Which use more resources -: Ebooks (like kindle) or traditional books ?

[Æsoteric Positron]

Long there has been a war between eink and printer ink devices, can either can win while the other survive - Vernon Dursley.

But only convinince ain't a issue, we green earthers are very conscious about the devices impact on environment, and even more on the impact of the device on the limited resources that we have.

So, even the current situation, what do you, fellow geeks, think? Which use less resources, the good ol' paper books, or new and improved kindle?

Please try to give a well formed answer(even a short one) and not just vote in the poll.

 

[Vyom]

I think each had it's purpose.
Novels/Storybooks/Self help books - Kindle
Educational textbooks/books with diagrams - Physical books

In short, I think it all comes down to the pros and cons of Kindle and Physical books:

Physical Books:
Pros: Smell, Feel, Can refer to individual pages more easily/quickly back and forth. Also for researching something where you need more than one book at a time, its easier with physical books.
Cons: Bulky, Pricey, Prone to damage and of course Trees

Kindle:
Pros: Lightweight, Cheaper books (can also read for free from *sources*), Easy to travel with
Cons: Difficult to navigate pages back and forth, but you can manage, then you can use Kindle instead of Physical books.

I have the kindle, and it's good for light reading, but I don't travel much, and I love to collect physical books too. You can't replicate the feel of a hard bind "Nat Geo" book with a kindle!

 

[Desmond]

Comparing books to kindle is like comparing cassettes to an MP3 player.

 

[Æsoteric Positron]

I think each had it's purpose.
Novels/Storybooks/Self help books - Kindle
Educational textbooks/books with diagrams - Physical books

In short, I think it all comes down to the pros and cons of Kindle and Physical books:

Physical Books:
Pros: Smell, Feel, Can refer to individual pages more easily/quickly back and forth. Also for researching something where you need more than one book at a time, its easier with physical books.
Cons: Bulky, Pricey, Prone to damage and of course Trees

Kindle:
Pros: Lightweight, Cheaper books (can also read for free from *sources*), Easy to travel with
Cons: Difficult to navigate pages back and forth, but you can manage, then you can use Kindle instead of Physical books.

I have the kindle, and it's good for light reading, but I don't travel much, and I love to collect physical books too. You can't replicate the feel of a hard bind "Nat Geo" book with a kindle!

Comparing books to kindle is like comparing cassettes to an MP3 player.

Nah nah nah, I didn't want to do at all a one on one comparision, I wanted to just measure how much energy/resources that each uses. Like for books, you have to cut precious trees to produce them, which at the other hand you have to charge the kindle after every 10 days. I didn't wanted to ask this for personal advice on buying kindle, I wanted to ask this for SCIENCE!!!!

Though I really appreciate @Vyom 's reply for giving me new insight into this.