Response to: Books Without Batteries:The Negative Impacts of Technology

As everyone here knows, I'm pro ebook and pro ebook reader. I'm not anti print book by any stretch of the imagination. But I came across an article today that I just had to respond to. Specifically, this part:

"Here's what an e-reader is: a battery-operated slab, about a pound, one-half inch thick, perhaps with an aluminum border, rubberized back, plastic, metal, silicon, a bit of gold, plus rare metals such as columbite-tantalite (Google it) ripped from the earth, often in war-torn Africa. To make one e-reader requires 33 pounds of minerals, plus 79 gallons of water to refine the minerals and produce the battery and printed writing. The production of other e-reading devices such as cellphones, iPads, and whatever new gizmo will pop up in the years ahead is similar. "The adverse health impacts [on the general public] from making one e-reader are estimated to be 70 times greater than those for making a single book," says the Times."

Me again: One ereader does not equal one book. You can read HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS of books on a SINGLE ereader. Many of the fans I know and love read 70 books a year, easily. So buying an ereader is still a green option for them if it fits in their lifestyle.