I love technology and use computers and a smart phone (Android). I know only one person who doesn't use at least a PC or a laptop, and she is well into her 80s and has no real interest. Everyone else I know is well into technology one way or another and I guess that if you are reading this, you are too!
The rise and rise of the mobile phone has placed these within reach of most and it tends to be that they are replaced fairly regularly - you may have, for example, a two-year contract on your phone that allows a replacement toward the end of that period (of course, the length of time will vary). The advantage to the user is that he or she can take advantage the latest technology without having to expend a great deal of money at one time - and technology (and sometimes gimmicks) can certainly be seen to advance with each new model. But what happens to the old, unwanted and now unloved technology? How much is recycled? I have to say that I don't know the answer to that right now, but this article in the Ask Jack blog of the Guardian got me thinking about it today and I think it's well worth a read.
We often say and hear it said that by using electronic communication, other resources, such as paper and ink may be saved, which may well be true, unless, of course, if we then print it out at home! Even if we don't print it out, we are still shifting resource use from paper to electronic and that isn't without its costs - how much extra electricity is required, for example, to power all these technological marvels? Again, I don't know the answer and feel it's something I should research to get a better handle on.
Mining has had a somewhat chequered past with its environmental impact often being detrimental, though, at least here in the UK, the regulations governing this activity are much more focussed on environmental responsibility and it might be expected that mining operations will leave an area better than would have happened in the past, though this is still somewhat controversial, and not all agree with the presence of mining in various areas of the UK. This was the topic of a BBC radio programme recently: What Lies Beneath, from the series, Costing the Earth. Mining, of course, provides the minerals needed by modern technology, so where do we stand if we love nature, love the countryside and love technology?
I have often mused that one day we will have mines on former landfill sites in order to reclaim discarded glass, metals and other materials that can be recycled from earlier times! What about today? We often make a big thing about recycling, but where does that come in the three Rs? - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - right at the end! We could even add a fourth R - Refashion, in other words, take an existing item and give it another use, or is that included in reuse?
All I can say is that the supplies of the Earth's resources are not without limit and we need to support initiatives to address the questions I have posed here (and many I haven't) if we are to work toward sustainability.
