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Dell does new eco-friendly desktops
Dell does new eco-friendly desktops:
Dell executives made the announcement during an afternoon event in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The company used the backdrop of one of Europe's best-known vacation destinations to highlight its efforts to cut back on the amount of hazardous materials in its products.
The company said its new OptiPlex systems are good first steps toward complying with the European Union's 2006 deadline to restrict the use of certain substances, such as lead, and eliminate the use of other metals, such as cadmium. Dell said it already complies with international environmental standards including GreenPC and Energy Star.
Dell said it also is avoiding brominated flame retardants and has virtually eliminated the use of halogenated flame retardants in desktop, notebook and server chassis plastic parts. Many of the reductions in hazardous materials are linked to the shift away from cathode ray tube, or CRT, monitors in favor of liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors.
In related news, Dell executives said they plan to increase by 50 percent the amount of used product recovered from customers in 2006.
Since last year, Dell said its Asset Recovery Services program has helped the company recover 24 million pounds of used product from U.S. customers. Worldwide, Dell said it recovered nearly 66 million pounds of product during the same period.
Posted by rshah on June 02, 2005| Comments (0)
WWF picks environmentally friendlier PC
WWF Germany will work with Fujitsu (Profile, Products, Articles) Siemens (Profile, Products, Articles) Computers GmbH to raise awareness of ways to reduce pollution from the production and disposal of IT equipment, they announced at a news conference at Cebit Friday.
The two came together when WWF Germany began searching for replacement PCs for its staff of 120. The environmental group set strict environmental specifications for the new machines: including low noise levels, low lead content and low energy consumption. The PCs also had to meet the requirements of the German "Blue Angel" environmental labeling plan and be free from brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Researchers have identified some BFRs as endocrine disruptors, meaning that they can interfere with hormonal mechanisms in the human body.
When WWF Germany settled on Fujitsu Siemens' Green PC, the company agreed to donate the machines free of charge as an expression of its support for the organization's aims.
Posted by rshah on March 19, 2005| Comments (0)
UN Study: Think upgrade before buying a new PC
UN Study: Think upgrade before buying a new PC
A United Nations University study into the environmental impact of personal computers, due to be published later Monday, has found that around 1.8 tons of raw material are required to manufacture the average desktop PC and monitor and that extending a machine's operational life through re-use holds a much greater potential for energy saving that recycling.
Posted by rshah on March 08, 2004| Comments (0)
Love in the Time of Benzene
Love in the Time of Benzene
In a trial widely followed in the valley, Ms. Hawes, a lawyer who specializes in occupational health cases, is helping to represent two retired I.B.M. electronics factory workers who say they have cancer because the company knowingly exposed them to hazardous chemicals. Her husband, Mr. Smith, who is also a lawyer, founded the nonprofit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition more than two decades ago and has been one of the valley's most dogged environmental activist ever since.
Posted by rshah on November 19, 2003| Comments (0)
Parents Sue School Over Wi-Fi
Parents Sue School Over Wi-Fi
A pioneering elementary school district outside Chicago has been sued for installing a wireless computer network by parents worried that exposure to the network's radio waves could harm their children.
Posted by rshah on October 20, 2003| Comments (0)
Silicon hogs
Silicon hogs
A new study tars microchip manufacturing as wasteful and inefficient. Whatever happened to high tech's squeaky-clean image?
Posted by rshah on November 13, 2002| Comments (0)
Agreement on Computer Recycling
Agreement on Computer Recycling
Responding to a growing problem of waste computer equipment, manufacturers and local governments have agreed in principle to set up a nationwide recycling program. Under the proposal, a fee — perhaps $25 or $30 — would be added to computer systems at the time of purchase. The collected money would finance a recycling program for computers and television sets. Most likely, the recycling would be handled by private rather than government organizations.
Posted by rshah on April 23, 2002| Comments (0)
California's old computers pollute Asia, report says
California's old computers pollute Asia, report says
Old computer parts hauled into California's recycling centers are more likely to wind up as toxic trash in Asia's waterways than as reused high- tech materials on store shelves, according to a report to be released today.
Posted by rshah on February 27, 2002| Comments (0)
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) is a diverse grassroots coalition that for almost twenty years has engaged in research, advocacy, and organizing associated with environmental and human health problems caused by the rapid growth of the high-tech electronics industry.
Posted by rshah on October 05, 2001| Comments (0)
Environmentally friendly technology can be profitable
Environmentally friendly technology can be profitable
More and more, experts say, companies that dismiss the notion of environmental stewardship of technology are tossing a profit opportunity in the landfill. There's evidence that companies that are looking at [the environment] are doing better.
Posted by rshah on September 27, 2001| Comments (0)
Poison Valley
Poison Valley
Is workers' health the price we pay for high-tech progress?
Posted by rshah on July 30, 2001| Comments (0)
Disposal or Recycling of Old Computers
Disposal or Recycling of Old Computers
he SF Chronicle has a lengthy article about the disposal or recycling of old computers, many with toxic components, see SF Chronicle
Posted by rshah on May 31, 2001| Comments (0)
Computers Breeding Harmful Fungus
Computers Breeding Harmful Fungus
The BBC has a story on several kinds of fungus proliferating among the dust inside computers. Hospitals are worried about the computers they use, especially in intensive care units." Now you can worry about Aspergillus fumigatus, too. (Or occasionally disinfect.), see also Slashdot
Posted by rshah on May 26, 2001| Comments (0)
Why Don't Servers Support Power Management?
Why Don't Servers Support Power Management?
Posted by rshah on February 01, 2001| Comments (0)
Does shopping online cause pollution?
Does shopping online cause pollution?
We started thinking about the idea of whether using overnight shipping was better or worse for the environment than going to the bookstore and buying it yourself
Posted by rshah on December 20, 2000| Comments (0)
IBM Offers Computer Recycling
IBM Offers Computer Recycling
IBM is offering to recycle old PC's (monitor included) for $29.99. They've made a deal with Envirocycle to do the recycling and UPS for discount shipping. The old computers are assessed and either refurbished and donated, or stripped for usable parts, recyclable content, and the remnants sent to disposal. Envirocycle has found a way to recycle the highly leaded glass in CRTs and removes much of the toxic lead content in the electronics."
Posted by rshah on November 15, 2000| Comments (0)
Environmental Damage from PCs
Environmental Damage from PCs
in Salon
Posted by rshah on September 20, 2000| Comments (0)
Recycling computers
Recycling computers
Reduces the negative environmental impact
Posted by rshah on June 29, 2000| Comments (0)
Environment and Silicon
Environment and Silicon
It's actually doing horrible damage to its workers and the environment.
Posted by rshah on June 24, 2000| Comments (0)