Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to re: Killing an environmental monster

Electricity, Electricity
Mary Anne — (archived)

There's always a cost. Electricity production is not without its environmental impact, either.

I wonder how many toxic chemicals go into waste dumps and from there into drinking water because of the broken electronic devices we throw out.

On the other hand, newspapers have become partially electronic to give the net users what they want, which is the reason so many people can copy and paste the articles they produce at little or no cost, the reason this whole discussion began. Newspapers can be, and often are, produced in hard copy on recycled newsprint. There are other uses, not news-related, for used newpapers, which those of us who work with children are well aware of.

And, not to put too fine a point on it, more people can afford a newspaper -- even a subscription -- than can afford a computer and net access. Believe me: this is my world. People line up to use our public terminals in the Library because they had a computer that's broken and they can afford to replace it, or they had to drop their cable or DSL service, or they could never afford a computer in the first place. The people who use our wireless are also many: they can get a no-frills little laptop, but we're the only free hotspot they can rely on. I don't know what people in truly rural areas do, and the cities are worse. You may be a Net Expert, but I know the people who can't afford to live in your world. The brave new world of universal access will be universally available to those who can pay for the equipment.

Nothing produced by humans is free. Some costs are more obvious than others

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