MS Vista an e-waste nightmare

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  1. #1

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    MS Vista an e-waste nightmare

    "Better" software?

    or more pollution? Pick one.

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    http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_d...d_str=20070129

    Vista opens up windows into e-waste nightmare

    Timothy Chui

    Monday, January 29, 2007

    Computer industry experts and environmental groups have joined Executive Council member and lawmaker Jasper Tsang Yok-sing in expressing concern over a potential spike in the number of obsolete computers and electronic waste in Hong Kong.

    The fright over nonbiodegradable electronic waste, which contains a bevy of toxic compounds, was sparked by the impending release of Microsoft Windows Vista operating system and its stringent hardware requirements.

    Tsang warned in the Legislative Council last week that up to half a million computers would need to be replaced in the SAR if the new system is introduced, triggering a major environmental problem for the territory.

    "The Vista launch will definitely have an impact on the two million Windows-based PCs in use in Hong Kong as only a small number of them are powerful enough to run the new operating system," the Hong Kong Computer Society said Sunday.

    The society said it expects larger businesses to be slower to adopt the new system as they would incur millions of dollars of investment in addition to extensive testing for compatibility.

    In comparison, small and medium- size companies are expected to adopt Vista as they replace or buy additional PCs. Households are also expected to join the bandwagon although this depends on individual spending power and computing needs.

    "There's no doubt that the upgrade would result in much application rewrites and obsolete hardware," a society spokesman said, urging the community to donate their obsolete PCs to underdeveloped countries.

    HKdotCOM managing director Maren Leizaola said: "As the RAM, CPU and video requirements to run Microsoft Vista are increasing substantially, the global electrical consumption is set to rocket. There're a lot of users who are going to be forced to change their PCs altogether for Windows Vista Capable and Premium Ready PCs, throwing the obsolete PCs into landfills.

    "Better hardware means more power, more cooling fans, bigger power supplies, and then ultimately, more air conditioning to make sure you aren't sweating as you use your PC. If you multiply the extra electricity, the heat generated by the hardware needed to run Vista, by the millions of PCs and laptops in the world, the numbers are scary.

    "This is going to force a lot of laptops to the landfills. Even though they may have the CPU and a good video card installed, they don't have the slots free to take the density for the RAM required. Macroeconomic trends are pointing at Vista as a huge success. Most of the big RAM manufacturers have sold out until the third quarter of next year - a first in the history of RAM."

    Nigel Shadbolt, president of the British Computer Society, said the release of Vista could see large numbers of old PCs discarded.

    "PCs contain many toxic components, so if they end up in a landfill, we'll be creating a real problem for the future. It can be really easy to pass on the old machine to be reused, and if it's beyond use, to recycle it," he said.

    But where do all the obsolete electronics go?

    Greenpeace said in December 2005: "Hong Kong is a free port for the world's electronic waste. China is quickly becoming the world's trash bin.

    "As much as 4,000 tonnes of toxic e-waste is discarded every hour. Many electronic products are routinely, and often illegally, shipped from Europe, Japan and the United States to China. Dumping them there is cheaper than taking proper care of them at home.

    "Because our mobile phones, computers and other electronic products are made using toxic ingredients, workers at yards such as in Guiyu, China, risk exposure when they break the products apart by hand, under appalling conditions."

    An August report by the Basel Action Network, a US-based environmental group, said: "Rather than having to face the e-waste problem squarely, the United States has made use of a convenient and, until now, hidden escape valve exporting the crisis to developing countries of Asia. Informed recycling industry sources estimate that between 50 to 80 percent of the e-waste collected for recycling in the western US are not recycled domestically, but are very quickly placed on container ships bound for destinations like China. Even the best-intentioned recyclers have been forced, due to market realities, to participate in this failed system."

    Computer components contain a wide array of toxic compounds that are absorbed or released by scavengers and burning. Flat screen displays, batteries and switches all contain mercury, which can lead to neurological and kidney damage. Lead used in computer monitors, circuit boards and soldering is highly toxic to humans and the environment.

    Rechargeable laptop batteries contain cadmium, which is known to damage bones and kidneys, and cause lung cancer. Brominated flame retardants used in circuit boards can damage the nervous, reproductive and endocrine systems. PVC plastic used to insulate wires are routinely burned off to extract the copper wiring, releasing phthalates, now the most widespread man-made pollutants in the environment.

    A study conducted by Greenpeace in mainland and Indian electronic waste sites have found concentrations of lead in dust samples to be several hundred times higher than the typical levels found in household dust in China, with lead particulates 10 to 20 times higher in sites studied in India.

    Responding to Tsang's concerns, the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau said it is confident that computers made in the past two years would be quickly taken up by a brisk second- hand market. The computer replacement trend is therefore not expected to significantly increase the amount of waste computers for disposal at landfills, a bureau employee said.


  2. #2

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    It is almost amazing to note that the alternatives are not even considered here.... what happened to linux??


  3. #3

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    Linux or XP, or what ever.. as long as we can keep using the same hardware for a few years.