60 Minutes aired this report last week on how even the e-waste we think we’ve recycled is being dumped in poor communities in China (and probably other countries too). It’s a rerun from last year, but still worth a watch.
Makes me wonder whether there are ways to make computers greener, either by using less toxic materials, or (perhaps more realistically) building them to last longer.
Another thought: I don’t own a car, shop often at farmers markets, tote groceries with reusable bags, recycle bottles and cans, and own exactly one new piece of furniture (my bed. everything else–the couches, wardrobes, tables, chairs, etc., are used). But when it comes to electronics, there’s no “green” option and there’s no way to go without at least a cell phone and a computer. To illustrate how indispensable they are: when I moved to DC a year ago, my first big household purchase was a laptop. As long as I could get online and talk on the phone, I didn’t care that for six weeks my sleeping bag passed for my bed and I was living out of suitcases and cardboard boxes. Technology was the key to making me feel decently settled. Everything else could wait.
Given that I can’t go without, the next-best responsible approach, it seems, is to resist the upgrades for as long as possible. I had my last phone for more than 3 years (failure to get the biennial upgrade in this case was more due to laziness and lack of access to a Verizon store while living in Alaska) and am aiming to keep this latest one for at least as long.
Jeannette
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