Semiconductor manufacturing is critical to Oregon’s economy: it’s the state’s largest manufacturing sector in terms of employment, exports and contributions to its gross domestic product. Intel, the state’s top chipmaker, employs 23,000 people and is Oregon’s largest corporate employer.

But the chips – celebrated by state lawmakers and ubiquitous in thousands of computer systems, from desktops and cell phones to medical devices and wind turbines – also come with a major disadvantage. Chipmaking is a heavy industry that’s one of the dirtiest in the state. Chip manufacturing pollutes the air, uses huge quantities of water and energy and generates greenhouse gas emissions, significantly contributing to the state’s slice of global warming.