in the technology and with production on a larger scale.

A second potential is related to the concept of books as durable objects. When it becomes possible to create a book using the new digital paper that can be turned into any book by means of an electronic update, the potential for a more sustainable medium presents itself—one that does not require the cutting of trees. But, the durability of the digital paper book can only match that of the ordinary notion of a book if the other attributes that make ordinary books enduring objects in general are also matched or even exceeded.

A third potential is based on the possibilities for making displays that are more portable, cheaper, smaller, and more pervasive. From a sustainability point of view, pervasive, small, inexpensive displays may be an advantage to the degree that they build an infrastructure of modularity. If upgrading a display on an interactive device such as a cell phone, PDA,

MP3/video player, or lap- top becomes as viable as upgrading the storage capacity of a device by substituting a memory card such as an SD card, this could have the effect of making digital artifice last longer. On the other hand, if the possibility of making more portable, cheaper, smaller, and more pervasive displays ends up driving a practice of even more disposability and premature disposal due to frequent obsolescence with respect to display devices—for example, on product packaging—the consequences could be devastating from an environmental point of view. Even if the substrates are made of recyclable materials, recycling is not as environmentally sustainable as reuse. And, if the substrates are not made of recyclable or biodegradable materials, the effects on the e-waste stream may possibly augment the toxicity of the present-day e-waste stream [ 3]. In any event, the negative social impacts of adding to the e-waste stream and even of certain recycling practices are also a global sustainability issue [ 1, 2].

For digital paper to be better than ordinary paper

from a user experience point of view, it will need to properly address at least these four interactivity issues: resolution—the quality of the text will need to be as good or better than paper; control—the use of digital paper and labels will need to be as easy and straightforward in use as ordinary paper and labels; portability—digital paper will need to be as portable or more portable than ordinary paper at the same resolutions; authenticity—the experience of using these displays will need to be as aesthetically authentic and tangible as holding a physical

piece of paper. If these user experience concerns can be adequately addressed together with some of the other concerns described here, the potentials of organic display technologies to enable choices for a sustainable future can be realized. c

REFERENCES

1. Iles, A. Mapping environmental justice in technology flows: Computer waste impacts in Asia. Global Environmental Politics 4, 4 (Nov. 2004); www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/ 10.1162/glep.2004.4.4.76.

2. Schmidt, C. Unfair trade e-waste in Africa. Environmental Health Perspectives 114, 4 (2006): A232–A235; www.pubmedcentral.nih. gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1440802.

3. Townsend, G. et al. RCRA Toxicity Characterization of Computer CPUs and Other Discarded Electronic Devices. Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, 2004.

ELI BLEVIS ( eblevis@indiana.edu) is an assistant professor of informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington.

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