Computer Industry : a more in-depth analysis of the top social or environmental issues and your recommendations for the company to address this issue - Assignment Example

Computer Industry and Environment [Supervisor’s Computer Industry and Environment The modern era is known to be the era of technology. The world is filled up with many types of gadgets and increasing in quantity and in kind day by day. It all began with the tremendous invention of calculators using relay technology and concluded with the most efficient technology from all of the previous known as integrated circuits. The review of prior technologies formed the basis of the power and the capabilities of today’s computers.

By the time span the computer industries started to grow due to the continuous increase in the demand of computers in multiple dimensions. Computer manufacturing companies like Apple incorporation became a market giant from a personal computer manufacturer. Other companies also stood out throughout the time in the business of computer industry (Allan, 2001). As it became a very successful business, number of companies started to manufacture computers to make the most profit out of it. The significant increase in production of computers has resulted in severe damage to the environment.

Manufacturing computers is intensive materially. The amount total fossil fuel used to produce one desktop computer is more than 240 kilograms. It is very high in comparison with other manufactured goods such as a car or a refrigerator, which can be produced in nearly the same amount of fossil fuels. The amount of electricity required to make one computer is about 2300 kilowatt-hours which translates into 740 kilograms of fossil fuels. The quantity of other chemicals which are used in the production of one computer is about 22 kilograms, and 1500 kilograms of water is also utilized.

The problems related to the use of fossil fuels like the change in climate, water deficiency in several areas and chemicals are serious and deserve proper attention (Kuehr & Williams, 2003). After production of the computer it is still harmful for the environment because of the consumption of electricity which is required to operate it. When it is not in use any longer it becomes waste which adds up to the total waste output. Computer also contains some chemicals which are hazardous to the environment if these are disposed.

The biggest threat those chemicals can be are contaminated water and air which cause severe health problems. The pollution is another important factor which is produced as a by product in the production of computers. The computer industry also requires chemical industries and plastic industries necessarily in order to produce computers with again increases the pollution to the eco system. It shows the interconnectedness of computer industry and environmental aspects (Hitchens, Clausen, & Klaus, 1999).

The production of computers is a massive profit statement for large multinationals who manufacture the materials required in the making of computers. The total amount of material sent down to the market is controlled by those large multinationals. The production of those materials is the result of many exploited workers who work in a highly toxic unhealthy environment. But the entire benefit of the whole scenario goes to the stake holders (Pickerill, 2003). There are some legislation formed to avoid the possible damage from the waste in which The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is included.

This is to reduce the amount of electronic or electrical waste by different means. There is another legislation in Maine i.e. The Producer Responsibility which is about the responsibility of the producer of any monitor or screen to be taken back after its life and recycled in a proper manner so it no longer harms the environment. This directly affects the stakeholders which are involved in computer industry such as the raw material manufacturers or the software developers who can be at stake with any possibility regarding the reduced production of computers in future.

(Hester & Harrison, 2009).The strategy raw material manufacturers should make to decrease the risks by implementing the plants for the proper disposal of the waste and recycling process. The giant manufacturers like Apple, Hewlett Packard, Dell, and Lenovo are using green technology which is environmental friendly and reduce the damage to the environment at an impressive rate (Claerr, 2011). The realization of the damage done to the environment is a huge developmental proceeding of sciences.

The interlinked nature of environment and industries is a certain fact which cannot be neglected. The business of computer industry only can be safe if the manufacturers continue to put efforts in reducing the damage to the environment. It should be the duty of the companies to manage the recycle and proper disposal of the toxic items which are a threat to this world. The Computer Industry cannot be stopped because of the need of this machine in today’s world but their production is always at stake because the environment is a more significant issue than computer is.

Reference List Allan, R. A. (2001). A History of the Personal Computer: The People and the Technology. London: Allan Publishing. Claerr, J. (2011, September 29). Going Green with Your Technology - Computers. Retrieved from www.brighthub.com: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-computing/articles/61813.aspx Hester, R. E., & Harrison, ,. R. (2009). Electronic waste management. Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry. Hitchens, D. M., Clausen, J., & Klaus, F. (1999). International Environmental Management Benchmarks: Best Practice Experiences.

Berlin: Springer. Kuehr, R., & Williams, E. (2003). Computers and the Environment: Understanding and Managing Their Impacts. Norwell: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Pickerill, J. (2003). Cyberprotest: Environmental Activism Online. Manchester: Manchester University Press.