Can a video gamer be an environmentalist at the same time?

Apparently not, based on a 2007 report by Greenpeace where the current generation video game consoles were analyzed… and were found wanting.  And as a player who used these videogame machines, you may be guilty as a party to grave environmental degradation.

With the Greenpeace report, the console wars transcended a mere battle for better graphics, better game play, and better storylines.  It has also become a battle for the title of being the most environment-friendly machine.  Sadly, neither the Xbox 360, the Sony Playstation 3, nor the Nintendo Wii can be adjudged the winner.  All of them are culpable of environmental crimes. 

All three consoles: the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Wii, contain high levels of bromine, a chemical that can impair one’s memory and cause other health hazards as well. 

Two of the consoles: the Xbox 360 and the PS3, contain high levels of phthalates, a general category consisting of a variety of hazardous chemicals.  Many jurisdictions outlaw toys that contain phthalates.   However, gaming consoles are classified as electronic items, thus escaping the clutches of existing legislation.  How harmful are phthalates?  One chemical under this group, DEHP, is known to cause male infertility.

Many argue that such reports are unjustly exaggerated.  Some even say that they wouldn’t be affected because they don’t actually nibble, more so eat, their gaming consoles.

Gaming consoles don’t have to be ingested to endanger people’s wellbeing.  Gaming consoles accumulate heat faster than any other electronic appliances.  The seemingly negligible fumes emitted by these consoles can be dangerous, if not fatal, when inhaled in large quantities.

Additionally, the production of these consoles also pollutes the air with the aforementioned substances, in addition to the carbon dioxide they pump out in the atmosphere.

Since Greenpeace’s initial report, Sony and Microsoft have made some progress in reducing the amount of hazardous substances in their consoles.  Nintendo, however, has yet to take heed based on Greenpeace’s most recent report.

Nintendo may be winning the current generation console war, but it is most certainly losing the battle of conscience.