Made To Break III

Giles Slade outlines the end of the world due to e-waste quite nicely in the first 270 or so pages in Made to Break. On page 277 he finally admits, “The popularity of papers addressing Life Cycle Assessments and Extended Product Responsibility may indicate that the electronics industry is now undergoing positive change from within. Other indications of this change are the cost-free take-back, reuse, and recycling programs now in place at most major American electronics manufacturers, including Hewlett Packard and Dell.” (Slade 277) The author is describing the cycle of change that seems to always occur in the consumer world.

In 1859, William Jevons, then England’s greatest economist, was knighted by the queen of England for writing The Coal Question, which predicted that the British Empire would collapse by 1900 because it would run out of coal. He was correct, they did run out of coal. But, by that time they had switched to petroleum. The first oil well was drilled in Pennsylvania that year. My point is that yes e-waste is a problem… And, yes we will adapt. History has proven the naysayers wrong time and again.

To his credit, Slade does not engage in finger-pointing. He simply adapts a very pragmatic approach to a problem of e-waste.  He states, “During the next few years, the overwhelming problem of waste of all kinds will, I believe, compel American manufacturers to modify industrial practices that feed upon throwaway ethic. The golden age of obsolescence-the heyday of nylons, tailfins, and transistor radios-will go the way of the buffalo. Whatever comes in its place will depend on the joint effort of informed consumers and responsive manufacturers, who will, I believe, see the benefits of genuinely serving their customers interests through green design.” (Slade 281)

Slade is correct. Number one, the market is always adjusting. Just as the consumer got tired of Cadillac’s and bought longer-lasting and more economical VW’s, so it will adjust to the crazy technological and fashion obsolescence the author discusses in Chapter 9 and slow down on the constant cell phone purchasing. (Slade 267) And, number two entrepreneurial minds will grasp the importance and lucrative business opportunities in recycling will emerge. So, the author concludes that only by a cultural change driven by government, consumers and manufacturers will a resolution be reached.

To describe our culture of consumerism, the author invokes sociologist Colin Campbell who describes the “mystery” of modern consumption itself- “it’s character as an activity which involves an apparently endless pursuit of wants, the most characteristic feature of modern consumption being this insatiability.” (Slade 265) Slade combines Campbell’s description with the social cascade effect, which describes the sudden popularity of certain things like eateries, clothes or now, phones. It would seem to me that if society can change suddenly in one direction, it can go in the opposite direction. Green will be cool someday. Using “old-school” electronics will be hip and the world will not come to an end. Slade’s book does make the reader examine his or her own consumption diet and in this the book delivers a valuable message.