April 20, 2006 Special Report: Are Computers Destroying The Earth? By Jennifer Bosavage and Jennifer Maselli Courtesy of InformationWeek Page 1 of 6 Are computers and their electronic cohorts -- cell phones, PDAs, media players, and so on -- good or bad for the environment? It's a question that's likely to raise both tempers and voices. One person asserts that the benefits computers bring to humanity far outweigh the space they take up in our landfills, while another just as fervently contends that the waste from electronic equipment is doing so much damage to the earth that all our technological advances count for nothing. Earth Day falls on April 22 this year, and in honor of the event, we've set freelance reporters Jennifer Maselli and Jennifer Bosavage to grapple over one of today's most important issues: the effect that technology has on our environment. Each writer will do her best to convince you why computers are saving the planet -- or wrecking it. Once you've read their arguments, head on over to our reader poll and weigh in on the question: Are computers and technology good or bad for the environment? If either article motivates you to do something about the situation, we have included a final page of tips on how you can embrace technology and be friendly to the environment at the same time. To share your own tips or weigh in on the debate, please submit a comment to the blog Is Your PC EC? Special Report: Are Computers Destroying The Earth? •  Introduction •  Computers Don't Pollute -- People Do •  Don't Kid Yourself -- E-Waste Is Evil •  How You Can Make A Difference •  Vote: Are Computers Good Or Bad For The Environment? E-mail This Story Print This Story Reprint This Story Page 2: Computers Don't Pollute -- People Do Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Recycling Electronics: Let's Get Going Vendors Must Prepare For Stricter Environmental Regs, Exec Warns Is Your Computer Killing You? Get the latest Developer news, product info, and trends every week.			IT Employment Reaches Record High In U.S. Web App Hack Incidents Are Up As Businesses Take Cover IT Mergers Have Feds Flailing Against Tech Globalization Virtualization Vendors Jockey For Advantage Is Open Source Ready To Implement SOA? Execs Surveyed Insist Too Little Is Spent On IT     Developer Pipeline's Main RSS Feed     Developer Pipeline's Blog RSS Feed VIEW ALL BRIEFING CENTERS Editorial and vendor perspectives Special Report: Are Computers Destroying The Earth? With Earth Day just around the corner, two reporters cross swords over the question of whether computers and technology are helping or hurting the environment. See what they have to say, then vote on who's got it right. Embedded Experts: Fix Code Bugs Or Cost Lives Apple's Boot Camp: Macs Do Windows Microsoft Platforms Chief Talks Co-opetition With Open Source Crash Course: Get a Handle on Web Services Specs and Standards How do recent stories highlighting the ability of Apple's new Intel-based Macs to run Windows as well as Mac OS X affect your view of Macs as development platforms? Macs that can run Windows and OS X? Gimme!     39% Yawn. No thanks.     22% It all comes down to price point. Count me as maybe.     17% Ha. If it doesn't run zOS or Solaris, forget it...     12% Apple? Never! TRS-80 RULEZ!     10% E-fficiency: Web App IDEs Want to give your e-business a competitive edge? Turbo-charge your development projects with one of these Web application development IDEs. Web Site Development Made Easy A "Class" Act: Software IDEs