The tech industry – makers of hardware, software and every ware in between – prides itself on innovation. If George Bush is the decider, then Steve Jobs and his pals, er, rivals at Dell and IBM are the innovators, the geniuses, the gurus.

We’ve elevated these guys to rock-star status, which I suppose makes sense, because they provide the tools that allow a self-involved culture to wallow in its narcissism. They keep us kitted out with must-have laptops and iPods and Blackberries, thereby giving us texting and virtual worlds and, hoo-wahhh, our own personal music.

Unfortunately, all these way-cool necessaries wear out or become obsolete (and way too soon – more on that in a bit). Now, Johnny I’m-Way-Deep-Into-Myself can’t afford to fall behind on the gadget front, so he’s going to ditch the stuff he’s got to get the newest stuff, the best stuff.

This makes the mandarins at Microsoft and Apple and all those other Incs, Corps and Plcs very happy indeed, because continually buying their new toys keeps their profits high and, they’ll tell you, keeps them innovating.

Trouble is, it’s almost impossible to dispose of discarded technology in an environmentally friendly way, and the earth is starting to strangle on all this electronic detritus. Of course, we here in the United States – by far the biggest consumers on the planet – don’t see the worst of it, because we ship a lot of our tech garbage overseas. It’s even got a cute name: e-waste.

According to the Associated Press, upwards of 500 million tons of electronic trash is generated worldwide every year, and the lion's share of it comes from here. Most of it winds up in U.S. landfills, a cheery thought. What's left is sent overseas to Third World chop shops, where what can be salvaged and resold is. The rest is dumped, and without much care.

Burying old computer components and television monitors in landfills, or dumping them in a Malaysian ditch, is a particularly malignant form of pollution, given the high levels of toxins present in these electronics. On top of that, the workers who deconstruct all this wonderful innovation in Vietnam or India or, especially, China aren’t protected by OSHA regulations. Using crude tools and sometimes no tools, they are expected to extract what can be recycled, leaving them exposed to poisoning and sickness and, who knows, maybe death.

The brokers who arrange for our e-waste to be sent abroad argue that they are actually doing the world a favor and advancing the cause of technology by sending working computers to the developing world. In truth, the stuff is usually crated and shipped without ever being checked for its viability. Nobody here cares if it works. We want to get rid of it, and the middlemen want to get paid.

And the problem is only getting worse, as more U.S. municipalities ban the dumping of discarded electronics in local landfills. This junk has gotta go somewhere, and guess where it’s going.

Some countries are wising up. China, for example, no stranger itself to despoiling the planet, still accepts more electronic waste than anyone, but is beginning to enforce a ban. According to the AP, Hong Kong customs officials – tipped by environmentalists – intercepted a couple of containers full of old computers and TVs that were jettisoned in the modern Land of Milk and Honey. The junk was sent back to the United States, with love from the Peoples’ Republic.

But vigilance isn’t enough. Electronics are being discarded almost as fast as they’re being made. And the innovators are largely to blame for that. While the effective lifespan of a new computer should be, in a sane world, a decade or more, realistically you’ve got a dinosaur if it’s been sitting on your desk longer than a couple of years. And our tax laws encourage this.

Why?

Because the innovators know that they need you coming back every few years to keep those coffers overflowing. If you’re visiting the Apple Store only once in a decade, then there might not be an Apple Store at all.

So the innovators practice the art that the automakers perfected decades ago: the art of planned obsolescence. Even as they tout the latest must-have operating system, or the coolest new game console, they know most of it will be passè by the next holiday-shopping season. They know that, because they're already planning the coolest technology for 2009, but don't want you to know too much about it.

Some of you may be untroubled by this. If so, shame on you. Your planet is slowly dying from carbon dioxide emissions and the casual dumping of toxic waste. Turning a blind eye to this fact while eagerly consuming every glittery new tech bauble dangled before you is not only pathetic, but suicidal.

There is legislation out there – in any number of countries, including this one – that's supposed to curb this scourge. All well and good, but we know that for every law there's a loophole. And when there's money to be made, those loopholes can get pretty big.

Tell the rock stars that if they're such groovy innovators, they'll innovate a cheap-but-efficient way to clean up this filthy world they’ve helped to create.

- - -

Tony Long is copy chief at Wired News.

How Can We Kill Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

Somewhere Deep Down, We Still Care. Don't We?

RIAA Hits a Sour Note With Its File-Sharing Witch Hunt

On the Road at 50 Remains an Anthem for the 'Crazy Ones'

Thanks for the Memories ... Whatever They Were