Emissions from burning fossil fuels are creating an unprecedented level of pollution that is endangering our world and increasing temperature. To preserve a livable planet, companies must commit to aggressive greenhouse gas reduction initiatives without engaging in greenwashing tactics or greenwashing schemes.
Businesses often misunderstand environmental concerns. Aside from carbon emissions reductions, companies must also be cognizant of their products’ effect on biodiversity.
1. E-Waste
Every year, millions of electronic devices become obsolete or broken and must be disposed of; this wasteful electronics collection is known as e-waste or end-of-life electronics. E-waste contains harmful pollutants like lead and cadmium which if improperly disposed off can pollute the environment while harming human health as well as ecosystems.
Greener design is one of the best ways to decrease electronic waste. Manufacturers should strive to create products with simpler repair, upgrade and disassembly processes; while consumers should adopt an “buy less, use longer” mindset.
Unfortunately, much of e-waste is illegally shipped between high-income countries and lower-income ones without authorisation, often exposing workers to hazardous chemicals while providing income sources for people involved in informal recycling operations. Children and pregnant women are especially susceptible to these pollutants which can cross placenta barriers and contaminate breastmilk supplies.
2. Carbon Emissions
Production of technology leaves a substantial carbon footprint due to the non-renewable resources it requires and energy used for powering it, disrupting ecologies by clearing land for development or polluting air, water or soil with its products.
Smart technologies can reduce this impact in various ways. LED bulbs use less energy to run, thereby cutting emissions and power usage; smart home appliances monitor energy use to prevent waste; some even automatically turn off lights when nobody is around!
Streamed media like movies and music can serve as a replacement for CDs that contribute to deforestation and paper waste, while sensor networks monitor waste water, food, acidification and pollution levels to monitor environmental degradation and make smart decisions that will improve it.
4. Energy Consumption
Technological innovations can have numerous adverse environmental impacts, from depleting resources and polluting them with waste to disrupting ecology. But one of the greatest impacts is energy consumption from all our gadgets; non-renewable resources are consumed during production while fossil fuels are burned for power production – this impact adds up quickly so it is essential that ways are found to decrease it as much as possible – whether through smart lighting systems that switch off when leaving rooms or power saving plugs that automatically shut down devices at night – these small changes can have major ramifications on our environment!
Cooking appliances account for 1.3% of household energy use and can be reduced by using smaller pots and pans or switching to more energy-efficient appliances.
5. Air Pollution
Air pollution is a global public health crisis. It contributes to respiratory diseases like asthma, heart disease and lung cancer as well as low birth weight, tuberculosis and cataracts – as well as contributing to other issues such as low birth weight. Air pollution sources include vehicle emissions, burning fossil fuels like coal or fuel oil for power production as well as fumes from chemical production activities and other human activities; natural events like wildfires or volcanic eruptions also play a part.
Household air pollution results from inefficient cooking over open fires using polluting fuels like kerosene, wood or animal waste to produce harmful particulates in the atmosphere, compounded with living in poorly ventilated homes.
NIEHS funds translational research on the health effects of household air pollution, particularly among disadvantaged communities. Their focus includes ways to help protect people against exposure to pollutants in their home environment such as providing high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) cleaners or advocating healthier farming practices.
