Outsourcing…
Time recently published an article called “Your Laptop’s Dirty Little Secret”, and it brought up a number of issues. It focuses on the fact that electronic waste gets shipped off from western regions such as the U.S. to emerging countries, and explores the impact of this on those countries. I found the article truly eye-opening, as it isn’t one which gets a lot of press or media coverage, in contrast to other forms of pollution. More traditional industries such as the heavy metal industry have been sensationalized whenever they raise any environmental issues.
The fact that it does not get as much press has also meant that the electronics industry has been thought of as a “clean” by much of the public. This in turn has resulted in the average consumer feeling a lot more comfortable buying from the electronics industry, armed with the knowledge they aren’t doing too much bad in the world. The article also noted that the U.S had refused to join a convention to ban such an export of toxic waste, and that it was the primary reason why the dumping has continued. I found that especially surprising, considering that the U.S. has taken such prominent steps to be Green. Looking at the other side, it is quite saddening to see that developing nations are willing to take on such waste for money, but altogether not very surprising. Often, there is a cost to economic growth and developing, and the environment usually bears that cost. I guess that the only way such a dumping will stop is if greater awareness is raised, countries start developing a conscience, and we as individuals start taking the initiative in curtailing our purchases of electronic products.
Looks like not everything that gets outsourced is good.
Tags: Developing countries, Electronics, Pollution
