if i take notes all day on a tablet pc, plugging into an electrical outlet after about 2 hours (and then sucking coal-fueled electricity from an electrical socket the rest of the day), is that really more "green" than keeping things simple and taking notes with pen and paper?

i mean, going paperless is all the rage these days, but i'm not sold....

let's say i use 100% post-consumer recycled paper notepads, so i'm not supporting deforestation. wouldn't the carbon footprint be lower for using real paper than using CPU cycles?

well it depends...recycling papers also contains hidden costs (in terms of electricity and carbon footprint):

- transporting old paper to the recycling facility
- the recycling process itself requires electricity
- you have to go to the nearest convenience store to buy your ream of paper/notepad, which may require you to use your car

Personally I'm not a fan of all-electronics (even if I really love computers and technology): sometimes papertrail has its own merit, and I don't really like reading a book (or an article, or anything requiring more than a 10 minutes read) off a screen. I still prefer the good old paper...

Concerning taking notes, I prefer pen and paper, even if my handwriting is horrible! This way I don't have to fear running out of battery and out of reach of an electric outlet...

We need more data to answer that question:
a) what are the costs (CO2 wise) of recycling the paper you dispose of in your country
b) how much of the energy you consume is made up from CO2 emitting powerplants

I'd say my NIT does no more 2-3Wh a day under my average use, which, if 100% of your power is gas/coal powered, means a yearly 700-1000Wh. If we take the top estimate, that would mean a little less than 1kg of coal or a single litre of gasoline.

However, all this calculation is pointless. The energy your CPU consumes (unless you have a monster gaming rig which is on 24/7) is likely ridiculous compared to the amount of electricity/energy you directly (or indirectly) spend on heating, cooling, refrigerating, transportation, lighting, etc.

its too easy to lose paper.

i couldn't care less about the carbon footprint.
a device like this exists now and one will be with me for the rest of my life.

this explains it best
http://liqbase.net/liqbase_faster_than_paper.html

I tried taking notes with my tablet, but it can't compete with paper. Simply put, you don't need to charge a pen + paper and the "screen size" is bigger.

hordeman,
i would agree, but for years now i have written my notes in 4 columns on a4 landscape, a screensize of this is naturally perfect for my needs, and as a leftie I always had problem of smudging.

I still use paper for certain concepts at the moment, but you can bet your *** as soon as I can afford a big enough 225dpi slate I am having one!

I want the same notes to be available on my pin board and to remember what I ate for lunch and for what I have done during the day.

And the tablet is probably already on, so energy considerations are pretty small.

Joe.