I have long been concerned about the production and consumption of electronic products. It is one of the most polluting manufacturing processes and the problem is the continual need to upgrade never ends from cell phones to laptops to IPODs on and on. The electronic waste is shameful and extremely harmful to the environment. Check out the photographer Chris Jordan’s website to get an idea of the waste we generate: http://www.chrisjordan.com/
It prevents us from enjoying the present moment, enjoying people’s company, a sense of community and the ability to truly listen. I also am concerned about the radiation from cell phones, wi-fi and other radio technology that permeates our environment and impacts our health.
We have made a commitment to continue using the “outdated” technology we currently have until it breaks. When it breaks, we purchase used or re-furbished electronic devices. We have never purchased a television -we have been given them by people who are buying new ones.
If we want to reduce our environmental impact we must avoid the technology trap - it is a corporate gimic to get us to continually buy more.
This post was submitted by Gail Coffey.
You’ve got a good point.
Embodied energy blew my mind when it hit home. When one extracts and refines metals - all of that energy leaves you with something that can be recycled. But when we engineer electronic parts - nearly all of the energy goes into the engineering and none of it can be recycled!
I’m all for a “power down” future. Don’t buy the crap - connect with people and nature. Technology is wonderful stuff (I’m an engineer) but it’s not the way forward; technology has become the problem.
As for “radiation”; it’s not something that I’m too concerned about. What worries me much more is those “man made” chemicals that we create and dump into the biosphere. Why aren’t there any “woman made” chemicals? Once dumped we can’t get it out. If it’s heavy metal laced fluoride which the poison our water with (all of it accumulating in our streams and lake) or drugs (mostly pass right thru the body and go right into the lakes and rivers). That stuff will last forever. Electricity can be turned off (short of the nuclear toxic waste, coal tailings …). One interesting book was The Deadly Dozen and another Slow Death By Rubber Duck. Radition, if it’s a problem, is easy to deal with … not so the chemicals.
Comment by Eric — January 27, 2010 @ 11:58 am