It's all the hazardous components that make electronics so toxic. Reuse helps keep good electronics in use, while recycling programs help keep them out of the landfill when their useful life is through. But, all of the materials that go into making electronics and the energy used to manufacture and run them come at a high cost.

Buy Greener!

There are a few Web sites to help you select environmentally preferable computers. One site offers a purchasing tool called the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). It's designed to help purchasers evaluate, compare, and select desktop computers, laptops, and monitors based on their environmental attributes, including the elimination or reduction of added lead, mercury, chromium, flame retardants and plasticizers, the use of postconsumer plastic, and much more. See www.EPEAT.net for more information.

Other help can be found via www.greenerchoices.org. This Consumer Reports site has an Electronics Reuse & Recycling Center which offers information about ewaste issues, maintenance and upgrading tips, and tips for buying new.

Also check out the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics.

Reduce the Juice!

While you’re considering greener electronics purchases, also consider the energy all of your electronics consume and how you might begin to reduce their environmental impact.

Consumer electronics account for 11% of residential electricity, according to a Consumer Electronics Association Study. With that electricity coming from a wide mix of sources — nuclear and coal burning plants, with methane generation at landfills, hydro, and maybe a little wind and solar thrown in — that 11% can be a real contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.