Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3ProductionProductionMercury lamps in a LCD TVSlide 7Planned Obsolescence: “Designed for the Dump”Slide 9Planned ObsolescenceSlide 11Slide 12Consumption Perceived ObsolescenceConsumptionConsumptionSlide 16DisposalDisposal Foreign markets for e-wasteDisposal Foreign marketsSlide 20Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for ProductionSustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for ProductionFee based on LCASustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for RecyclingSustainable Development in Practice – Social SolutionsSlide 27Open-Source EcologyKey assumptions:Big PictureBig PictureSlide 32The materiality of the digital ageCountering the perceived placelessness of digital technologies and globalization more generally. ProductionConsumptionDisposalWhere does ‘stuff’ come from and where does it go?Is sustainable development possible?IBM’s Smarter Planet Campaign“A thinking, communicating planet will spur advances in everything from science and medicine, to business and technology... to possibilities not yet imagined... and will help billions of people join the global economy. When things communicate, systems connect. And when systems connect, the world gets smarter.”ProductionSilicon ValleyA high-tech ‘wafer’ProductionIt takes 1600 grams of fossil fuels required to produce a 2 gram microchip. It takes 1500-3000 kilograms to produce a car (1000-3000 kg).This means that materials used in the production of microchips are 630 times the mass of the final product, making energy and materials use in microchip manufacturing orders of magnitude greater than that for automobiles.Mercury lamps in a LCD TVPlanned Obsolescence:“Designed for the Dump”Cell Phone upgradesDigital TV conversionSoftware upgradesDisposable printersCan’t replace iPod batteryPlanned Obsolescence‘This is what we do. We eat our own children, and we do it faster and faster…that’s how we keep our lead’ - Andrew Grove, founder of Intel.There are 500 million obsolete computers in the U.S. alone. In California, that is 6,000 computers becoming obsolete each day-130 million cell phones are disposed of annually. -- 20 - 24 million TV’s and computers are stored annually in homes and offices. -- Only 10-13% of unwanted and obsolete computers are recycled.Where is the line between innovation and waste?ProductionKey Complexities: Global supply chains are not governable by the modern stateIs it possible to ‘decouple’ growth from resource use?ConsumptionPerceived ObsolescenceThe Zack Morris cell phone or iPhone?Don’t Live With Phone ShameConsumptionConsumption ConsumptionConsumptionKey Complexities:Our identities are bound up with what we consume.What are the limits and opportunities of ‘ethical shopping’?What would happen if everyone consumed like we do?DisposalDisposalForeign markets for e-wasteDisposal Foreign marketsDisposalKey complexity: How can we incorporate environmental justice with sustainability in the global supply chain?Sustainable Development•Sustainable development (SD) is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come. –Triple bottom-line: Economic, social, and environmentalSustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for ProductionExtended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is one method of incentivizing producers of electronics to reduce the use of toxics in their products.By requiring producers (manufacturers, brand names) to take back their products at end-of-life, producers would have an additional cost. To reduce that cost, they would eliminate toxics and redesign products so that they are easier to recycle. Fee paid by manufacturer to collect for recycling.Sustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for ProductionAn alternative to EPR would be a fee for each product based on life-cycle analysis (LCA). LCA is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from-cradle-to-grave (i.e., from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling).Essentially an inventory of everything that goes into a product, and everything that comes out.Fee based on LCAFor example, if Hewlett Packard were charged an upfront fee for the environmental costs of an individual product, like an HP dc5800 model, then there would be an incentive to do eco-friendly redesign.Difficult because of the complexity of electronic products – the different composition of plastics, metals, weight, chemical use, etc. – the sheer number of products, and rapid innovation.Sustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for RecyclingIf unethical ‘recyclers’ dump e-waste on poor countries, perhaps a labeling-scheme for recyclers can help.Similar to ‘fair trade’.Sustainable Development in Practice – Social SolutionsBoycotts. Living wage campaigns.Protests.Do-it-Yourself (DIY)Sustainable Development in Practice – Solutions for social change, production, and consumptionOpen-source technologies: Universal access to the ‘blueprints’ for technologies. Rather than buy something, and be controlled by corporate needs, make it yourself!Open-Source EcologyThe Global Village Construction SetMaker-labs at the Chicago Library, allowing members of the general public the opportunity to experiment with the cutting-edge technologies.Key assumptions:•Is SD about extending American levels of consumption and wealth to the rest of the world?•Does more wealth and consumption translate into higher quality of life?–Above a certain income level, the correlation breaks down. It is therefore possible to have a better quality of life without increasing material consumption.Big PictureSustainable development•is not only about technology•It is not only about living within limits•It is also about democracy.Big Picture•Reduce inequality or impose limits?“Humanity is thus caught in a conundrum. We are coming to understand ecological sustainability is primary, indeed, foundational for a sustainable society. But to achieve ecological sustainability will require geopolitical stability founded on greater international material equity ad environmental justice. At present, all of these goals are threatened by a morally bankrupt and ecologically naïve economic growth