Maybe not all tech is bad for the environment
I wrote yesterday about how we could not continue to consume the way we do and improve the climate, but then a small thought hit me concerning the smartphone.
To quote myself- 'Even if we ignore the planned obsolesce built in to many tech products today and the lack of longevity built into white goods, we perceive as households that we need laptops, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches, games consoles, more than one car, dishwashers, electric showers, smart lighting, automatic garage doors, house alarms, tumble dryers, multiple clothing choices for every possible occasion and so on, and in many of the cases above it would be one per individual in the household.'
But, it kind of works both ways. When I think of my iPhone, it is also my calculator, camera, camcorder, MP3 player, record player, tape player, games console, diary, torch, radio, map(s), clock, watch, book(s), wallet, notebook, my trip to the bank, my trip to the library, my photo album and if I spent more than 10 seconds thinking about it the list could get very long indeed.
Not all tech is here just for the sake of being tech, some of it potentially replaces so many other objects and activities that have always been bad for the environment. The problem is trying to calculate how much better or worse each solution is.