P.S. You Should Read This

Even the best of intentions can be twisted. An article in the WSJ sheds light on how companies such as Rhodia have taken advantage of an UN rule, which was meant to curb pollution, and made money off it.

Rhodia is a chemical manufacturing company which destroys nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Under the UN rule, it can therefore receive pollution “credits” which it can sell to polluters in countries for revenue. The original plan was for money to flow from the richer countries to the poorer countries, thus incentivizing the poor countries to develop green technology. Companies such as Rhodia, however, take advantage of it and make enough money to de-incentivize their own countries from being green.

Although Rhodia claims that it is “committed’ to protecting the environment, figure make it is clear that the pollution credit business is profitable, far more than even their primary product, adipic acid. The UN also defends the rule, by saying that greenhouse gas cutting obligations are being fulfilled, even to the developed countries. Yet the fact remains that the primary purpose of the program is being undermined by Rhodia.

I guess the main takeaway from this situation would be that the UN will probably have to place tighter controls on the companies that it issues “credits” too. It definitely did have the right idea by trying to automate the process and using the markets, as it would require far too much work to deal with each organization individually. Sanctioning who they give credits to, and putting a cap on the number of the credits awarded per company, would go a long way in fixing this problem.

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.

I recently read a fascinating article on Business Week which focused on the use of biomaterials in consumer electronics. One of the devices featured is Morph, by Nokia. It truly is a remarkable invention, as it is a cell phone which is flexible enough to wrap around your wrist, can self-clean, have its own source of energy, as well as be able to analyze the air around it. What’s more, it isn’t even entirely made from your traditional electronics materials such as silicon and metal. The proteins found in insulin are melded together like spider silk, which is both and tough. Nokia recently released a video for the phone, outlining its potential.

Although there have been numerous innovative gadgets which have been invented recently, I was particularly struck by use of biomaterials. Morph isn’t the only one which uses it, as bioplastics have been invented to cope with rising fuel costs and DNA is being used to create extremely dense memory chips. Biomaterials and nanotechnology are the way of the future, and I find it ironical that we are no longer trying to shift away from our reliance on Nature. The globe’s current focus on being “green” and on “sustainable development” is a sign that we are finally coming to terms with the fact that we need nature, and will be dependent on it for years to come.