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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2004)
o UN1VERSITV OE OR EGON 2004 Summer Session Registration Starts May 3 Book Your Summer in Oregon Register for Summer Classes Summer Session starts June 21. Pick up your free summer catalog today in the Summer Session office, 333 Oregon Hall, at the UO Bookstore, or read it online. You can speed your way toward graduation by taking required courses during summer. Check Out Our Website! http://uosummer.uoregon.edu Your place for , .. NEWSreader classifieds_ARCHIVES po,l%nd more www.dailyemerald.com DELL continued from page 1 his company in an effort to make computer manufacturers aware of the harm that discarded computers can do to the environment. Dell Computers was singled out because of the company's size and dominant position in the market, according to http ://www. computertakeback. com. Wood said Dell deserves recogni tion for steering his company to ward these policy changes. "This is a watershed moment in the effort to promote corporate accountability for waste and a clear indication that organized pressure in the market can positively influence corporations and their management," Wood said. The University, like Dell, is also taking steps to recycle computers. The Office of Environmental Health and Safety has been recycling computer parts for almost three years under its Computer Harvest program, pulling in its first "crop" in May 2001. Recently, the program has expanded to include scientific equipment, which often contains hazardous materials such as mercu ry switches. University Environmental Manager Nick Williams said the emphasis of the University's program is still on the "de manufacturing" of used computers and monitors and preventing hazardous materials from entering landfills. "We've diverted about 10 tons of cathode-ray tube (CRT) glass, two tons of circuit boards, and just miles and miles of wiring from going into landfills," Williams said. "As far as CRT glass is concerned, lead is the cul prit. About 50 percent of it is lead and that will typically go into a landfill." Williams said that without proper disposal, the toxic materials, such as lead, can find their way into the wa ter and air, eventually concentrating themselves in humans. Williams said it was appropriate that Dell chose to speak with college and university students. "We're one of the biggest users of computers here in colleges, so we go through them a lot faster than nor mal," he said. "It's very timely that people are beginning to care about e-waste. We're just a mid-size college and look at how much we kept from going into the landfills — imagine all the universities in the country." The web conference — which drew participants from more than 40 locations around the country, ac cording to the GrassRoots Recycling Network — addressed three areas that the Computer TakeBack Cam paign, a coalition of environmental groups, had asked Dell's company to improve. The points included the willingness of producers to take back old computers, compliance to cleaner standards when manufactur ing computers and responsible recy cling of unwanted material. "We want to make this easy for our customers, and we want to do the right thing. We want to make sure that as we're putting out the tens of millions of products that we're finding a way to take them back and do it in a responsible way," Dell said. ^ The Computer TakeBack Campaign sent Dell a letter urging him to take a stance on e-waste, the term for waste , produced by old unusable computers. Dell replied on April 6 and released an "open letter to college and univer sity students" acknowledging that his company's support could have a po tential impact and calling for further discussion. "Dell has always been driven by di rect relationships, and we've found there's no better way to solve a prob lem or achieve a goal than to commu nicate openly, honestly and directly," Dell said in the letter. "Due to the large number of Dell customers, a change in how we produce a product can ripple around the world." Contact the business/science/ technology reporter at stevenneuman@dailyemerald.com. Be a Leader in the Army National Guard, and get the respect of soldiers who will look to you for leadership. You’ll also get career training, money for college and opportunities to develop management skills - plus special training to prepare you for advanced positions. Most Guard members train part-time, so they’re ready to respond if their community or the Nation needs them. If you have at least 60 college credits and meet other requirements, you can apply to Officer Candidate School. The Guard offers flexible Officer programs that can help you stay in school or let you work full-time. Graduate as an Army Guard Officer. YCO CAN 1-800-GO-GUARD Ext. 195 www.1-800-G0-GUARD.com/baldr
