Annie Leonard’s new video “The Story of Electronics” is not to be missed!

Too many of our electronic devices are “designed for the dump” — new features require higher processor speeds, which requires replacing the entire unit (cell phone, laptop, media center, etc.).

This is good for sales, obviously, but terrible for the planet (and the people who have to deal with the e-waste we produce).

“Designed obsolescence” isn’t the only way though. For example, companies can create buy-back programs to re-use out-of-date electronics. Even better, we can design products with modular components, so we just replace one piece rather than the whole thing. And certainly it can’t be too hard to make things like power adapters universal, so we only need one.