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Energy Sustainabilty

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Submitted By Sloth29010971
Words 1524
Pages 7
Andrew Snyder
Bea Stikkoile
English 130
9/8/2014

Pollution
It’s hard to navigate our world today without seeing an illuminated screen; we have graduated from the living room tube TV to a relationship with technology that often seems like a dependency. With each new great release of some sort of electronic, we cast aside our second hand technology. People tend to think of these electronics as not harmful to themselves or the environment. However the electronic waste that comes from these outdated electronics are a growing pollution that needs to be addressed.
There is a reason why there are so many electronics in this world. It is because there is a demand for new cheap electronics. Companies are able to produce these electronics for way cheaper than what they actually cost. I think that there should tariffs on these cheap electronics to drive the price up, and the demand down. But since there are no tariffs, everyone these days seam to have some sort of smart phone. Most of my friends have a iPhone. Since there are two different kinds of iPhone chargers my friends all have different cords and no one can borrow from one another unless you have the right charger port. I have always thought this to be a very smart business move by apple, it gets new or old customers to buy more products from them that they need to run their new iPhone. Leonard writes about this same idea in her article “The Story of Stuff: Electronics”. Annie writes about this business move saying “Designed for the dump means making stuff to be thrown away quickly. Today’s electronics are hard to upgrade, easy to break, and impractical to repair” (Leonard 51). Leonard is stating that electronics are made to be replaced in a reasonably short time and a high cost for the consumer. This is why landfills are being filled to almost full capacity, and for so much pollution in China and around the world.
Leonard talks about Gordon Moore, and Moore’s Law which he created. “Gordon Moore predicted that electronic designers could double processor speed every 18 months. So far he’s been right. This is called Moore’s Law” (Leonard 51). Since Moore’s Law has been right more and more electronic products are being produced every year. That means when a new cellphone or laptop is created all of the old cellphones and laptops are going to be thrown in the trash. Since this cycle happens every 18months, you can imagine all the material that builds up as trash. Because of this cycle everyday electronics are contaminating the earth with their different materials and toxic chemicals. Our electronics don’t just grow from the ground and sprout out. No, technology is manufactured in a factory or assembly plant. According to Leonard “1,000 different materials are shipped around from around the world to assembly plants. There workers turn them into products using loads of toxic chemicals like PVC, mercury, solvents and flame retardants” (Leonard 51). All these materials and toxic chemicals in our electronics are not a problem to us or the environment while the product is still in use or good repair. However it is when the owner of this product becomes infatuated with a next generation product and throws away the other product. That product must be disposed of. That is when the toxins and waste from these 1,000 different materials are a harm to us and the environment.
Often times TVs, or laptops are disposed of end up in landfills throughout the world. Chris Caroll the author of the article “High Tech Trash” actually decided to go see where all this electronic waste is being disposed of. He went to Guiyo in Guangdong Province, in China. He wrote about his experience here “Guiyu had become the dumping ground for massive quantities of electronic junk. BAN documented thousands of people – entire families, from young to old – engaged in dangerous practices like burning computer wire to expose copper, melting circuit boards in pots to extract lead and other metals, or dousing the boards in powerful acid to remove gold”.(Caroll 82) The common discombobulating of our products in an inefficient manner greatly increases the magnitude to which the electronics negatively affect our environment (Caroll). Most people that are doing this work to just make ends meat have no idea what they are doing to their bodies. Like Leonard mentioned earlier there are PVC, mercury, solvents and flame retardants in all these materials; and when these workers dispose of these products they are releasing these toxins, and not only hurting themselves they are contaminating the environment. Chris Caroll talks about the effects this pollution more in this statement
“The air near some electronics salvage operations that remain open contains the highest amounts of dioxin measured anywhere in the world. Soils are saturated with the chemical, a probable carcinogen that may disrupt endocrine and immune function. High levels of flame retardants – common in electronics, and potentially damaging to fetal development…” (Caroll 83).
Caroll exemplifies that Guiyo, China is one of the unhealthiest places to live environmentally as a result of the E-pollution. Electronic waste is to blame for this and I think this is made clear from the quote above.
To me looking at my laptop screen and seeing it illuminated makes me wonder what sort of toxins are in my laptop and what they can do to harm me and the environment. From my online research I found an article called, “E-waste: Dark Side Of It Revolution” by Mamta Garg, and Manoj Kumar Jindal. It is about electronic waste in general but it talks about what chemicals are exactly in our electronics. The first chemical it said used in computers is Lead. It states “Lead is highly toxic to humans as well as many animals and plants. A typical computer monitor alone contains 4-8pounds of lead….In humans lead has a wide range of effects including damage to the nervous system and blood system, impacts on the kidneys and on reproduction” (Garg 4). This quote shows that lead is very harmful to humans and we still us it in our electronics. This is not the only chemical that companies use to make their electronics. The next one that it states is Cadmium which is used in “contacts, switches, and soldier joints”. The article says
“Cadmium is highly toxic to plants, animals, and humans having no known biochemical or nutritional function. Exposure can result in bioaccumulation of cadmium in humans. Many animals and plants including those consumed by humans can also accumulate cadmium, providing an additional route of dietary exposure for humans. For the general population and for animals cadmium exposure through diet primarily affects kidneys” (Garg 4).
The author’s make it clear that lead is not something I do not want in my electronics. It contaminates our environment and plants which animals and humans eat. I do not want to consume something that has Cadmium in it and hurt my kidneys. Mercury was the one chemical that stood out to me the most. It actually answered my question on what was illuminating my laptop screen. The author said
“Flat screen monitors that are mostly used in laptops do not contain high concentrations of lead, but most are illuminated with fluorescent lights that contain some mercury. Mercury on the other hand can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys as well as the fetus. More especially the developing fetus is highly susceptible through maternal exposure to mercury” (Garg 4).
From this quote I now have a different opinion of my laptop. I don’t want to be using something that can cause harm to my brain which is one of the most important organs in your body. However the relational stress that our society currently places on our tether to the virtual world makes our commitment to our devices, dangerous or not, unavoidable. Electronics are a part of our everyday lives and make the world what it is today. With out of these electronics our world would not function like it does. Electronics, however are often overlooked when it comes to their impact on the environment and our own health. With all our knowledge and resources at our disposal major companies need to find a way to change these product’s design and manufacturing. Governments can also play a part in helping fix this ever growing problem. Tariffs should be in placed so that any known toxic chemicals or harmful materials coming into the country would be taxed. At the end of the road electronic waste is a cancer to our environment and it must be dealt with before it cannot be contained any longer.

Works Cited
Garg, Mamta, and Manoj Kumar Jindal. "E-waste: Dark side of it revolution." Journal of Environmental Research And Development Vol 4.3 (2010).
Leonard, Annie “The Story of Stuff: Electronics.” sustainability, 1st ed. Ed. Carl G Herndl, New York: Oxford UP.2014.50-61. Print.
Caroll, Chris “The Story of Stuff: Electronics” sustainability, 1st ed Ed. Carl G Herndl, New York: Oxford UP.2014.78-86. Print.

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