June
1996
Earth
in the Balance: Computers and the Planet’s Future
By Philip Goff
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In the second of his two part series on society’s increasing dependence
on computer technology, Philip Goff looks at computers, the environment,
and corporate power.
Unlike other forms of technology, nothing has developed at quite the
rate of computer technology. Besides the impact on human culture (see
May 1996 edition of Satya), computer technology is also
having dire consequences for the environment. Individuals, stores,
restaurants,
and companies both large and small now feel a "need" to keep
up with the emerging technology in order to stay competitive. This has
meant that hundreds, if not thousands, of terminals, C.P.U.’s,
and keyboards are being thrown away every day. They are seen as being
big, clumsy, and slow, and are replaced every few years with more powerful
hard drives and software. As the popularity of computer ownership grows,
and as the technology progresses, this wasteful cycle of obsolescence
can only get worse.
Although new computers are smaller and use less plastic and packaging
than their older counterparts, the manufacture of computers is still
incredibly energy intensive and very toxic. Much like factory farms,
there is inevitably heavy pollution around computer or software production
plants. Ask any resident of Silicon Valley in California. Here, in the
birthplace of the computer industry, lies one of the highest concentrations
of hazardous waste sites in the U.S. Computers also require large quantities
of electricity to operate. Despite stricter energy consumption codes,
homes and offices reliant on computers use far more energy than they
had previously, gutting any progress American society has made at reducing
energy demand.
The most insidious effect that computer technology is having on the
planet is the increased power computers are giving to multinational
corporations. The increased efficiency and wealth that computer technology
is giving to companies whose interests are cars, forests, electronics,
mining, and oil, dwarfs the positive impact that computers are having
on the general public. Animal and environmental activists must keep
in perspective that as they become more unified via web pages, e-mail,
and the Internet, the increasingly corporate and global economy is
becoming
10 times more unified. Clearly, without the influx of computer technology,
the over-development of undeveloped countries and the exploitation
of
the Earth’s natural resources and indigenous peoples would occur
at a much slower rate. Despite their many beneficial uses, it is obvious
that computers will further accelerate the ecological damage being
done
to this planet.
Paving the Information Superhighway
The ascendancy of the information superhighway is yet another way in
which corporations can extract control over our culture. According
to
many pundits, we must create the infrastructure for the information
superhighway just as we created the interstate highway system in the
1940s and 50s. In this case, the infrastructure will be created, for
the most part, by multinational computer and telecommunications companies
such as Microsoft and AT&T. This gives corporations with very specific
agendas a lot of power and influence. Have you noticed that, like magic,
computers and the Internet are now topics of discussion in the press
and for millions of people? There is a question we all need to ask
ourselves:
is there really a demand for the Internet, World Wide Web, interactive
television, networked computers in all public schools (as the President
promised in a campaign speech in February), etc., or, is the demand
being artificially created by laying down the infrastructure and the
constant positive reinforcement arriving via the press, the government,
and the advertising industry? Are we being socialized to accept computer
technology as a necessity, just like a refrigerator or indoor plumbing?
The interstate highway system indeed makes for a nice parallel. When
highways were built after WWII, there was no enormous demand for them.
America was still quite rural and most cities had efficient mass transit
systems. In fact, the highways themselves created the demand for more
highways. They were not built to alleviate traffic, they created traffic
by giving the populace a great incentive to buy automobiles. This,
of
course, pleased development interests, car companies, and oil companies,
some of the main beneficiaries of the "growth" economy, a
dysfunctional system built on the twin pillars of development and consumerism.
Likewise, in the 1990s, the information superhighway is not being created
to supply a massive and organic demand for more information. In fact,
it creates the demand, and is a great incentive for the populace to
buy computers and pour unnecessary money into modem hookups and telecommunications
equipment. This, of course, pleases telecommunications, computer, and
software companies, the emerging power players in the post-industrial "growth" economy. The information superhighway is to Microsoft
and AT&T what the interstate highways were to General Motors and
the Standard Oil Company. When one understands this, and then couples
it with the power these companies have through advertising and government
lobbyists, the reasons behind the absence of a critique of computers
become clearer.
Images of the Future
As frightening as computer technology may seem on its own, it is important
to note that it also paves the way for other technologies even more
alarming. It creates foundations for increased knowledge in sciences
such as genetics, bio-engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
If we compare computer technology from 20 years ago with where it is
today, just imagine the possibilities a generation from now! The eventual
advent and propagation of artificial intelligence will inexorably change
the course of human cultural history. The apocalyptic "war against
the machine" in the hit movie Terminator II may not be such a
fantasy in 2025.
Computers promise to make life easier and more enjoyable. The fact
is, for most people, life has become more difficult and less enjoyable:
money is tighter, violence is pervasive, and job security is waning.
For every hour saved by the latest computer program or gadget, there
is another hour and 10 minutes worth of work, because those same computers
have made people’s jobs and lives more competitive in the emerging
global economy. This phenomenon parallels the emergence and rapid domination
of the automobile as a transportation mode. For every hour it saves
by whisking motorists around at higher speeds and on wider highways,
the "system" created by the car, i.e. decentralized cities,
sprawling suburbs, and massive congestion, adds 70 minutes of tedium
to one’s life. Hence the specious reality of many new forms of
technology: for all of the problems they purport to solve by making
life more convenient, they create a whole new set of environmental
and
cultural problems and anxieties. This spiral will go on and on forever,
for unless society begins to seriously question the role of technology,
we run the ultimate risk of dehumanizing our culture and forever compromising
the ecological balance.
Philip Goff is a graduate student in urban planning
and an eco-activist. He would like to thank Kathy Roberts for her excellent
copy editing. Click here to read the first
part of this article.
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