Electronic waste (e-waste) has emerged as a new policy priority around the world. Motivations to address e-waste include rapidly growing waste streams, concern over the environmental fate of heavy metals and other substances in e-waste, and impacts of informal recycling in developing countries.

This article explores historic carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trends from road and air transportation of the United States and 26 developing and industrializing nations. It is argued that environmental trends in the newest industrializing countries do not follow the more sequential and long-term shifts experienced by the United States.