1、Unit 9 Living with the Internet 东北大学大学英语Living with the Internet UNIT 9 Reading Topic Preview Text C Living with the Internet UNIT 9 Topic Preview Read the following pros and cons of computers and try to add your ideas and start a debate.instant access to information sharing of information through t
2、he Internet buying and selling products online storage of large data without using much space eyesight damage identity theft virus threat causing e-waste Living with the Internet UNIT 9 Text C Pre-reading Questions Text Understanding the Organization of the Text Inferential Questions Living with the
3、 Internet UNIT 9 Pre-reading Questions 1.What might be the possible hazards of tons of computer-related waste?2.Can you suggest some ideas to deal with the environmental problems caused by electrical devices?Living with the Internet UNIT 9 Text C Analyst firm Gartner is forecasting that the Internet
4、 of Things(IoT)will encompass some 30 billion connected devices by 2020.And while the networking vendor Cisco has pegged the IoTs value at$14.4 trillion between 2013 and 2022,questions are being asked over its potential environment cost.The Hidden Environmental Cost of the Internet of Things Living
5、with the Internet UNIT 9 What becomes of these thousands of sensors and smart devices once they reach EOL(end of life)?Bettina Tratz-Ryan,Vice President of Research and green IT specialist with Gartner,says that this is one of her biggest concerns around the growth of the IoT.“Are they ending up in
6、landfills?If theyre embedded in these objects and technologies,its almost impossible to recycle them.”Living with the Internet UNIT 9 On a global scale,the United Nations University(UNU)estimates that in 2013,53 million tons of e-waste were disposed of worldwide,while around 67 million tons of new e
7、lectrical and electronic equipment were put on the market.The Stopping the E-waste Problem(StEP)initiative,a joint effort from UN organizations,grassroots groups and industry,predicts that by 2017 the total annual volume of e-waste will have risen by a third,to 65.4 million tons almost 11 times the
8、weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza.Facing such huge wastes,what should we do?The following trends might give us some insights.Living with the Internet UNIT 9 The problem of e-waste starts at creation.Theres already a shift in manufacturing towards products and materials that are sustainably sourced
9、,but Tratz-Ryan has called on industry to innovate around current materials to produce sensors that can be disposed of in a more environmentally friendly fashion.Living with the Internet UNIT 9 IoT researchers Alain Louchez and Valerie Thomas from the Georgia Institute of Technology argued in an art
10、icle published by the International Telecommunication Union(ITU)earlier this year that a standardized GPS tracking capability and a universal identification system for devices,similar to Universal Product Code(UPC)and the ISBN code used on books,could help to facilitate better end-of-life management
11、.“This could help to overcome the cost challenges of collection and recycling,and open up new opportunities for the private sector,such as the recovery of rare-earth metals.It would also facilitate the enforcement of regulations restricting the use of certain hazardous substances,”Louchez and Thomas
12、 state.Living with the Internet UNIT 9 Recovery and recycling.Until manufacturers figure out how to stop the problem of e-waste at the source,they must address the current problem of disposal,and work toward preventing devices and sensors ending up in landfills.Living with the Internet UNIT 9 In Aus
13、tralia,non-profit TechCollect offers a free e-waste recycling service in response to the Federal Governments National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme(NTCRS).The NTCRS currently only collects about 35%of Australias e-waste,with the aim of collecting 80%by 2022.“We need people to understand t
14、hat these products are useful tools,and when people buy them they take on the responsibility for ensuring it is responsibly dealt with when theyve finished with its use,”says Carmel Dollison,TechCollect CEO.“Weve got finite resources;precious metals and rare earths have been dug up and manufactured
15、into a product,and we need to recover those,and be able to use them in the manufacturing of new products.That can be through re-use and recycling.Whatever we have to do is to make sure e-waste doesnt reach landfills.”Living with the Internet UNIT 9 Organizations like Planet Ark also hosts programs l
16、ike Recycling Near You with information on where to recycle different products.Can the IoT save the planet?Although there are legitimate concerns about potential environmental impacts,a range of technologies that sit under the broad umbrella of IoT can play a role in helping businesses reduce their carbon footprints.M2M technologies can facilitate“smart grid”based efficiencies in the energy sector,optimize transportation and logistics,cut the energy footprint of buildings,and slash greenhouse ga
