Not to spoil the party, but the process of manufacturing LCDs is extremely destructive to the environment because it produce huge amounts of greenhouse gases such as nitrogen trflouride. Although the attempt to use recycled goods and organic inks for packaging or to attach a little flower pot to the base is noble, admirable and even cute, it seems futile compared to the environmental costs of producing the screens themselves. In short there is nothing "green" about an LCD monitor, even if you package it in hay and a burlap bag for shipping.

Even worse is that replacing our aging LCD monitors with new ones results in a lot of people chucking their old equipment into a landfill instead of disposing of it in a more responsible manner or even donating it to people who can use it until its life runs out. I know Unpluggd does not necessarily focus on eco-friendly tech (though they showcase a lot of it), but to me there is some sad irony in this.

Instead of (or in addition to) putting research into recycled packaging, Benq and its subsidiaries (along with other LCD manufacturers) should be doing what it can to develop LCD tech that does not have as many harmful emissions in the manufacturing process itself. At least LED backlights, implemented in this Benq model, are a step in the right direction....

Scoot: I think you touch on a subject that is far more complicated than we could cover here, as what this leads to is a discussion about consumerism in general...want vs. necessity. All your points are valid, but the majority of time, technological advances come in increments, not in great leaps, as is the case with LCD technology. The best thing we can do as consumers is purchase items that we truly need, pay for the best quality we can afford, and keep these things (tech or otherwise) for as long as they can last. Then hopefully they're also built to recycle, so when they end their lifecycle of use, we can minimize their environmental impact.

I agree Gregory! As an owner of multiple LCDs (monitors and TVs), I am not making the statement that we should use a more eco-friendly technology (our needs) at the expense of the quality and convenience that LCDs give us (our wants). We have to balance our needs and our wants. But I still assert that consumers and regulatory bodies should push for more eco-friendly manufacturing of these LCDs instead of merely "settling" for the warm and fuzzy feeling of having a little plant built into our panels or a smaller box (I am all for smaller boxes and plants, though! :D). As you suggest, the best we can do is make baby steps and control our own behavior in order to dispose of our old technology in a more responsible and ethical manner, and hope that the manufacturers will eventually catch up.

I have to say that the exchange above between scoot and gregory is one of the most thoughtful and well articulated I have seen in a blog comment anywhere in recent times.

Nice.