Topic 5 Environmental Impacts

How to investigate and discuss computer
technologies

When new computer technologies are introduced, several
issues need to be considered in addition to the technical
feasibility of any solution. These include:

Computer
technology

Ethical issues

Legal issues

Environmental

issues

Privacy issues

Poll

Have you ever considered the environmental impact before purchasing a new electronic gadget?

• • Always

• • Often

• • Sometimes

• • Rarely

  • Never

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Draw

What are the positive and negative impacts of computing on the environment?

Multiple Select

Choose all the types of toxic waste found inside computers...

• Cadmium

• Lead

• Mercury

• Iron

Look at this. What do you think? Do you feel responsible for
something that doesn't happen on your doorstep? Should you feel
responsible? Should you be responsible?

The ethics surrounding this is questionable. Approximately 50 million tonnes of e-waste
are shipped to developing countries including India, Pakistan, China and
Nigeria. Agbogbloshie (in Ghana) is home to the world’s largest e-waste dump –
potentially the most toxic place on earth.

•Technology sold as of 2016:

• Nintendo DS: 154 million
• Xbox: 160 million
• PlayStation 1-4: 448 million
• Smartphones: 1.5 billion

•Our appetite for technology puts
a huge demand on our natural
resources – which are finite.

Manufacturing computing
technologies

Multiple Choice

What does it mean "make a living for themselves"?

• have a better life

• earn enough money

Open Ended

What are the materials listed?

Multiple Choice

What's Mustafah's job?

• worker

• dismantler

Multiple Choice

E-waste refers to any form of _____________ electrical or electronic equipment, including those destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal.

• discarded

• expensive

• unwanted

• working

Manufacturing computing technologies

Multiple Choice

How many units of popular games consoles have been sold so far?

• 450 million

• 1.5 billion

• 160 million

• 154 million

Multiple Choice

What is the impact of shipping computing technology to countries with lower standards for disposal?

• No impact on the environment

• Exposure to potential danger for people in those countries

• Improved economic opportunities

• Increased recycling and sustainability

Two per cent of our global energy
consumption is used by data centres.

Energy consumption
of computing technology

Disposal of computing technologies

Alkali metals

Alkali-earth metals

Transition metals

Rare earths

Radioactive rare earths

Other metals

Semimetals
Non-metals
Noble gases

Hydrogen

Multiple Choice

What quantity of e-waste was predicted globally for 2017?

• 10 million tonnes

• 20 million tonnes

• 60 million tonnes

• 100 million tonnes

Multiple Choice

On what continent do you think this e-waste landfill site is most likely to be found?

• Europe

• Africa

• North America

• Australia

Disposal of
computing
technologies

•Old computing equipment is
often shipped to countries with
lower standards for disposal.

•Here, we see people sifting
through old computer parts to
salvage raw materials, which
exposes them to dangerous
chemicals.

Harmful materials include:

• Dioxins
• Chromium
• Mercury
• Cadmium
• Radioactive isotopes

Computing technology is often shipped to countries with lower standards for disposal. People trawl through computer
waste looking for metals to be recycled and sold, which exposes them to dangerous chemicals.

Disposal of computing technologies

Multiple Choice

What are some of the natural resources in limited supply used in computing technology?

• Plastic and aluminum

• Gold and silver

• Silicon and copper

• Fossil fuels and coal

Multiple Choice

In the manufacture of a computer and monitor weighing 24 kg, what equivalent weight of fossil fuels would be required?

• 24 kg (the same)

• 120 kg (five times)

• 240 kg (ten times)

• 480 kg (twenty times)

Multiple Choice

If a factory produces 40,000 semiconductors a month, how much water would it consume in one day?

• 1 million litres

• 10 million litres

• 20 million litres

• 50 million litres

Multiple Choice

What are some harmful materials found in computer equipment?

• Dioxins and chromium

• Gold and silver

• Silicon and copper

• Aluminum and plastic

Multiple Choice

What is the environmental impact of the 24-7 nature of the internet?

• Improved sustainability

• No impact on the environment

• Increased demand for natural resources

• Decrease in energy consumption

Multiple Choice

What is the impact of people trawling through waste looking for metals to be recycled and sold?

• Improved living conditions

• Increased economic opportunities

• Exposure to dangerous chemicals and environments

• Decreased environmental pollution

Multiple Choice

What is the approximate energy requirement for manufacturing a car or a refrigerator?

• Equal to their weight in fossil fuels

• Twice their weight in fossil fuels

• Ten times their weight in fossil fuels

• Half their weight in fossil fuels

SO WHAT ARE THE POSITIVES

5 surprising ways computers are
greening our planet
.

Cleaning up the 5.25 billion pieces of plastic
polluting our oceans

2. Tracking water quality with robots

SO WHAT ARE THE POSITIVES

5 surprising ways computers are
greening our planet

.

3. Cheaper wind energy

Reducing urban energy consumption

Saving trees with drones

Environmental issues

Manufacturing computers

Use

Disposal

A computer can take ten times its weight in fossil fuel to manufacture.

Picture of silicon

There are only a finite
number of natural
resources to build
computer technology with.

2%

Although modern computers consume low
amounts of electricity, they are often left
running permanently. Data centres account for
2% of the total global energy use – about the
same as air travel.

Toxic materials that computers
are made of include:
Dioxins

Chromium

Cadmium

Radioactive isotopes

Mercury

One particular problem with the
disposal of these materials is:

They are shipped to countries with lower standards for disposal. People trawl through this waste looking for metals to
be recycled and sold, exposing themselves to danger.

Ways the environmental impact of
digital services can be reduced:

Companies can use sustainable methods in their production. They can offer replacement/trade-in services for old
phones, which can then be refurbished and sold on at a reduced price, or key materials can be recycled and reused.

Multiple Select

Choose all the ways in which computing technology is also helping to protect the environment...

• Climate change - analysing data about global warming

• Disaster alerts - providing early warning systems for tsunamis and earthquakes

• Conservation - protecting endangered species and habitats using GPS and transponders

• Energy consumption - making buildings more energy efficient

Multiple Select

Choose all the ways of saving energy in a large organisation ...

• Laying out equipment so it can be cooled more effectively

• Use SSD drives instead of HDDs that use more energy

• Use modern LED monitors instead of older CRT monitors

• Setting the air conditioning to the coolest temperature

Multiple Choice

Which one is NOT an acronym related to the management of e-waste?

Multiple Choice

Which of these is a way that the widespread use of computers can help protect the environment?

• Less need for travel and transport of goods

• Due to online shopping people can make purchases 24/7/365

• Robots can manufacture more products than humans can

• Computers can be disposed of in local landfill sites

Multiple Choice

Which piece of advice is environmentally friendly by reducing the energy consumption of computers in an organisation?

• Set all computers on a power plan to go on automatic standby

• Use computers in a smaller area

• Use smaller sized computers with less RAM

• Keep the room temperature low

Multiple Choice

You are trying to reduce the energy consumed by digital devices in your home. Which action would have no effect?

• Shutdown or stand-by devices when not in use

• Change all hard disk drives to solid-state drives

• Use only portable devices rather than fixed desktop computers

• Make each device for a single user login only

Multiple Select

Facebook have built a large data centre in Lulea in northern Sweden. Choose all the reasons why you think they chose that location?

• Fewer people live there in case of a disaster

• There are many Swedish people working for Facebook

• Proximity to renewable hydroelectricity

• Naturally colder climate helps keep temperature down