E-readers are spineless compared with hardcover books, lacking the soulful carbon fingerprints of readers past. You cannot fold the pages of the wafer-thin gadgets, or make your mark with splotches of food or wine. And the idea of clutching the casing to your chest after reading the final line of a novel just leaves me cold. As one book club friend of mine waxes, “There’s just something about the smell of a book.”

Still, we all can smell and see the writing is on the screen when it comes to these devices outsourcing print media, sparing trees and saving money. According to ID TechEx, the total market size in 2010 is a whopping $131 million, and is expected to soar to $1.7 billion by 2014. Much of that growth is attributed to huge success of Kindles and other portable e-readers. “In 2020, the market value will reach $7.45 billion thanks to the availability of flexible, color displays and faster refresh rates,” the market analysts predict.

Why do users find them so friendly?

“I bought one for my wife for her birthday and enlarged the fonts so she can read the words on the screen without squinting or wearing reading glasses,” says Steve Montoya, a Bay Area IT consultant. “She’s an avid reader. Recently, she read a series she couldn’t get in e-print, and couldn’t wait to finish it and get back to her Kindle.”

While you can’t download all desirable titles now, the Amazon library and others are growing every day.

“You can get books, magazines, newspapers, even audio books to listen to with headphones,” Montoya says.

The graphite feature also is a huge power saver, he finds, noting you can get several days of reading on one charge. And since it works on a cellular network, it also makes it easy to instantaneously order books and have them appear on your library. Plus, the e-readers never seem to lose connection.

“My brother-in-law is in Afghanistan and his iPhone doesn’t work, but his Kindle does,” says Montoya.

If the prequel of our paperless future is the tragic death of magazines and newspapers, will the sequel be the disappearance of paperback and hardcover reads? Are there upsides to this plot? Here are some of the pros and cons of e-reading devices:

Cost

Pro: If you are a voracious reader without a library card, you probably will save money on an e-reader. If you are a voracious reader with a library card, you probably will save on late fees.

Con: You have to spend a lot for the cheapest iPad, which is wifi-only, holds 16GB of storage and sells for nearly $500. The Que is $649 and has a 4GB of data storage. The 3G wireless Amazon Kindle is more affordable at $250.

Storage

Pro: When the Kindle was introduced in 2007, travelers loved the benefits of of storing up to 1,500 books on a device the size of a small paperback read. And the library of available books to download keeps expanding (the first chapter of any book is free). Let’s face it, we are a storage-challenged human race with too much junk and not enough apartment and home space. This eliminates the need for shelving.

Con: Our private libraries are important for sharing with our friends and children and passing down treasured collections – classics and complementary fiction that rocked our world. Plus, it’s a lot easier to lose a gadget than an entire dusty collection.

Green

Pro: Many green publications, including Inhabitat, sing the praises of e-readers because they ultimately aid the environment by requiring no deforestation to manufacture, compared to the traditional paper publishing industry. This doesn’t even include the energy, materials, dyes and carbon from shipping that shames the print industry. According to a study by Cleantech, the carbon emitted in the lifecycle of  a Kindle, for example, is fully offset after the first year. And more earth-friendly models are on the move, like LG’s Solar ebook introduced last year, boasting a thin photovoltaic cell which keeps the juice pumping so your novel won’t go kaput during the climax.

Con: What is being offered is a new thing to buy, to keep you busy on the subway. High tech by nature is incompatible with green with exceptions such as solar panels, which also require an investment in energy to make. Green means a return to what your grandparents did, a return to simplicity: Walk a few blocks to school and work. Open a book on your front porch and snooze. That’s 18th Century technology. Also, the effectiveness of reducing emissions by popularizing these gadgets is dependent upon the publishing industry standardizing its adoption of the technology while committing to cutting down the production of physical books and other print media. Is this likely to happen anytime soon, other than by default?

Convenience

Pro: Toss the paper thin, lightweight, wireless device in your bag and you’re good to go. The new generation of Kindles is lighter than a paperback at 6″ and 10.2 oz. and you can hold it with one hand, which aids those carpal tunnel issues. This is why so many e-readers are the new companions of commuters. Hopefully, driving laws will keep users from biting into New Moon while behind the wheel. If you thought texting was was a dangerous distraction while driving…

Con: The tactile experience of gripping a book, magazine or Sunday paper can outweigh the fact it might be heavier to lug. It is this experience that is woven into our cultural wiring. No matter how hard technology tries, the tendency for consumers to prefer print over e-readers will endure for many years to come. With regard to our cultural connection to books, a graduate student at the University of Toronto wrote that his first experiences with a reader felt like “a courageous betrayal of every word written from the moment papyrus gave way to paper.”

Connection

Pro: We are a society that needs to stay connected now more than ever. In terms of signal range, e-readers never seem to drop out.

Con: Losing connection might be easier on the eyes. Having your head in a book just isn’t the same as having your peepers fixed on a screen for hours of pleasure reading. Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) cases are rising in people looking for relief from fatigue, strain and irritation caused by focusing on worlds and images on a surface without well-defined edges contrasted against backgrounds. Eyes simply respond better to most printed text of bold black letters on a bright, white background.

Images: E-readers

It’s always a good time to install solar panels, buy an Energy Star rated appliance or swap your clunker for a hybrid. But we all know Federal and state tax credits and grants make it easier to get the gain without the pain.

“Solar systems typically run $20,00 to $30,000 for homes but with the credits, including  new grants coming available in California, you probably won’t spend more than $10,000,” says Noel Cotter of Luminalt, a San Francisco solar electric and thermal contractor.

Cotter directs visitors to his site to various city incentive programs, such as GoSolarSF for low income residential projects, as well as  the California Solar Initiative, a state rebate that when combined with federal tax credits can cover half or more of the system installed in San Francisco. It’s good to locate programs in your own city, whole checking out the federal programs.

Here are a few credits to entice you:

Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Tax Credits

U.S. Department of Energy: Tax Credit of 30% of the cost up to $1,500 (Cash for Caulkers). Encourages home improvements through rebates for  installing energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors, roofs and heating and cooling equipment in existing homes through December 31, 2010. Energy Star has a list of some of the appliances (furnaces, stoves, water heaters) and materials (panels, bulk insulation, metal and asphalt roofing) that qualify for the credits while also giving you great returns in lower energy bills.

Replacing Your Windows: Part of the IRS Stimulus and Recovery package signed into law Feb. 17, 2009: Raises the level of credits for windows, doors and skylights to 30% and increases the lifetime cap to $1500 for installations prior to December 31, 2010. Which windows get a break? They must have a combination of a less than 0.30 or less U-Value and a0.30 or less SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient). Window manufacturers are stepping up the ad campaigns now to get you to make the switch. You are advised to retain your NFRC certification label with their records, even though you don’t need to submit it with your tax return.

Home Buying Incentive

The Fed: In some cities, it’s challenging if not impossible to live the American dream of owning your first green home, but credits take a bit of the sting out of the process for those who can buy. Congress has extended the $8,000 credit ($4,000 for those filing separately) for first purchases. And an amendment added gifts a $6,500 break to current homeowners who have owned and lived in a home for any five consecutive year period during the last eight years (and must close a sale after Nov. 6, 2009 and before July 1, 2010). Naturally, there are other restrictions. The home’s price tag cannot exceed $800,000 and the income limit for individuals is $75,000 to $125,000 and for joint filers, $150,000 to $225,000.

State Incentives: CA Franchise Tax Board: States like California are desperate to stimulate the economy. That is why Governor Arnold has proposed extending and expanding the $10,000 homebuyer tax credit to include the purchase of existing homes in addition to new homes for first time buyers. The buyer must be a dependent and must buy a home that doesn’t belong to a family member. The tax board will extend the credit to buyers until the $200 million dollars in tax credits have been used up. Check with your state and learn what is being proposed to get taxpayers back on track.

Green Jobs, Too: California green industries putting jobs in place by 2014 could get in on hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits as part of President Obama’s $2.3 billion package to stimulate new clean energy jobs.

Buying or Leasing a Hybrid Car or Truck

The IRS: For vehicles in service purchased on or before December 31, 2010 that are primarily driven in the U.S. The amount of credit on new hybrid gas-electric cars or trucks depends on the fuel economy and weight of the vehicle. Sadly, Toyota and Honda hybrids no longer qualify. Hybrids that apply are those using less fuel than the average vehicle of a similar weight that meets an emissions standard qualify. These tax credits are phased out once the manufacturer has sold 60,000 eligible cars and trucks. A summary of the credit requirements for these cars is provided here. Various 2010 models can be found here.

Hybrid Cars says the biggest impact on green cars is the new tax credit for low-speed neighborhood electric vehicles, electric motorcycles, and three-wheeled vehicles. NEV’s – which cannot go faster than 25 mph – can earn the buyer a credit of up to $2,500, and has been slammed as “pork for golf carts.” Tesla Roadsters and a small number of other costly low-production plug-ins qualify.

Images: waynenf, jurvetson, Ian Muttoo, pfala

Camels might be considered invasive creatures destroying the countryside and intimidating the locals in Australia,  but in Africa these nomadic animals are seen in a much more positive light. For years, organizations such as the Nomadic Communities Trust (NCT) have relied on camels to transport medicine and supplies to remote locales.

And now the camels are going solar. NCT, in partnership with Princeton University and The Art College of Design in California, have created solar-powered mini-fridges that strap to the camel’s back.

Featuring an ergonomic bamboo saddle, folding solar panels and a foot powered backup system, these solar powered mini-fridges can store vaccines and other medicines desperately needed in remote areas located off the power grid.

Once in the field, the solar panels will used not only to power the refrigeration systems but also to provide light at mobile clinic locations.

Currently being tested in Ethiopia and Kenya, it is hoped that these eco-friendly, camel-friendly solar powered mini-fridges will be in widespread use by 2010.

Image: Tambako the Jaguar

Many Napa Valley wineries are going green these days. They focus on organic and biodynamic practices. They build eco-efficient wineries. And they favor solar-powered energy. But lately, that’s become a bit of problem. Turns out they aren’t the only ones keen on solar.

Many Napa Valley wineries are being targeted by thieves. And it’s not the pricey wine they are after. Instead, they are making off with the winery’s solar energy equipment.

Not exactly an easy feat, given that the solar panels, which are large and cumbersome, are usually bolted in place. And it’s not just one or two panels that are being taken. A couple of weeks ago, while wine lovers were gathering for the 2nd annual Solarbration celebration in Yountville, thieves were busy helping themselves to 40 solar panels from the Harris Ranch winery.

Meanwhile, both ZD Wines and Hoing Vineyard and Winery had been hit, not once, but twice. Together, these two wineries have had a total of 283 solar panels stolen.

So far there have been no arrests and no clear indication of why thieves are suddenly targeting these wineries. The only thing that all these wineries have in common, except wine, is that their solar panels were ground mounted and located in the middle of vineyards far from any buildings. Most of the other wineries around the valley have their solar panels located on the top of buildings.

Image: John-Morgan

Ever want to just pack up and move…your country?

If you haven’t heard by now, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives insists buying a new homeland may be the only option for the 300,000 islanders who selected him last year as the country’s first democratically-elected leader.

That’s because nightmarish climate change could drown the emerald chain of 1,200 islands and 26 coral atolls that make up the territory located 435 miles southwest of Sri Lanka in the Laccadine Sea of the Indian Ocean.

Location, location, location.

Yes, that’s the draw to this magnificent tourist escape, as well as the exact cause of the looming threat of a paradise lost under rising waters by the year 2100, as forecast by the United Nations. The ground level averages 1.5m above sea level and the highest point is at 2.3m – which is the lowest high point in the world, according to Wikipedia.

So, what’s a new leader to do? Shop and save.

“We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere,” Nasheed told the British Guardian after taking office. “It’s an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome. After all, the Israelis [began by buying] land in Palestine.”

The President told the Guardian that even a “small rise” in sea levels would inundate large parts of the archipelago.

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed (right) and Vice-President Hamid Ansari in Male

All eyes are on this rising star of Asia and his plan to set aside a portion of the Muslim country’s billion-dollar annual tourist income to invest in a new home, perhaps in Sri Lanka, India or Australia.

The Maldives is an unbelievably exclusive travel destination with spectacular resorts visited by the rich and famous. It’s where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes went on their honeymoon; they rented a boat and just sailed around the atolls. No cameras can get to you there. It’s as far away as you can get. And naturally, those running the resorts do well as everything costs a fortune.

The Four Seasons resort at the Maldives is one of many ultra luxury hotels

Speaking out against the government once cost a fortune in terms of freedom for Nasheed, who was arrested and sentenced to prison several times for his political activism, which included writing a popular magazine called Sangu. Having ascended to power he is wasting no time advocating for his people, including unveiling a plan last month to make his country a carbon-neutral nation within the next 10 years.

According to The Observer, the plan developed by British climate change experts Chris Goodall (author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet) and Mark Lynas seeks to establish a near-zero carbon economy by eliminating all fossil fuel use on the Maldive archipelago by 2020. Instead, it is calling for clean electricity to power homes, businesses and vehicles.

Features of the bold initiative include a new renewable electricity generation and transmission infrastructure with 155 large wind turbines, half a square kilometre of rooftop solar panels, and a biomass plant burning coconut husks. Battery banks would provide back-up storage for when neither wind nor solar energy is available.

As Goodall put it: “We don’t want to pretend that this plan is going to be easy to implement. There will be hiccups, and electricity supply will occasionally be disrupted. But we think that building a near-zero-carbon Maldives is a realistic challenge. Get it right and we will show the apathetic developed world that action is possible, and at reasonable cost.”

Norway also wants to be zero-carbon by 2030, but The Observer says the Norwegian plan lets a good percentage of global emissions to be offset by investments in forestry schemes abroad.

Meanwhile, Lynas believes Nasheed is on the “front line of climate change” as the Maldives is the most vulnerable country in the world. “It is a poor country, but here we have a government that is throwing down the gauntlet to the rich, highly polluting countries,” he said.

The price is huge, said to be about $110m a year for 10 years, but could pay for itself in time as the nation will no longer rely on imported oil products for electricity generation, transport and other functions.

As Nasheed sees it, it’s a small price when you consider the alternative of watching rich polluting world powers ruin your land.

“Climate change is a global emergency,” he reminds us. “The world is in danger of going into cardiac arrest, yet we behave as if we’ve caught a common cold. Today, the Maldives has announced plans to become the world’s most eco-friendly country. I can only hope other nations follow suit.”

If you’ve been thinking of installing solar panels in your house but have been holding off because of the cost, Veranda Solar, a start up company founded by two recent Stanford University graduates, may just be what you’ve been waiting for.

The two graduates – Capra J’neva and Emilie Fetscher – created and produced flower-shaped solar panels that can hang out your window or clip to gutters and balconies as part of their Masters project.

Easily installed, each panel can work as an individual unit or can be snapped to other panels for greater effect. Add in a solar inverter that plugs into a wall socket and you’re good to go.

The direct current (DC) electricity that is collected by the solar panel or panels will pass through the solar inverter and turn into alternating current (AC) electricity that can be used in the electric grid.

Veranda Solar won second prize at the PICNIC Green Challenge last year which netted them 100,000 Euros to help them get up and running but they are still in the fund raising stage of business. Once funded, they plan on manufacturing and marketing these new look panels, selling each for around $600.

A  starter solar system that expands as your budget does – what more could you ask for? Hopefully, we’ll be seeing these panels on the market later this year.

Image: Matt McGee