[ Thanks to Amos
Batto for this link. ]
“More than any other technology of recent date, the computer has
become the quintessence of modern society. Computers have
transformed how we work, communicate, and entertain ourselves.
Computers fill our homes, our workplaces, and our imaginations in a
way that few technologies do. We spend much of our lives in
constant contact with computers. If we are not in front of a
monitor screen, we are likely to be found with cars, stereos, TVs,
and toys which have computer chips embedded inside. Perhaps the
very ubiquity of the computer in our lives causes us to loose sight
of the social and environmental impacts of our beloved technology.
In our minds, computers are the stuff of modernity–the clean and
efficient purveyors of information and entertainment which makes
our lives rich. We rarely question the costs of this technology,
even when we reach into our pocketbooks to buy another. With
increasing voraciousness we consume new computers and junk them
just as rapidly.“When confronted with your suddenly outmoded PC, the first
question you should ask yourself is not what type of new computer
to buy next, but why do we live in a world where the technology
which was so shiny and new a couple years ago is now the junk
poisoning our planet…”