Paperless?

Yesterday, while reading GRS I came upon this post which fits in with my current ruminations about letting go of the newspapers in our lives. I know it is a hard idea to get your mind around, especially when the banks are all clamoring for us to go "paperless" and the utilities, credit card companies, and anyone else who can have already started using an electronic debting system even though we wrote them a check. It is really difficult to trust these changes. For one, who trusts the companies who are fostering them? And who trusts completely the electronic storage systems that we all have seen break down or delete info or simply mis-file it?


I like the fact that several comments about this recommend a paper backup system of essential docs. That means that we can reduce the paper in our cluttered lives without losing complete control of our own information. And it seems to me that those individuals who recommend this system are more likely to listen the idea of giving up the actual newspaper for its online version. In fact they are probably already doing it.

The great unwashed is the target here. We may all be computer connected one way or another but there are no doubt millions of people who aren't and may never be. So how do I address this problem and build trust into the possiblity that we could live in a future that has learned how to use its resources responsibly?