Umbra on video games 2

Dear Umbra,

After reading some heart-rending, gut-wrenching articles on global warming, I've decided that I want to do something about it. I've started by vowing never to buy a car, or get a driver's license. But I happen to love video games. Nothing is going to make me stop playing my video games. As I am painfully aware, a consumer lifestyle is what contributes to global warming and the ecocide of our planet, so how can I be an environmentally conscious video gamer?

Phillip Miner
Sodus, N.Y.

Dearest Phillip,

First, plenty of people are environmentally "conscious" -- the struggle is to be environmentally effective. You could drive your Hummer all over town and think about the environment as you shifted from second to third -- environmentally conscious. But switching to a more efficient car -- or no car at all -- would be environmentally effective.

Don't give up the fight.

Photo: iStockphoto.

Video games are not inherently violating your environmental principles. I think they're probably on the better end of the electronics spectrum. We can work together to limit the damage they cause, and you can continue to have a great time.

The main trouble with video games is that they are played on computer equipment. We can't make computer chips and consoles out of wood or butter; instead, we use heavy metals such as lead, beryllium, and mercury. When we buy computerized objects, we are asking people to build us a fun machine filled with carcinogenic, toxic, handy substances.

From a consumer standpoint, therefore, purchase your computerized gizmos the way you should buy a car. First, test the gizmo -- the new Xbox, por exemplo -- and see if you even care for it or "need" it. Then, gizmo-pool if you can -- share the dang things with friends. You'll avoid asking for toxic substances, and you'll be doing something vaguely social with an actual in-person person. Unlike writing an online advice column.

Your next active environmental moment is when obsolescence comes in its dark cloak and scythe to claim the PlayStation. "Consumer electronics" cannot go to the garbage dump because their component parts must be kept away from the general air and water supply. Some computer manufacturers will take back their machines. Sony, whose PlayStation makes up 70 percent of the global console market, offers product take-back in Europe and in a demo project in Minnesota. The company promised to expand to nationwide take-back in the U.S. in 2005, but here it is 2006 and I could uncover no news of follow-through. With most gaming hardware you'll need to find a decent general e-waste reclamation site. But I've been told by my gaming consultant that old consoles can circulate in a retro-gaming market. Unlike film and television production, game design does not use any materials except electricity and computing equipment -- no elaborate sets or fake snow. And the discs, packaging, shipping, and advertising must be equal to DVDs and CDs. So the hardware is truly the big problem.

I believe that if you consume responsibly, not excessively, and spread the all-important word of electronics recycling within your gaming world, you can have a clear conscience while dorking out in Vice City.

GTAly,
Umbra

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