The global electronics industry uses loads of resources, causes a lot of pollution

Sep 6, 2014 23:37 GMT  ·  By
The global electronics industry is fueling climate change, global warming
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   The global electronics industry is fueling climate change, global warming

Earlier this week, environmental group Greenpeace released a report saying that as many as 2.5 billion mobiles, computers and tablets would find loving homes by the end of this year.

“That’s terrific news! They all look so sad, sitting around in stores, waiting for somebody to pick them up and take them home,” some might want to say.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but Greenpeace’s estimate concerning electronics sales this year are not exactly good news. Not for public health and natural ecosystems worldwide, that is.

Let Me Break It Down for You

To keep afloat, the electronics industry needs to continuously use raw materials and energy to make new products, which it then sells to people.

Some companies, i.e. Nokia, Sony, Ericsson, and Apple, have taken steps towards improving on their ecological footprint by including more environmentally friendly materials in their supply chain, but many are yet to do so.

More precisely, clean electronics are estimated to account for about 50% of the gadgets and gizmos currently available on the global market. The remaining 50%, on the other hand, contain traces of dangerous compounds such as PVC and harmful flame retardants.

Apart from the fact that it still uses hazardous materials to make its products, the electronics industry is guilty of relying on dirty energy to keep up and running. This is especially true for suppliers in East Asia, where manufacturing processes are chiefly powered by fossil fuels.

Add to this the fact that most gadgets and gizmos are thrown away and replaced with brand new ones shortly after being bought, which leads to the creation of tons of e-waste, and it’s not all that difficult to figure out why greenheads don’t exactly like the electronics industry.

It is estimated that, under a business-as-usual scenario, the world will end up creating about 65.4 million metric tons of toxic e-waste in the year 2017 alone. One does not have to go around hugging trees day in, day out to figure out that this does not spell good news for the planet.

So, What Does This Have to Do with Us, Ordinary Folks?

OK, so the global electronics industry uses a lot of resources, causes environmental pollution, and fuels climate change and global warming. "What does this have to do with me?" some might be tempted to ask right about now.

Well, the thing about supply and demand is that they go hand in hand. Otherwise put, the reason the global electronics industry keeps creating and marketing products is that you are ready and willing to buy them.

Now, if you are one of those people who buy one gadget or another because you actually need it and not just because the company manufacturing it makes it sound oh so amazing – by the way, for those unaware, advertising campaigns are a form of manipulation – my apologies.

In fact, here’s a picture of a baby seal looking all cute and cuddly to make up for having taken up your time:

Cute baby seal is cute
Cute baby seal is cute

I don’t want to sound all preachy, so I’m not going to lash out at some people’s habit to get a new phone every other couple of months and replace their TV as soon as a new model comes out. Still, there are some things that I would very much like to point out.

Sustainability is not something high officials alone should bother themselves with. Sustainability starts with each and every one of us. Otherwise put, it’s our duty (to our planet, if you will) to keep our ecological footprint at a minimum, and we don’t even have to cover our home in solar panels to do so.

On the contrary, it’s simple things like holding on to a phone for more than just a few months and not buying a gadgets or a gizmo simply because we think that we would look really cool walking around with it that can make a huge difference.

Mind you, I’m not making a case for a glorious return to the Stone Age. I’m just saying that, simply by choosing to replace our mobiles, computers, tablets, and whatnot later rather than sooner (when we absolutely have to do so, to be more precise), we too can help limit climate change and global warming.

But hey, this is just my take on things. We can always agree to disagree. Just use the trustworthy comments section below to let me know what you think.

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