When people talk about electronics and environmentalism, they tend to talk about planned obsolecence, rare earth metals, or pollution from manufacturing or recycling, which are all big problems of course, this is also something I’ve been wondering:

Most higher end electronics have metal casings made by CNC milling a solid piece of aluminum, magnesium alloy, or another metal. I think it was first made popular by Apple with their Macbooks. The first problem that I can think of is that a casing needs to be hollow, so you’re starting out with a solid piece of metal and carving it until most of it is gone, and even though the metal shavings can be recycled, both the CNC and the recycling process require energy, and the milling process also requires a constant stream of petroleum-based lubricant (though I’m not sure if you can just use something cleaner like water or if the oil can be reused).

Even if one uses electronics for as long as possible before upgrading (in which case most people want to future-proof by getting something higher end), do metal casings pose a sustainability problem? How does it compare to its main competitor, making casings out of plastic? Are there any other alternatives that are better than either? Maybe cast metal casings?

  • linkert@lemmy.ml
    1·
    4 years ago

    That’s to say nothing of the fact that the majority of environmental destruction is caused by greed of the rich in deliberately refusing to implement less profitable but more sustainable measures, and isn’t really the fault of the personal activities and “luxuries” enjoyed by the common citizen. If rich greed was taken out of the equation, I’m confident that things like transportation and computers can and will be pulled off sustainably and with even better user experience.

    I get that the ultra rich are living life that are basically science fiction by now. But that can’t be the whole story as companies don’t do jack shit if there isn’t a buck in for them. I consider my self rich. I live an average westerner life - Me and the wife are payed enough to pay for a three room apartment, two kids and a save some. I work a stressful job eight hours a workday and sometimes an hour or so on sundays to make sure everything is set for monday morning. In-between kids and free time I have time to moan about issues on the internet.

    I like any other salery-dependants enjoy inexpensive apples (and other fruit) - with covid cheap fruit picking immigrant labor ended and the price for apples have almost dubbled - “cUz $wEdEs neEd MoRe MoneY tO PiCk ÄpPlE”. We all hate Amazon, Apple, Nestlé and [Others] but we all enjoy cheap gods and services. It’s we who are the consumers and it’s disgusting. We soothe ourselves by buying into the green washing - telling ourselves “it’s the rich who are wasteful, I’m just filling my needs”. It’s bull.

    It’s all of us that are the problem - rich, mid or semi-alive human beings.

    I think our best bet would be socialism (not “social democracy”, which is just capitalist but with more regulations, but actual Marxist socialism). Planned economy placing the environment on high priority, but obviously also prioritizing the health and happiness of the people, both mental and physical. Maybe that means giving up personal computers, maybe not, but tribalism and “returning to how humans lived originally”, which many environmentalists seem to talk about, isn’t going to work for the entire world if we want to keep our long lifespans and not do a horrible cull of the human race.

    I’d argue planned economies can also be extra great at destroying the planet and harvesting resources because it can do so in a structured central manner. From an idea to reality in a coordinated high efficient way. From swamps and trapper culture to space exploration in no time. I’ll flirt with Marx any day but I have a hard time seeing how it would solve our greedy materialistic ways as a culture - you can’t tell the up and coming economies of the world (India, China and such) to cut their greedy ways because we enlightened westerners have suddenly grown-up and realized our way is not the right way.