Welcome to The Digital Environment! The Internet has changed our world dramatically, and not always for the better. Here you can learn about environmental issues related to computers and the Internet and what you can do to minimize your environmental impact.
Trey
Cyber Defender &
Message Center Supervisor
As an environmental activist, Trey believes that technology has the potential to improve our world, but only if it is used and created responsibly. He encourages people to become aware of their actions and to make simple changes in their lives that will have a big impact on the environment.
A recent graduate of the Academy (class of '07), Trey runs the Message Center in Cyberspace. He loves communicating via email because it is quick, easy, and reduces paper waste.
Favorite Quote:
When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.
- John Muir
Vegetable Curry
Interests:Ultimate frisbee, Gardening, Recycling trash into treasure
December 10 2008
Environmental Issues: How Technology can harm the Environment
Sometimes we get so lost in the excitement of developing and using new technologies that we don't thoroughly examine their effect on the world around us. In my last post I shared some of the positive effects technology has had on the environment. Here are a few of the ways that technology harms the environment:
- Pollution - Air, water, heat, and noise pollution can all be caused by producing and using technology
- Consuming resources - Non-renewable resources, including precious metals like gold, are used to make technology. Many others, such as coal, are consumed to generate the electricity to use technology. Even some renewable resources, like trees and water, are becoming contaminated or are used up faster than they can renew themselves because of technology.
- Waste - Manufacturing technology creates large amounts of waste, and used computers and electronics get thrown out when they break or become outdated. Called "technotrash," these electronics contain all sorts of hazardous materials that are very unsafe for the environment. They need to be disposed of using special methods.
- Disrupting ecology - Clearing land where animals used to live to build factories and allowing pollution to contaminate the food chain can greatly affect the environment's natural cycles.
- Health hazards - Using materials that can harm our health can cause cancer, and technology addiction can lead to other health problems like obesity and carpal tunnel syndrome.
As computers become faster, their energy needs and the amount of heat they produce have increased. Many of the technologies we use every day consume a lot more resources and power than they need to, and manufacturers are working to develop new technologies that don't cause as much harm.
In 2007 the Environmental Protection Agency created new energy efficiency standards to help reduce the harm created by using electronics. Any product that earns the Energy Star label uses 30 to 75% less electricity than a standard product. If Americans only purchased Energy Star computers, we would save almost $2 billion in energy costs each year and prevent the same amount of pollution as about 2 million cars.
You can encourage manufacturers by choosing to buy more energy-efficient and less hazardous electronics and by supporting companies that make protecting the environment a priority. You can also do your own part to reduce environmental impact by not being wasteful, by turning off your electronics when you aren't using them, and disposing of them safely and properly.