Dell Inc. Founder Urges Planting of Trees

Dell computer founder Michael Dell urged the electronics industry in Las Vegas Tuesday to foster tree plantings to offset their devices’ environmental damage.

He said his company would begin a program called Plant a Tree for Me that asks customers to donate $2 for every notebook computer they buy and $6 for every desktop PC, The New York Times reported.

The money would be given to environmental groups to buy and plant trees, he said.

His computer company intends to cover the program’s administrative costs, Dell said.

Dell, 41, said planting trees would absorb carbon dioxide from the air and make up for emissions coming from the electricity needed to power a computer over its average three-year use.

In an interview, he said he liked the idea because it got customers involved as well as businesses.

Dell already offers its customers free recycling of their old computers.