Stephen Nold

Innovation: Cause and Effect
December 28, 2007

As part of my daily routine, I like to bike.  I do this for a couple of reasons.  First, it is much needed exercise and relatively easy to do.  I just pull my bike out of my garage, and five minutes from my house I reach the quiet hill country roads west of Austin, Texas.  Second, it allows me to reduce the stress of work.  As I pedal through small wooded roads and quiet streets, my mind is free to roam where ever it may go, and it normally ends right back where it started (and from where I was trying to get it away from): work.  Okay, so biking does not allow me to take my mind off work, but it allows me to decompress while I review the day's challenges.

Part of my job entails staying abreast of technological innovations, but these innovations are coming at such a brisk pace that the task, once enjoyable, is now a bit daunting.  Do not get me wrong, the job is rewarding, but presents a conundrum:  I am working overtime to keep up with the latest technological advancements that are supposed to make life more carefree.  Many times I have slipped out of the office with the goal of exploring the Austin Texas hill country only to learn in route to my home that additional deadlines must be met.  Once home, the computer opens and I keep working. Exercise is no longer in the agenda.

I am not complaining, but rather pointing out an interesting aspect of the world we live in: technology is catching up to us faster than we can run (or in my case - ride).

One indication of progress being made is the trash we leave behind.  It was not that long ago when cell phones were the next big thing, and only a few people had these large expensive bricks with low battery life and poor reception that we called mobile phones.  Only the wealthiest business executives could afford the expensive calling plans often tallied in dollars per minute.

Now, we count on cell phones and inexpensive calling plans as integral in our communications, both business and personal.  Yet new problems are occurring that we would never have thought about a couple of years ago, such as the waste produced by all these recent technologies.  Apparently, the waste produced by old cell phones is starting to become a major issue, so much so that cell phone recycling programs have started to crop up, like Eco-Cell and ReCellular.  Famed photographer and activist Chris Jordan provides an 'eye-opening' perspective on technology waste with some interesting pictures.

The point remains that technology is progressing at a rate that we take for granted, and that, like everything else, we must take the bad with the good.  For technology that is supposed to make life easier.  As we turn to the new year, I will seek ways to reduce my trash footprint.   I will also look for more efficiencies from this technology and hope for better application to my personal life.  Maybe I’ll also get some more rides in 2008.

Posted by Stephen Nold on December 28, 2007 | Comments (0)