Computers and the environment : understanding and managing their impacts / [edited by] Ruediger Kuehr and Eric Williams.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Kuehr, Ruediger.

Williams, Eric, 1965-

Series:

Eco-efficiency in industry and science ; v. 14.

Eco-efficiency in industry and science ; v. 14

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Microcomputers--Design and construction.

Microcomputers.

Industrial ecology.

Microcomputers--Materials--Recycling.

Green products.

Microcomputers--Environmental aspects.

Materials.

Physical Description:

viii, 285 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Dordrecht ; Boston : Kluwer Academic Publishers, [2003]

Summary:

Personal computers have made life convenient in many ways, but what about their impacts on the environment due to production, use and disposal? Manufacturing computers requires prodigious quantities of fossil fuels, toxic chemicals and water. Rapid improvements in performance mean we often buy a new machine every 1-3 years, which adds up to mountains of waste computers. How should societies respond to manage these environmental impacts? This volume addresses the environmental impacts and management of computers through a set of analyses on issues ranging from environmental assessment, technologies for recycling, consumer behaviour, strategies of computer manufacturing firms, and government policies. One conclusion is that extending the lifespan of computers (e.g. through reselling) is an environmentally and economically effective strategy that deserves more attention from governments, firms and the general public.

Contents:

1. Computers and the Environment

An Introduction To Understanding and Managing their Impacts / Ruediger Kuehr, German T. Velasquez, Eric Williams 1

2. Information Technology Products and the Environment / H. Scott Matthews, Deanna H. Matthews 17

3. Environmental Impacts in the Production of Personal Computers / Eric Williams 41

4. How the European Union's WEEE Directive Will Change the Market for Electronic Equipment

Two Scenarios / Klaus Hieronymi, Axel Schneider 73

5. IBM's Environmental Management of Product Aspects / Reinhard Hohn, Anne Brinkley 87

6. Environmental Management at Fujitsu Siemens Computers / Harald Podratzky 99

7. Energy Consumption and Personal Computers / Danielle Cole 131

8. PCs and Consumers

A Look at Green Demand, Use, and Disposal / Mohamed Saied, German T. Velasquez 161

9. Strategizing the End-of-life Handling of Personal Computers: Resell, Upgrade, Recycle / Eric Williams, Yukihiro Sasaki 183

10. Today's Markets for Used PCs

And Ways to Enhance Them / Eric Williams, Ruediger Kuehr 197

11. Recycling Personal Computers / Stefan Klatt 211

12. Operations of a Computer Equipment Resource Recovery Facility / Joseph Sarkis 231

13. Managing PCs through Policy: Review and Ways to Extend Lifespan / Ruediger Kuehr 253.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1402016794

OCLC:

53144863