Thread: Paper vs. paperless: Which makes reading greener?
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Old 10-08-2009, 06:15 PM   #12
fugazied
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CO2 is one thing, but a lot of electronic devices use a lot of oil to produce the plastic they are encased in, then have additional sometimes toxic chemicals. I can't quite recall the name of the metal, I think it is chromite, that most electronic devices contain and there is a kind of 'blood diamond' style trade in it as children slaves work to produce it in African countries. It's in every iPhone, every PSP, every Kindle.

So producing the materials that go into an electronic device can be costly, then recycling the device is also problematic - how long does it take for a kindle plastic case to biodegrade? 1000+ years? Will it leech toxins into the soil as it does so?

Carbon is especially a problem for us in the short term if you subscribe to global warmin theory, but some of the other chemicals and plastics will also be a problem and many years to come.
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