5 Ways to Make Consumer Electronics Green, or Better Yet, Obsolete

It's a common complaint that technology advances so rapidly, new products hitting the shelves are outdated the second they arrive there. Before we even purchase a device, new versions and varied models are under production. Consumers are easily overwhelmed and confused with the differences in manufacturers' crowded product lines. We're especially experiencing that now in the realm of netbooks and smart phones, but it's true for all consumer devices. However, we also see that consumer whim has a lot of influence - perhaps all the influence - over how manufacturers introduce and carry on release of new gadgets. So, how do we exercise that clout to get manufacturers serious about creating heirloom devices that can adapt to new technology without all of the e-waste? Or is it even possible?

We might think that technology advances too rapidly for gadgets to really keep up. In the case of e-readers, this may be true. The screen technology is too new and improving too fast to release a device that can be expected to be top of the line in even a year. Suppose the screens could be swapped out in current devices; the design of the entire product itself is slated for some serious changes, rendering a screen swap a very ho-hum upgrade. Does it have to be this way though?

Exactly how small, how fast, how thin, how interactive can our products possibly get and still be useful? For instance, cell phone styles have changed quite a lot over the last ten years, but not to the point where they're unrecognizable - save perhaps the iPhone and its touchscreen. Even with touchscreen technology, it is possible to create cell phones now that people can be happy with in another ten years, with just changing software and some hardware components as needed, but not the whole device.

How can we make that a universal truth, and spare the massive amount of materials and energy that goes into creating, recovering, and recycling products, and the massive environmental footprint of the majority of products that end up in landfills or toxic e-waste dumps?

When there is no "away," how do we make what we have stick around, even in the face of improvements? Here are five options to mull over (at the link).