E-Readers Across the World

African children usind e-readers teleread.com

Here in the United States we see e-readers as just a new technology or toy put out by companies to make a profit. We take these things for granted. In the countries of Africa, for example, they see these technologies as the way of the future.

Over the last couple decades Africa has fully accepted information communication technology (ICT) more than any other continent. As the internet continues to expand and reach to the farthest corners of the world it opens up new possibilities for the people living there. The farmers in Africa no longer have to practically give away their crops because they have no other offers, the can sell them online!

Now you might ask what does this have to do with e-readers? The answer to that is easy; with internet now available the children in these rural areas can now use e-readers! This means that they can have the same access to books that the rest of us do, which will help their education. In an article for EContent they talk about The Kilgoris Project, which supplies Kindles to rural public schools in Kenya.

David Lemiso, director of The Kilgoris Project, says, "The program, which entails the use of Kindles at Ntimigon Primary School, started in 2008. Since we started the program, we have seen a huge improvement of learning at the school since the children are keen to learn." With the help of these e-readers and these technologies this could be the start of getting these third world countries up to the same level as other countries.

Kilgoris Project Children kilgoris.org

As I stated earlier we here in the U.S. take these opportunities for granted. Children here do not like reading or learning and see it as a waste of time. Where as children in other, less fortunate, countries are thrilled to have the opportunity to have these gadgets and the chance to read books. E-readers will save these schools money in the long run because they are cheaper than text books and do not require shipping more than once.

Also if families have enough money to buy one, they will last longer than traditional books. A child could even have one all through elementary, high school and even college. This could save the child and the family money. Another positive thing is the e-reader battery lasts longer than other gadgets, almost three weeks. This is very good for the rural areas because the electricity grid is not as reliable as ours and is not always available.


We must keep in mind how lucky we are and be aware of how these technologies can influence our world. These children deserve all of the opportunities that we have and now they are getting them thanks to e-readers. This youtube video from The Kilgoris Projects tells about their mission and its accomplishments.

 

E-Readers and the Environment

slate.com

We all know that there is a huge trend towards "going green." Cars are becoming cleaner and more efficient and people are encouraged to conserve energy whenever possible. It seems that on a large scale going digital will be one way we can all reduce our carbon footprints. Is this what needs to be done to help save our planet?

In a News Watch article, I found on the National Geographic website, writer, Brian Clark Howard, says,

"The amount of paper used for books in one year was estimated at 1.5 million metric tons, and each book produced gave off an estimated 8.85 pounds of carbon dioxide. Study groups have found that the carbon released from eBooks is offset after people read more than 14 eBooks."  

These statistics show that switching for traditional books to e-books and e-readers could potentially help reduce the amount of green house gases in our atmosphere and save our planet. Not to mention all the trees that would be saved.

E-Waste ierc.info

Of course when we discuss this topic we must also look at the possibilities of e-waste. E-waste is a short hand way to say electronic waste such as; computers, e-readers, TV's, laptops, and any other discarded electronic device. The chemicals that are in these new technologies are very harmful and we have not yet figured out a way to dispose of them without causing harm to the environment. Even though the e-reader does create a carbon footprint and cause e-waste when discarded they are still more economical that traditional print media.  

Besides books the newspaper industry is one that causes a lot of damage to our environment. In an article from the New York Times they cover a study done by the RAND Corporation, a global research company. This article states that, "Printing and distributing a single newspaper subscription for a year emits 208 pounds of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere." These numbers were estimated by RAND. It seems that the right thing for the newspaper industry to do is to move to an all digital format. However they do not yet make as much on digital subscribers as they do with print copies. It may be a while before we see an all digital world. 

With the advances of technology and this trend towards green products we as consumers have to decide what is right for us. I have said many times in this blog that I prefer traditional books to e-readers, but if it comes down to the planet and a paper book...I personally choose the planet.  

I found this video on YouTube. It seems to be an ad about e-ink but it also has some interesting facts!