KATE THOMPSON DAVY: Tech’s dirty secret, and the environmental cost of your streaming habit
So you’ve bought a metal drinking straw, but what about your carbon-thirsty gadgets?
In my most recent column, as a parting shot I mentioned how Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles “is akin to making them coal-powered”. Well, it is a thought that’s been nagging at me since. Most of us know there is an environmental cost baked into our gadgets and software, but it is not as well understood as, say, PET bottles, shopping bags, microplastics or straws. That lack of clarity allows tech consumers and tech companies to get away with the bare minimum of eco responsibility.
There have been significant campaigns to drive behaviour change for common consumables, but considerably less of a spotlight on tech’s environmental impact. This is why takeaways now feature a soon-to-be-soggy cardboard straw, but most people haven’t given a moment’s thought to the packaging and components a drawer full of tech represents...
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