I, and a few people I know, live without owning computers or smartphones. It can be a little inconvenient at times but we manage.
Anyone who listened to the Massey lectures, which aired on the Ideas program on CBC Radio during the week of March 22-26, should be horrified at the devastation these devices are wreaking on the planet.
They are sources of massive pollution during the mining of the many metals from which they are made and the shipping of raw materials, as well as the attempt at recycling made in Third World countries. They cause the exploitation of child labour during the mining and recycling phases.
They have features deliberately built in that make them obsolescent after relatively brief usage and they consume vast amounts of energy while performing often unnecessary tasks and transmitting deliberate lies embedded amongst legitimate information.
If we believe the generations of our grandchildren and great grandchildren deserve a chance at a decent life on a still-liveable planet, we might all consider curtailing our use of this technology.
Ross Pearce
Prince George
