In this post over at EcoGeek.com they are discussing 6 pilot universities (Princeton, Darden , Case Western Reserve, Reed College, Pace University and Arizona State University), that are going to test providing textbooks on the Kindle and the related paper savings and “green” outcome that we will see.  While I agree that this is a green idea I don’t really view it as the best or even the most economical idea. So what is my problem with this anyway?

Well, while it will reduce waste of paper and potential carbon outputs, a product is still being built and created here. Where I have an issue is that every student these days has a laptop.  A laptop is perfectally capable of providing the resources needed to read a textbook without the additional purchase of a reader.  This saves the students money, saves the creation of one more petroleum based plastic device and serves the purpose of removing paper waste and carbon from the environment in a much better way than buying one more device.  All the textbooks a student needs for a year could be loaded on a single USB key or SD card and provided at a very low cost.  However, I suspect the universities are seeing a kickback from Kindle Sales that we have not heard about.

I think this quote from EcoGeek says it well:

This idea is great, but mainly because textbooks and course materials should be available electronically at all schools for all classes, whether they’re accessed by a Kindle, a laptop or on a computer at the library.  It seems like that conversion is long overdue for textbook makers and universities.  The universities participating are ones that have a bit of influence, so let’s hope that if they adopt electronic course materials, others will quickly join them.

Anyway, it is nice to see a change, the environmental benefits are a plus and heck there are some health benefits too, with students not lugging around such heavy packs.

Source: EcoGeek.com

Photo by: EricaJoy via Creative Commons