What I noticed so far is that few comments propose solutions. Many people want strawberry icecream, few are willing to make it. Perhaps this is a useful angle; by pointing out what the author failed to describe, PG can still write its original comment.
FWIW, my reply emphasized 2 solutions which are already on the table. A few minutes with Google should suffice to find more details on each. 1. H.R. 2601, which adds an inexpensive renewal requirement [FYI, and not included in my reply, I believe this approach is backed by Lessig and the Creative Commons folks. It's actually a very clever way to give the big companies the long duration they fight for and to also free works that are genuinely orphans.] 2. Mike Godwin of Public Knowledge proposed that copyrighted material could be used prior to expiration if the new user has made a reasonable effort to contact the copyright owner (I favor both.) ... NOTE: it's helpful to put solutions in a little bit of context, even a 1 sentence description of PG and another sentence on what you personally get out of it and/or your vision of its benefit to society. (My reply was from a commercial perspective.) -- Cheers, Scott S. Lawton http://Classicosm.com/ - classic books http://ProductArchitect.com/ - consulting