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Well how much physical media has been lost, destroyed, degraded over the ages. The burning of the Library of Alexandra has been said to set mankind back Hundreds of years.
During revolutions it is popular to burn and destroy material from opposing ideas. Storing and preserving such media is a multi-generational activity, which requires a lot of capital, as well danger (from such revolutions), Digital Storage is cheap, and big. For under $10,000 a hobbies in digital archiving can collect enough data to fill up the worlds largest physical library in physical media. If we have thousands of people doing this hobby, who will then copy the data to new media, we are better off then we ever were.
The key advantage of digital media, the more times your copy it, the safer the data. Because a digital copy is an exact copy of the data. So unlike taking a Tape Recording of a Tape Recording by the 3rd or 4th copy its quality is nearly useless. Or trying to transcribe books, where errors from human translation happens (see the joke from Red Dwarf can happen.

Chinese river dolphins (of both the pink and white variety) are covered in a lesser-known but extremely good book by Douglas Adams called "Last Chance to See", which covers a variety of endangered species.

I love how the publicity for the dolphins led to a media circus that resulted in them actually being considered a delicacy in the area.

Choice quotes from the book here: Douglas Adams: Last Chance to See Quotes

• "I was a conservative. Then they changed what `conservative' was. Now what I am isn't conservative, and what is `conservative' seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you!"
  
  
  • And this proves what?

Apparently it proves that not everyone appreciates a good play on a Simpsons quote.

or in the spirit of naming browsers after SUVs:

They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety.

Well said, but I prefer:

A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty
Is worth a whole eternity in bondage. -- Arendt Hannahs

Reading random quotes by activists and great thinkers can be very enlightening, I highly recommend The Quotations Page, providing quotes since 1994 - quite inspiring.

For those of you who didn't get the reference...the Homer Simpson quote concerning volunteers

Geez, some people...

The quotes show his witty humour at work - pretty useful if you want to see what he is like when he is being light hearted, unlike in the serious interview.

I only wish I was the sort of geek who could draw well.
--
Clarity does not require the absence of impurities,