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DISPOSAL
Computers have linked the world, but their debris spans the world as well.
INTENSIVE MANUFACTURING
COMPUTERS REQUIRE
Producing a single computer requires:
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of fossil fuels
of chemicals
of water
LOW ENTROPY MATTER
Computing components are extremely organized structures of matter.
First generation Intel Core i7 processor.
ENERGY
Digital technology is a product of cheap energy, power hungry production methods are inherent to its design.
As energy resources continue to fall, future cheap energy is not guaranteed.
Producing semiconductors consumes
more energy than traditional goods.
SEMICONDUCTOR
MANUFACTURING
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Megajoules consumed for 1Kg of finished microchips.
CHEMICALS
Thousands of different chemicals, many in high quantities, are used throughout the manufacturing process.
Most are extremely toxic, and new ones with unknown consequences are constantly developed.
ACETONE
Polishing of silicon wafers.
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HYDROCHLORIC ACID
Photoelectrochemical etching.
ARSENIC
Increases semiconductor conductivity.
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LEAD
Electroplated soldering.
ARSINE
Chemical vapor deposition.
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METHYL CHLOROFORM
Washing.
BENZENE
Photoelectrochemical etching.
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TOLUENE
Chemical vapor deposition.
CADMIUM
Creates a positive charge in silicon.
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TRICHLOROETHYLENE
Washing.
LEGACY OF CONTAMINATION
Directly as a result of semiconductor production, Silicon Valley has the most toxic waste sites of any region in the entire USA.
Other areas where there is a history of electronics manufacturing, such as Upstate New York, has a similar problem.
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Every large electronics manufacturer that began operations before the 1970s has a toxic waste site in its history.
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Toxic waste sites, Silicon Valley.
A typical semiconductor manufacturing facility consumes
This is equivalent to the consumption of
ONE SPECK OF DUST
Microchips are assembled in super clean rooms, a single dust particle would ruin it.
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Workers wear bunny suits not for their protection, but for the protection of the chips against any particles from a human body.
A semiconductor clean room.
A GLOBAL PROCESS
The supply chain for computing devices makes up the most sophisticated and complex supply chain system in human history.
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Raw resources and components are produced and shipped all around the planet before final assembly.
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The global computer supply chain visualized.
SHEER VOLUME
Semiconductors are produced in numbers that dwarf other products.
To function, a computer requires hundreds of components, including over 100 microchips.
INTERNET CONNECTED DEVICES IN BILLIONS
2015 - 2025
EXPLODING DEMAND
Any efficiency gains of digital technology will be absorbed by the growing footprint as the number of internet connected devices is expected to triple in the next 5 years.
COMPUTERS REQUIRE
INTENSIVE MANUFACTURING
CONSUMES LOADS OF ENERGY, CHEMICALS, AND WATER
THEY HAVE
SHORT LIFESPANS
AND THEIR
DEMAND IS INCREASING
THIS WILL CAUSE
MAJOR WASTE AND DESTRUCTION
- THIS SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE REBOOTED -
The current computing model of take, make, and dispose needs to be reimagined.
This is critical if humanity is to survive and prosper into the future.
MANUFACTURING IS ONLY ONE PART OF THE PROBLEM
RESOURCES
EXPAND
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DISPOSAL
EXPAND