Skip to content

Five inventions that are bad for the environment

When it comes to being environmentally friendly, it's often about how technology is used

As I write this, I am keenly aware that we are getting into the Christmas season, and our thoughts are to turn to “goodness and light.”

And yet, even at Christmas there are things to be redeemed or re-purposed…a stable…a manger.

So it is with technology – it’s not so much that the technology is bad, but rather how it is used.

For each of the following inventions I will explain why I think it is really bad for the environment, and how it might be redeemed…maybe.

1. The leaf blower

I should admit right off, that this was the invention that inspired this piece. Invented by a mysterious Dom Quinto in the 1950s (Dom may or may not be real), the blower continues to use huge amounts of fossil fuel, while also producing excessive noise, and sometimes spreading leaves onto neighbor’s properties.

One test found that leaf blowers emitted 300 times the pollutants produced by a 2011 Ford pickup truck.

Redemption? None apparent.

2. Wrapping paper

At Christmas, we wrap presents in huge amounts of paper produced from trees and coloured with dyes.

Redemption? Our family often uses old newspapers instead. Try the Langley Times!

3. Smart phones

When you think “technology” these days you often think “smart phone.”

There are some dumb things about these phones though – for example, how quickly they go out of date and are shipped off to have their toxic components recycled or thrown away.

The sheer quantity of discarded phones is staggering. The number of cell phone plans apparently exceeds the number of people on the planet.

Redemption? Use the phone for green purposes – e.g., reducing the number of trips you make by car (or SUV). That would be smart.

4. The SUV

My family refers to Hummers as “dumb cars.” The same could be applied to the whole range of sport utility vehicles. Where is the utility in deliberating worsening gas mileage just for sport?

Redemption? Already happening as many of these vehicles get much better mileage, and Arnold Schwarzenegger has learned how to run Hummers on vegetable oil. Or you could just buy a smart car.

5. The bulldozer

R.G. LeTourneau was a talented inventor responsible for many types of earth moving equipment we have today. He got started back in the 1920s and eventually garnered a reputation as “the Dean of Earthmoving.”

The negative impacts of earthmoving by bulldozers and related machinery are all too obvious – rapid destruction of landscapes made easy.

Redemption? Think before you dig.

David Clements is a professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Trinity Western University.