IT's a Waste

How Gartner predicts that almost 2% of the world's emissions
of carbon dioxide are caused by information technology products. This estimate
is based on the cumalative amount of energy used by IT products like PCs,
servers, cooling systems, printers etc. The world's aviation industry also
generates about 2% of carbon dioxide.

And, if that did not make you sit up, there is more...1.8 tons
of material, including fossil fuels, go into making a PC and its monitor.
Researchers have found that manufacturing one desktop computer and a 17-inch CRT
monitor uses at least 240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1,500 kgs
of water-a total of 1.8 tons of material.

At the end of their life cycles-which are pretty short-millions
of PCs are scrapped each year. Ever wonder what happens to all the old PCs in
the world? In 1998, around 21 mn PCs were becoming obsolete annually, according
to the National Recycling Coalition of the US. By 2007, the Coalition expected
the same figure to touch 500 mn. A large part of these end up buried in a
mountain of refuse in a landfill somewhere.

And, what goes inside a PC? Arsenic, nickel, lithium, cadmium,
chromium, and mercury...slow poison spelt in different ways, one could say. Now,
less metal and more PVC is being used, which makes computers harder to recycle.
The CPUs contain chromium, which can have its impact on DNA, as well as the
kidneys and the nervous system. CRT monitors usually contain five to eight
pounds of lead, which is required to protect users from radiation. If this is
dumped in a landfill with all our other household trash, it can get into ground
water.

Scary picture. The silver lining-and it is only a lining at
the moment-is that things are starting to happen. Various organizations have
established rules or guidelines for the proper disposal of electronic waste.
Three of the UN Global Compact's ten principles are dedicated to the
environment. While the involvement of the UN since 2000 has stirred up the
social responsibility of companies, the response has not been quite as favorable
as expected.

In the US, the National Recycling Coalition, in conjunction with
Dell, has its own initiatives to promote the recycling of electronic waste,
including grants to institutions interested in organizing computer collection
events. By 2009, Dell plans to recycle 275 mn pounds of products. IBM, HP, and
Apple have their own programs that take old computers back to recycle. Toshiba
Canada offers to recycle old computers, and also currently produces electronic
equipment that is RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive)
compliant.

Greenpeace tracks the e-waste policies of global manufacturers
and ranks them. Lenovo, Nokia, Sony-Ericsson are some of the companies who have
been doing well, while Apple, Sony, LG need to do more. In India, HCL's new
laptops are RoHS compliant while Wipro started its e-waste program last
September. But details are sketchy.

Clearly, we are going to hear more about this. Environment
friendly IT devices are going to increase in number-and give a marketing edge
to their suppliers. In the meantime, nothing stops us from switching off power
when not needed, resisting the mindless urge to upgrade, using more technology
but not necessarily buying more technology, and other small steps. Corporate
policies that aid environment also need to be put in place.

We do not have the power to create and replenish nature's
bounties, but at least we can work towards preserving them.

The author is editor-in-chief of CyberMedia,
the publisher of Dataquest.

He can be reached at shyamm@cybermedia.co.in