator, b.) solar power cells

But is that really a solution? is that really lessening the environmental impact?

[Goshzilla]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I have been thinking about this for a while and something about it seems odd. Thirty minutes on a e ink device versus 30 minutes of a p book. Surely the p book impact is fixed at manufacture but the readers depends on number of books read and has nothing to do with its lifespan measured in years?

I think what they are talking about is the idea of the ebook portable to any electronic device. So if it were a proprietary format(hint hint drm), it would be even worse on the environment.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Goshzilla

The only way I can see how ebooks could reduce the environmental impact upon each reading is using far less electricity than it currently uses, and a source of power that is seperate from power plants. I would have to think the only things that would make any sense is a.) a bicycle generator, b.) solar power cells

But is that really a solution? is that really lessening the environmental impact?

Most people don't realize the immense amount of electrical power, as well as the huge amounts of water and other chemicals, plus bulk transportation costs and fuels, needed to run a paper mill and produce paper (you don't just cut those trees real thin, and they show up at Office Depot). For the uninitiated, it can be staggering.

The amount of energy required to produce electronic components, plus 30 minutes of electrical power, easily equals the amount of energy required to make enough paper for 30 minutes of reading. The environmental savings come as you read more than 30 minutes on a reader, as the additional power consumed by the reader is significantly less than the amount of power and chemicals used to create each single sheet of paper.

[nekokami]

I should really make a graph showing the breakpoint (using the data from the original article.) Maybe over the holidays.

[donkaarlos]

Thanks for this very interesting link and discussions

If a Nordic country research shows already now about equal environmental impact of paper and e-paper I would count it as 0:1 for e-paper. Anyway for e-paper devices environmental impact will not be the key - while also important for image. Consumers simply need to like and love to use the device.. and that requires at least improvements in following areas:

• outstanding user friendliness (better user interface and further screen improvements)
• availability of various content - this again calls for convenient standards and formats that fit many purposes and devices (newspaper formats have still hard times with the small screens; books formats start to be usable)
• and only after that will the volumes be on the level that the devices get affordable for everybody

Anyway I think "electronic replacement" of various printed matter is just a question of time, but I wouldn't bet on the shape and technology of the electronic replacement.