14 DAY TRIAL // Just yesterday, environmental group Greenpeace released a new report saying that, by the end of 2014, a total of 2.5 billion mobiles, computers and tablets will be bought by gadget and gizmo aficionados worldwide.
What's more, the organization maintains that, since our love for electronics appears to only be getting stronger, the number of devices connected to the Internet will soon exceed the world's overall population.
Greenpeace is an environmental group, so some might be wondering why it is that, rather than go about its business planting trees and protesting fossil fuels, the organization is now lashing out at the global electronics industry.
The answer is quite simple: the more mobiles, computers and tables we buy, the more of our planet's resources we use and the more environmental pollution we cause. Simply put, our love for gadgets and gizmos is killing the planet.
In its report, dubbed “Green Gadgets: Designing the Future,” Greenpeace explains that the chief problem with electronics in this day and age is the fact that the majority of the devices made and sold on a global scale are not meant to last.
According to the organization, most of them have a lifespan of just a couple of years. When they get thrown away, the raw materials and chemicals than went into making them become waste, and this hardly spells “sustainability.”
“Today many of our products are designed to become obsolete with no or little ability to repair or upgrade, fuelling a throwaway culture that leads to greater resource consumption and creating mountains of waste,” the organization argues.
What's more, the environmental group maintains that, while busy piecing together a new generation of electronics, manufacturing centers – especially those in China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea – produce loads of pollution. This constitutes a threat not just to natural ecosystems, but also to human health.
To address these issues, Greenpeace recommends that manufacturing plants working with the electronics industry switch from using fossils fuels to keep up and running to being powered by environmentally friendly energy sources such as wind and solar.
“Apple is building the world's first electronics components factory powered only by renewable energy in the US. With solar power growing fast in manufacturing centers like China and Japan, wouldn't it be great if our devices were made with 100% renewable energy? It's time to think big,” the environmental group says.
Besides, the organization argues that folks in the electronics industry should take steps towards detoxing their supply chains, and see to it that the devices they make are free of dangerous compounds. Marketing gadgets that have a longer lifespan can also yield considerable environmental benefits.