Is ICT good for the planet

Is ICT good for the planet?

I believe ICT benefits and causes problems to the planet. To begin with if we did not have ICT it would be almost impossible to discover and use sustainable sources of energy, like wind-turbines and solar panels, for example wind turbines are computer controlled. One function the computer controls is where the wind turbine is facing, it monitors which way the wind arriving from so that the turbine can create be the most effective in certain conditions.

Fossil fuels are inevitably going to run out so finding a source like we have is key and without ICT we would not have created this.

However, ICT has its drawbacks. Of course it produces pollution (quite a lot if you think about it). The manufacturing of the product, which requires mined materials, like copper, to be pieced together. Whatever is used to mine this raw material will most likely use fossil fuels, creating pollution. Then when the product has been made it has to shipped off to stores or even other countries to be sold which then uses more fossil fuels, When it is then finally running it is using power which is most likely going to come from power stations. One final drawback to ICT is that once you have finished with it or it malfunctions and cannot be used anymore, what do people generally do, they throw it in the bin never to be used again. This links into environmental factors as well because these computer parts, phones vending machines etc. will be rubbish and harmful chemicals such as lead arsenic and cadmium, but something has changed about that and many disused technological parts are being recycled to be made into more computer parts, so it is not all bad.  

  

Wind turbine plantation. 

Sustainable and environmental effects of technology have to be considered when making a product. Sustainable implies environmental, social and economical performance. This is key for companies who are making products, they need to think about these three things to create a profit, not only to get past the regulatory rules for making these items then they need to think about the longevity of the products life time. If we continue to advance in the technological world as we are then products will only have a short life span where it is popular to the public (where sales are high), and by then the company may have brought another product to replace it.

Take apple for example, every year they produce a new iPhone, and every year the product is better, higher resolution etc, and every year the old outdated phones go into land fills and this growth could be a large problem, as we will exhaust all of the resources needed to make this product. Then the pollution with last year’s product is the icing on the cake.

The rate at which we develop our technology is very fast and new technologies are going to be made. In the near future I hope that we will find better source of electricity than solar, wind or nuclear so that our lives can continue the way we want without having the issue of finding power.

There is also one final issue with electronic products and not only Apple do this, all of this big corporations have to have people piecing together the parts of the technology, they may have to get to the factory by traveling and then there is costs to that. Overall everything in products life cycle will produce pollution and there is not really much we can do to stop that.

 In conclusion I believe ICT is good for the planet, but only if we manage its pollution output and carbon footprint when we make the initial designs. Looking at the whole life of an electronic product through to its recycle and reuse segment at the concept stage will tackle the question of sustainable and environmental impacts.  

 References

Source one- http://www.sustainability-perspectives.com/perspective/sustainability-and-ict#article-more

Source two- https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/our-green-electricity/from-the-wind/how-windmills-work