Green Minded Wallet

I was in a store today where I almost bought a computer.  Well while I was standing around waiting for more information on the computer that I inquired about, two of the other sales associates were talking about the computers they sold.  One of the young men felt that all of the lower end computers were “junk”, because the products were behind the forefront of the market.  He couldn’t imagine why anyone would buy a single core, when quad cores were rumored to be coming out in the fall.  The explanation which I provided, that perhaps people were simply buying as much machine as they needed seemed to almost upset him.  The other sales associates seemed to agree with me, as he murmured something about basic needs and budgets, but didn’t seem to want to press the issue.  While that encountered made me decide that I didn’t particularly care to give my hard-earned money to a store whose employee would openly complain about a product in front of customers and argue with them no less, I also thought how sad it was that this young man was already indoctrinated with one of the worst parts of the consumer culture: I must have the best.

One of the problems with the “I must have the best” mentality is that it is frankly really expensive.  Furthermore, if you must have the best of everything, even things for which you won’t necessarily have the time and skill to use the advantages of higher-end features (if they truly exist), then you’ve essentially wasted a lot of money.  For example, it doesn’t really make any sense for me to buy $100 bike shorts if the $60 pair fit better. Yes, the more expensive shorts may have more features, but given my current biking ability many of these so-called features are likely to be lost on me.  If and when my skill and comfort level requires the higher end shorts in the future, then I would consider buying them.  But I see no reason to spend additional money on features that I am not going to use.  Somehow our culture has successfully convinced people that they “need” all of these features when somehow they were managing fine without them.  Why would I need a duo or quad core computer when I am currently happy working on a laptop which has a traditional processor and 256 MB of ram?  Why do I need DuraAce components on my road bike, when I still have trouble with my clipless pedals?  Why do I need an iPod, when I’m not a loyal Apple fan and I don’t listen to that much music?

I’m not against buying things, but I take issue with mindless consumerism.  One of the biggest problems I think that people have is that they let other people dictate what their needs are.  If you’ve never driven off-road, and don’t have a desire to drive off-road, then why do you need a truck or an SUV?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy a sedan (or minivan) and save yourself thousands of dollars?  I think part of the reason why we have such a hard time living within our means is that we have to upgrade everything.  We have an economy best on consumerism which is fed in part by convincing us that the amount we spend on consumer goods is somehow tied to our worth.  An idea that though ludicrous, has no doubt been successful.  If not, why would people use slogans like “Because You’re Worth It”?

So what can be done? Before I make a big purchase, and even before a lot of little ones, I try to make a list of the features that I actually need, and get a realistic sense of what my resulting price range is.  Sometimes it takes a few iterations to make the two match up.  I check reviews online and ask friends and family about their experiences with different products: useful and useless features, durability, etc. That way I can purchase the product that best suits my needs, and not those of the retailer (which are likely to be the most expensive).  So one day perhaps when I find all the components that I require in a machine, at a price that I am willing to pay, I will purchase a new laptop.  But I’m not just going to double or triple my computer budget because others (where they be sales associates or colleagues) have bought into the hype; I simply have better things to do with my money.

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So I’ve had the same computer, a Sony Vaio Laptop, for just over four years. It’s been a fairly decent computer, but there are times (like now), when I think that it’s on its last legs. A few years ago my touchpad stopped working. It was still under the service plan, so I took it in, but the tech guys decided to replace something else (don’t ask!), and I really didn’t want to take it back again, since it seemed clear that they didn’t know what they were doing. Last fall my battery died, and it didn’t seem worth it to replace that, since I could still use the laptop. A few months ago I started having intermittent screen problems. It seems that at this point there are enough things wrong that it might not make sense to get it repaired. So the dilemma is, what do I do now?

Financial. A new computer will cost me money and time spent on research. It might also cost money to purchase new software if absolutely necessary, though I use a lot of freeware so that should be a minimal cost. If I do buy a new computer, do I buy desktop or laptop? I feel that I could get more usage out of a desktop as the parts are easy to replace and I could do some of the work myself saving maintenance costs or a service plan. I also don’t travel much, so I don’t feel that I would really need a laptop for that. But then there is the energy usage issue, which leads to the environmental cost.

Environmental. Laptops use less energy, but they also have a shorter life (in my experience). While desktops can last longer, they take up more space and energy. There is also the option of buying an older computer but I’m not sure how much time that is going to buy me, plus newer computer, especially newer desktop monitors are more energy efficient than the old ones. There is also the fact that something will have to be done with my old computer. Looking around it seems that there are ways to recycle computers so that is an option (I think it’s too old and broken to donate). I may have to pay a small fee, but it is much better than sending it to the landfill. I could also try to sell it on craigslist or chegg, but I’m not sure anyone would want it, especially if the screen goes south.

I’ve done some digging on what the best course of action might be. While I still haven’t come close to making a decision, I’ve learned a lot about the environmental cost of computing. From computershopper.com,

On average, most users buy a new PC every three years. … But also consider that more than 80 percent of the lifetime energy consumption of a PC occurs during its manufacture.

This information makes me lean towards buying an older desktop over a newer laptop, since even though it’s less energy efficient to operate, over the lifetime it’s a better choice. What’s worse is besides the energy consumption, computers also contain a number of toxic materials which are released if they are not disposed of properly.

In the United States, only 10 percent of all computers disposed of are recycled, mainly because many people do not know how to recycle them and simply abandon unwanted PCs on the curb. The equipment is then often taken to landfills, where toxins such as lead, mercury, and cadmium leach into the groundwater and poison the air—if, that is, they don’t release deadly fumes into the environment by being burned in incinerators first.

Here’s a link for the full article on How To Buy a Green Computer.

Another option, which is the most frugal, is to simply not buy another computer after this one dies. That would mean just using the one in my office and going to the library on the weekends. I would save the cost of the new computer, and the monthly DSL costs, but I would probably lose all of my friends because I would just mope around all the time. We’ll see.

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