The environmental impact of computers is significant, involving various stages from production to disposal. The extraction of minerals like gold, copper, and lithium for computer manufacturing depletes natural resources and leads to substantial water usage.
Lots of computer waste gets dumped into water which turns the water into waste water
The average computer and monitor requires about 1.5 tons of water.
E-waste:
50-80% of US's E-waste is transported to china to be dumped
Pollution
Computers also contain lots of plastic which is mostly non- biodegradable
Computers contain heavy metals, such as lead and toxic chemicals that pollute the soil and contaminate groundwater
The average computer and monitor requires 530 pounds of fossil fuels and 48 pounds of chemicals
Usage
The electricity used to power these devices is often generated by burning fossil fuels, a natural resource
Production
To make these computers we mine minerals such as gold, copper, and lithium for use in electronic devices
damage to ecosystems
chemicals from production factories can get into the soil and water which can kill many species in those environment
A lot of ecosystems are wiped out to give space to factories that build these computers
Energy consumption
In the Us business world 1b dollars is wasted every year from people and companies not completely turning of their computers when they're not using them
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Ten years ago it was reported that US workers were wasting $2.8 billion every year in energy costs
Computers annual energy consumption is about 2600 MJ per year, which is x1.3 more than a refrigerator