Philosopher Gene Sage is aghast at the 'speed mania' culture of electronic technology in the United States.
The need for speed pervades our whole culture, from fast food to pharmaceuticals. Investors demand a quick return, so businesses run at a frenetic pace and high speed technology is an integral part of this scenario; a computer and a zoomy internet connection is now essential to keep pace. The electronics industry is a prime example of fast growing business. Having only developed some 30 years old, it now
plays an essential role in the Information Age. Amid all this speed, slow down for a moment or two and consider three myths
about this new high tech ingredient in our culture. Myth Number One: The high tech industry is a clean industry.
High tech corporations are not associated with black smoke and soot belching from chimneys. Mobile phones are the icon of
the wireless age; small, innocuous tools that are constantly diminishing in size while enlarging their potency in their
unique new realm - cyberspace. However, computers, mobile phones and their kin contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury which damage both the environment and human health. These devices are increasing exponentially and it's disturbing that only 10% of them get
recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US government's environmental research and regulatory body,
estimated that 40% of the lead in landfills is from discarded
electronics. Computer monitor glass contains lead - from landfills this leaches into the water, and then into fish, animals, and humans. Even in low concentrations, lead causes neurological damage to children and adults. Mercury is also used in many of
these devices - including the new liquid crystal display screens - again its toxic properties are pervasive. The high tech industry is not clean. What makes high tech products unusual, and ominous, is their increasing numbers,
their short life span before disposal, and their low recycle rate. E-waste has been touted as 'the world's fastest growing and potentially most dangerous waste problem.'[1] Myth Number Two: The new European Union standards for
electronics will cure all The EU's Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction on Certain Hazardous Materials (RoHS) directives will soon become universal; phasing out hazardous material and
requiring computers, mobile phones etc. to be recycled. The EU goals include visions of a day when lead and mercury are illegal and all computers are recycled. US companies,
wanting to produce electronics that sell worldwide, would need to set up policies and goals to meet the EU standards and
phase out hazardous materials. There will be some real progress, no doubt. But who will monitor the day-to-day realities of mass-production and recycling? The EU cannot
hope to monitor such a vast and fast growing business. Recycling of electronics is labour intensive, and poses a problem, it's unlikely that big electronics corporations
will establish their own inhouse recycling departments.
The WEEE and RoHS directives allow manufacturers to designate a 'third party' recycler, but on this score the American experience is shady at best. The UNICOR programme (a US federal prisons scheme) uses inmates to remove parts from computers for a pittance without adequate training or protection (i.e. gloves, goggles, masks)[2]. The same scenario
holds in India and China where computers exported from the US are often dismantled by under-aged workers[3][4]. Myth Number Three: The only way to solve environmental and health impact issues is through reform State solutions regarding environmental and health impacts of electronic technology is a worthy ideal and displays logic.
However, the present situation in the US is a patchwork of wildly different policies and practices. A uniform, comprehensive federal plan is what we need, but the 'land
of the free' is a topsy-turvy place. In recent history, environmental issues have not been a top priority and the federal government is the last body to take responsibility for environmental concerns. The most effective approaches have been through the actions of grassroots campaigners. A more reformist approach has been taken by mayors of several US cities to make real commitments to curb global warming despite federal apathy; states like California are miles ahead of the federal government where 'ground-breaking legislation...will impose the nation's toughest controls on global warming pollution.'[5] The new EU standards will help, but they are not a panacea. A close watch is needed on all levels, from the grassroots to federal, and international levels. Ironically, it is through the electronic tools of the Information Age that we can co-ordinate our efforts.
Gene Sager is a philosopher based at Palomar College, San Marcos, California
References
[1] Wall Street Journal, September 23, 2004
[2] Toxic Sweatshops: How UNICOR Prison Recycling Harms Workers, Communities, the Environment and the Recycling Industry, downloadable from www.etoxics.org/site/DocServer/ToxicSweatshops.pdf?docID=321 viewed 12/03/07
[3] Terence Chea, 'American Electronic Waste Contaminates China and India ', 17th August 2005, Mines and Communities, www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press708.htm viewed 12/03/07
[4] For more information about child labour in computer recylcing see: Lisa Batiwall 'One man's gadget is another man's poison', Infochange Toxic Tours, www.infochangeindia.org/toxictours18.jsp and 'Apple Campaign', Greenpeace International, www.greenpeace.org/apple/about.html
[5] Author unknown, 'Nature’s Voice', Natural Resource Defense Council, November 2006
plays an essential role in the Information Age. Amid all this speed, slow down for a moment or two and consider three myths
about this new high tech ingredient in our culture. Myth Number One: The high tech industry is a clean industry.
High tech corporations are not associated with black smoke and soot belching from chimneys. Mobile phones are the icon of
the wireless age; small, innocuous tools that are constantly diminishing in size while enlarging their potency in their
unique new realm - cyberspace. However, computers, mobile phones and their kin contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury which damage both the environment and human health. These devices are increasing exponentially and it's disturbing that only 10% of them get
recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US government's environmental research and regulatory body,
estimated that 40% of the lead in landfills is from discarded
electronics. Computer monitor glass contains lead - from landfills this leaches into the water, and then into fish, animals, and humans. Even in low concentrations, lead causes neurological damage to children and adults. Mercury is also used in many of
these devices - including the new liquid crystal display screens - again its toxic properties are pervasive. The high tech industry is not clean. What makes high tech products unusual, and ominous, is their increasing numbers,
their short life span before disposal, and their low recycle rate. E-waste has been touted as 'the world's fastest growing and potentially most dangerous waste problem.'[1] Myth Number Two: The new European Union standards for
electronics will cure all The EU's Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction on Certain Hazardous Materials (RoHS) directives will soon become universal; phasing out hazardous material and
requiring computers, mobile phones etc. to be recycled. The EU goals include visions of a day when lead and mercury are illegal and all computers are recycled. US companies,
wanting to produce electronics that sell worldwide, would need to set up policies and goals to meet the EU standards and
phase out hazardous materials. There will be some real progress, no doubt. But who will monitor the day-to-day realities of mass-production and recycling? The EU cannot
hope to monitor such a vast and fast growing business. Recycling of electronics is labour intensive, and poses a problem, it's unlikely that big electronics corporations
will establish their own inhouse recycling departments.
The WEEE and RoHS directives allow manufacturers to designate a 'third party' recycler, but on this score the American experience is shady at best. The UNICOR programme (a US federal prisons scheme) uses inmates to remove parts from computers for a pittance without adequate training or protection (i.e. gloves, goggles, masks)[2]. The same scenario
holds in India and China where computers exported from the US are often dismantled by under-aged workers[3][4]. Myth Number Three: The only way to solve environmental and health impact issues is through reform State solutions regarding environmental and health impacts of electronic technology is a worthy ideal and displays logic.
However, the present situation in the US is a patchwork of wildly different policies and practices. A uniform, comprehensive federal plan is what we need, but the 'land
of the free' is a topsy-turvy place. In recent history, environmental issues have not been a top priority and the federal government is the last body to take responsibility for environmental concerns. The most effective approaches have been through the actions of grassroots campaigners. A more reformist approach has been taken by mayors of several US cities to make real commitments to curb global warming despite federal apathy; states like California are miles ahead of the federal government where 'ground-breaking legislation...will impose the nation's toughest controls on global warming pollution.'[5] The new EU standards will help, but they are not a panacea. A close watch is needed on all levels, from the grassroots to federal, and international levels. Ironically, it is through the electronic tools of the Information Age that we can co-ordinate our efforts.
[1] Wall Street Journal, September 23, 2004
[2] Toxic Sweatshops: How UNICOR Prison Recycling Harms Workers, Communities, the Environment and the Recycling Industry, downloadable from www.etoxics.org/site/DocServer/ToxicSweatshops.pdf?docID=321 viewed 12/03/07
[3] Terence Chea, 'American Electronic Waste Contaminates China and India ', 17th August 2005, Mines and Communities, www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press708.htm viewed 12/03/07
[4] For more information about child labour in computer recylcing see: Lisa Batiwall 'One man's gadget is another man's poison', Infochange Toxic Tours, www.infochangeindia.org/toxictours18.jsp and 'Apple Campaign', Greenpeace International, www.greenpeace.org/apple/about.html
[5] Author unknown, 'Nature’s Voice', Natural Resource Defense Council, November 2006
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