I clarified in my second paragraph that I think extending the lifetime of Windows machines is probably the most realistic way to combat e-waste, and is a noble

I clarified in my second paragraph that I think extending the lifetime of Windows machines is probably the most realistic way to combat e-waste, and is a noble endeavor. I have two desktop computers, one is my primary machine and the other a home server that are 10+ years old and run Kubuntu and FreeBSD, respectively. Its easy to forget that some people don't want to swap out a CPU or add RAM over time, and that by using *nix there is a slower rate of resource bloat. Meeting people halfway by elongating Windows machine lifetimes is a great start.