This week in Las Vegas, tech corporations at CES 2026 are unveiling the newest wearable well being gadgets — glucose screens, blood stress trackers, health trackers. In all probability not talked about on the present is that these devices could be creating an enormous environmental downside.
It isn’t one thing that tends to get a lot consideration, however a new study from Cornell College and the College of Chicago discovered that by 2050, demand for well being wearables may hit 2 billion models per 12 months, or 42 instances greater than in the present day. Until we alter how they’re made, these gadgets may generate over one million tons of digital waste and 100 million tons of carbon dioxide over that very same interval, the authors warn.
A good greater shock is that it’s not the plastic that’s the issue. The research, revealed in Nature, discovered that the printed circuit board — the machine’s “mind” — accounts for 70% of its carbon footprint, largely resulting from intensive mining and manufacturing.
The researchers recommend two fixes: develop chips utilizing frequent metals like copper as a substitute of uncommon minerals like gold, and make gadgets modular so the circuit board may be reused whereas the outer masking will get changed.
Wrote one of many research’s co-authors, “When these gadgets are deployed at world scale, small design decisions add up rapidly.” It’s one thing to consider whereas scrolling by way of CES bulletins.
