Signs abound this week of a potential tectonic shift in the world of e-waste policy, at least in the United States. The EPA's administrator, Lisa Jackson, identified e-waste as one of the six top environmental priorities for the agency's international action.

The announcement, while vague on the details of how the EPA will address international exports of potentially toxic electronics, comes just a week after the Government Accountability Office published a report that highlighted the where the EPA's enforcement efforts are lagging, whether due to shortcomings in federal policy or partnerships with manufacturers for voluntary recycling. You can download the full report here and read more about federal e-waste issues here.

Also this week: Wipro announces ready-made data centers that can be set up in a week, medical students at Stanford University get free iPads to save on paper waste, and a new PC power management technology takes to the cloud.

The GAO examines the EPA's efforts to date to recycle electronic waste and offers recommendations for further reducing e-waste's environmental and health impacts.

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