I am an electronic engineering student, one of the most popular and recognized branches of this field worldwide, there are a large number of professionals in this area and therefore studies on the ecological impact that this can generate have become increasingly common. This profession and the actions it performs, and in the same way the options and the search to decrease the ecological footprint that this profession can generate have been increasing.
Electronic engineering generates a large number of products and materials that are beneficial to humans, many of these are large or small devices to perform some specific job or task. Like many professions that go hand in hand with science, electronic engineering has undergone great advances in recent years, changes that have caused many of these devices and equipment to become obsolete compared to the current needs of human beings. It is in this waste of the old things to be replaced by the new ones where the greatest negative impact is generated on the biological wealth of our planet.
“We have seen in some cases that electronic waste is burned in open environments to isolate metals such as copper from cables, and heating of printed circuit boards to remove chips (integrated circuits) and electronic components. And it is in these actions that dangerous chemical substances are released into the environment that lead to contamination" said the executive director of "EcoCómputo "in the 2014 report on the global monitoring of electronic waste carried out by the Institute for the Study Advanced of Sustainability of the United Nations University.
Many of the big companies that generate these products and are responsible for the waste that comes from them in factories and companies have been under great pressure from the media who has made these big companies understand their great impact on the environment and have tried to find solutions to this situation, some have generated recycling campaigns for their old products, offering customers the return of them when exchanging them for a new one, and many companies have voted to reuse old machinery to be recycled and continue generating new products.
Electronic engineering has been scoring for many years as a profession that is very useful for human beings, since it provides them with a large amount of resources and materials that are very useful and without which it would be impossible to keep our lifestyle, however, all these benefits have a negative part that we must try to improve to the greatest extent, we must be aware of everything that implies being technologically advanced and knowing how to respond to it, the problem of technological waste is just one of several that we could found in the area of electronic engineering, because like the waste from obsolete equipment, many of these continue having a useful life which can generate certain pollution that directly affects our environment, it is up to us and big companies to become aware of this to be able to take advantage of technology without unnecessarily damaging our environment.
References:
"Engineering and environment". Title available at: “http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0121-49932007000200008” Date of consultation: 1-19-2020.
"This is how electronic waste affects health and the environment." Title available at: “https://www.elheraldo.co/salud/asi-afecta-la-basura-electronica-la-salud-y-al-medioambiente-440278” Date of consultation: 1-19-2020.
"Electronics in the environment". Title available at: “https://www.academia.edu/16808629/LA_ELECTRONICA_EN_EL_MEDIO_AMBIENTE” Date of consultation: 1-19-2020.