Comments on: No Technology is Truly Green: A guest post from Alyssa J. Pasquale

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:14:45 +0000

This reminds me of the cartoon of a little-boy scientist's mother saying to him, "You call this a clean room?"

Hey, do you know Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter? I guess they're at CalTech, not MIT or Harvard.

Nanotechnology is kind of scary, isn't it? I mean, do we really know what some of those tiny particles can do if they get into our bodies, which they can do through the skin, since they are so small?

As Mork would say, "Nano, nano."

By: John Costigane

John Costigane — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:14:06 +0000

I worked in an electronics clean-room years ago and the cover-all gear was reused for 1 month, then discarded. No thought was put into the waste issue, as landfill was not considered a problem then, in the UK.

As someone in the industry you should highlight the issue and find out about Zero Waste options. It takes individuals to start change.

By: Green Bean

Green Bean — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:07:52 +0000

What an eye opener! Thank you for the post.

By: Fake Plastic Fish

Fake Plastic Fish — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:22:59 +0000

Great comments. To me, the point is that green technology products are not without their environmental impact and we shouldn't be fooled into thinking that they are perfectly benign and therefore we can overconsume just as we would products considered "less green."

If I needed a new computer, I'd opt for the greenest one possible. But I'm not going to replace my perfectly good older model with a "green" one. And I'll look for a used model before buying new.

I'm not going to buy frivolous items like solar deck lights at all. They are not something I need and certainly not worth the environmental impact.

For me, the point of this knowledge is to be aware that no matter how "green" a technology is, it still has its impact and we need to be as aware of overconsumption as we might be otherwise.

And Lara, you're right. Finding ways to reduce the production waste in the first place is important too.

By: Amber

Amber — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:38:18 +0000

I've worked in a clean room, but it was a decade ago and I was less aware. Thinking back there really was a LOT of waste that occurred. And then there were the horrifying chemicals.

I think that sometimes it's acceptable to invest in technology in order to have a greater benefit. If you're able to reduce waste for everyone by running a wasteful lab it might work out in the long run. But you're right, it will never be perfect, and in some cases the best option is the old-fashioned one.

By: Lara S.

Lara S. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:06:00 +0000

Alyssa,
it was very interesting to find out about plastic waste in an area I know nothing about. But I don't really see the connection between the knowledge I now have, and being able to do something to change things. What I mean is that, if the message is "buy less products because waste is produced as it is created", I totally agree, but... is there any alternative? I mean, we need technology. We should buy only as much as we need, but we still need it. So I'd like it if you proposed alternatives to this waste; maybe you could find a way to reduce the waste produced in this area. A good point to start thinking about this might be "how would I work if *insert wasteful item here* wasn't available?"

I hope I make myself clear; english is not my language.

By: Clif

Clif — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:57:37 +0000

Interesting post, Alyssa.

Speaking of LED's, I noticed last night that new LED streetlights have appeared nearby. They are too bright to look at directly but the light is directed down only and not up and down the street into driver's eyes

This is a good example of plastic put to good use. Long ago the word plastic meant something that could be easily deformed and shaped. In the current world, plastic means just about anything and, it seems from your examples, everything.

Since it is a miraculous material that can be designed to do and be anything, there won't be any putting it back in a box. I think even if all the dangers of plastic were laid out for folks, they'd continue using it as always. Not to say that ignorance is bliss and that Beth shouldn't be informing us as she does.

The test case, I think, is the plastic bottle. There are so many down sides to plastic bottles but the convenience seems to over-ride all of them. If there is a revulsion to plastic, I'd expect evidence of it to first appear in sales of bottled water.