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Environmental Impact of the Ubiquitous Microchip

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-isn't-that-depressing dept.

TimWeigel writes "The Japan Times is reporting the results of a study by the United Nations University on the environmental impact of michrochip production. We've already seen the impact of disposal practices, but is the manufacturing more environmentally friendly? Turns out it ain't necessarily so - according to the study, producing and using a 32MB DRAM chip weighing 2 grams requires 32 kg of water, 1.6 kg of fossil fuels, 700 g of elemental gases, and 72 g of other chemicals, many of which are hazardous. I'm no environmentalist, but this looks like it might add up to more bad news when you consider that these things are cranked out by the millions each year." Update: 01/26 16:31 GMT by J : Yep, it's a dupe.

3 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. A solution to dupes by NSParadox · · Score: 2, Interesting

    We need a solution to the site maintainers duping!

    Who here wants to jump into the SlashCode source with me and code in moderation on maintainers so we can fire current ones and get better ones? :)

    --
    Unless mankind redesigns itself .... robots will take over our world. (Stephen Hawking)
  2. Printers... by skermit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This was a coincidental article to read when I was browsing the morning circulars today looking for printer cartridge replacements. Why bother with $35+ a piece cartridges (one for black and one for color) when I can just get a NEW printer for $60, trashing the old printer and adding about a cubic foot of trash, and god knows how much in invested energy/resources. At least they're starting to recycle cartridges now, but if they're going to remain this expensive, why bother? In the interest of Gaia, I think I'll bite the bullet and buy the cartridges... Damned social conscience...

    --
    -Christopher Wu
    http://www.christopherwu.net/
  3. Eliminating the dupes by BeforeCoffee · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Here's and idea I just thinked:

    One of the perks of having the highest karma ratings on Slashdot could be that the top 50 users could see a story for the first 5 minutes before comments could be taken on that story. So that we can eliminate these pesky dupes once and for all, those users could be given a "this looks like a dupe" button. If the button is pressed by one of the chosen few, then the story could return to the poster for review and possibly cancellation, saving both time and embarrassment.

    I like my idea, however I cannot foresee what the negative astroturfing aspects of this feature might wind up being.

    I definitely wrote this before coffee, so all standard disclaimers apply.