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One Billion Computers Devouring Earth's Resources

Personal computers are eating their way into the planet's resource base, and their useful lives must be extended to lighten the burden they put on Earth's air, land and water, according to a new report from the United Nations University (UNU) on the environmental consequences of the information technology revolution. Computer sales are growing about 10 percent per year and more than 130 million computers are being sold each year around the world, the authors found. By the end of 2002, one billion personal computers had been sold worldwide. "Today it is hard to imagine life without one of these indispensable 21st century tools," said Eric Williams, the UNU scientist who leads the Information Society and Environment Issues project and Ruediger Kuehr, who co-edited the book. "But it is exactly because they have become so ubiquitous that we must be aware of the negative impacts of the PC boom." While computers become smaller and more powerful, their environmental impacts are increasing, say Williams and Kuehr. Government incentives worldwide are needed to extend the life of personal computers and slow the growth of high-tech trash. The average 53 pound (24 kg) desktop computer with monitor requires at least 10 times its […]

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Stop-Gap One-Year PTC Extension Moving Forward in U.S. Senate

The wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) would be extended for one year (through December 31, 2004) as part of a package of expired tax credits being added to the foreign tax bill (also referred to as the corporate tax reform bill) (S. 1637) likely to pass the Senate in late March. This effort to provide a short-term fix for the industry is expected to play out over the next two months as the House acts on a similar bill (H.R. 2896), according to AWEA legislative director Jaime Steve. The decision to attach the PTC and a handful of other tax items also contained in slow-moving energy policy legislation was made by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the panel's senior Democratic member, Max Baucus (Mont.), and Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). A full three-year PTC extension (through December 31, 2006) is still moving forward as part of the slimmed-down energy policy bill (S. 2095), which may be acted on by the Senate in late March or early April. The PTC provides a 1.8 cent per kilowatt-hour tax credit (adjusted for inflation) for electricity produced using wind resources during the first 10 years a qualifying wind farm is […]

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