Effects of technology on the environment

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Effects of technology on the environment

Water - Toxic Materials

The raw materials and processed ores are then used to manufacture the components used in our digital electronics devices. A certain amount of waste is produced at this stage, as sheets of metal are cut into parts. Other steps in manufacturing have environmental costs as well. Many parts of a digital assembly—from a hard drive to a smartphone—need repeated cleaning and treatment, often requiring the use of toxic solvents.

Even when a harmless solvent such as water is used, however, it becomes loaded with harmful chemicals such as heavy metals. A typical semiconductor chip fab uses between 2 and 4 million gallons of water per day. Some of this water is cleaned, but that does not happen in all cases, resulting in damage to the local water supplies.

Rocks - Ore Mining

Some sources estimate that 320 tons of gold are used in digital electronics every year. We also use large quantities of steel and aluminum for computer cases, as well as copper for wiring and other electrical conductors.

And there are materials that are essential to digital electronics. These substances are key to components such as hard drives, batteries, and displays. All of those substances come from mines. Mining creates enormous amounts of unwanted waste material that can damage ecosystems by causing soil erosion, deforestation, release toxins harmful to air and water and alter landscapes.

Fauna & Humans - Soil and Water Pollution

Efforts are made to recycle electronic equipment, but it is a complex and expensive process and so far too much of this material ends up in the normal waste stream and winds up in landfills. Few of these materials biodegrade, plus many materials succumb to corrosion and other destructive forces. They can release heavy metals and other toxins that can eventually find their way underground or in water sources.

Once toxins find their ways into water sources, they can be ingested by fish in the water and animals and humans that use the water source for drinking. The toxins are not bio-degradable and so they would just sit underground. If a seed is planted in the contaminated soil, there is a chance that the seed does not grow or it grows with the toxins in the soil both of which would lead to harmful effects for fauna and humans

Flora - Air Pollution

It takes energy to move an object from here to there. Much of electronic equipment is transported by ocean freighters in shipping containers, which is one of the most efficient means available, but it adds up. (About 90 percent of global trade travels at least part of its journey on ships.)

We tend to think of freight containers filled with finished products. However, the shipping bill has been building ever since the first mining machines were delivered to the mines at the start of this process. While efficient, ships use low-grade fuel oil that contains sulfur and can be highly polluting.