I received a fax reply today from David Suzuki regarding the question I asked him. To paraphrase, I asked Dr. Suzuki why he hadn’t released his an electronic version of his book, as a way of not only spreading his message, but also as a way of deflecting any potential criticism of him “hawking stuff” while lambasting our culture of consumption.
Dr. Suzuki replied:
Dear Mr. Wilson:
Thanks for your note and the suggestion. Unfortunately, my publisher is currently going down the tube so they’re not interested in new ideas but I’ll wait and see.
I don’t think it’s hypocritical to be hawking ideas that are still tied to material things. The issue is what and how much we consume.
David Suzuki
Perhaps “hypocritical” is too strong a word, but I still feel that if Suzuki were truly interested in changing the world, then releasing an electronic version of his book would accelerate that cause. After all, a recent press release from Suzuki’s own foundation protests the recent move in BC towards self-regulation of forestry industry. What better way to make a point than to publish the book electronically and help move forward the acceptance of electronic books as an alternative to chopping down forests? If you don’t like what the forest companies are doing, why provide the material that drives the demand for paper?
Though electronic books are currently second-rate substitutes for the real thing, they won’t get any better without increased consumer demand. Publishers, such as the publisher of Suzuki’s book, are hesitant to release something for nothing until they can be sure that there will be some way in the future to make a profit. That said, a number of authors and publishers have already realized that releasing a free electronic version of their books only help their sales, and are even backing that claim with numbers that prove their point.
