Chromebooks are popular with students but are not built to last and have created massive amounts of electronic trash, according to a recent report.
The April report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) Education Fund highlights the fact the devices have an expiration date, according to VICE:
The report, an analysis of the Chromebook market in the wake of its extreme growth in popularity at the beginning of the pandemic, notes that these devices are manufactured to be inexpensive, which means that when they fall apart, they tend to do so in a non-repairable fashion, creating 9 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions during the first year of the pandemic alone. By extending the life of the devices, the organization states, it could not only save emissions, it could save taxpayers $1.8 billion by cutting down on the need for replacements.
The fund’s piece said those who maintain Chromebooks note that manufacturers usually do not sell additional spare parts for the devices, the computers die when their software support ends, and their design does not make repair and reuse easy.
“Google, which provides the operating system for Chromebooks, should extend software support beyond their expiration date to prolong their lifespan,” the report noted.
The Dell Technologies website lists Chromebook prices starting at $259.00.
According to Google, the company’s mission is to “foster sustainability at scale.”
“We do everything with the Earth in mind. Building on our leadership position over the past two decades, we continue to innovate ways to make our operations more sustainable, inspiring others to follow,” the company claims.
In October 2021, Google said it is helping millions of people make sustainable choices:
Per the fund’s recent report, “Google claims that ’50 million students and teachers [use] Chromebooks.'”
“The International Data Corporation (IDC) reported in 2020 that Chromebook sales surpassed Apple as the second most popular operating system in market share. Clearly, Google has benefited from the tide of public funds that were used to purchase Chromebooks,” the report added.
Breitbart News has extensively covered additional issues surrounding Google.
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