High Tech Trash
Oggy is reading a book titled "High Tech Trash" by Elizabeth Grossman
In this book Grossman researches the cause and effects of electronic waste, waste that Oggy consider the most hazardous to humanity. Oggy never thought he would say that automobile manufacturers actually set a very good model for managing products through their life-cycle, but it's true. Because computers are so diverse in parts and shapes and mostly because they are being redesigned so quickly and the components are becoming obsolete immediately following purchase there is no way to easily reuse or recycle the components. The computers are also relatively inexpensive considering they actually take about as much work to manufacture as an average automobile once you factor in the smelting of copper and tantalum and heavy metal refinement. So why aren't computers priced at $9-20K like autos? Because they are being disposed of like paper bags and because the labor (mostly Chinese) that manufacturers and disassembles the products are exploited from start to finish. If a computer were priced to provide a living wage for the employees involved they would only be purchased by the supremely wealthy. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars instead of a few hundred.
Just to make sure you know that you aren't getting away with anything, Oggy has provided a short movie showing what happens to most computers and televisions. WE ARE ALL DOWNSTREAM FROM CHINA AND AFRICA. No one is getting away with anything. The recent toy recalls from China are just the tip of the knife. The country's resources are completely depleted and they can not manage the waste that is coming in. NO COUNTRY CAN. That's the problem. U.S based recyclers are just brokers for China-based scrap heaps. In the case of the video the scrap heaps are in Africa. These are the most persistent chemicals and heavy metals being released into the food chain. Oggy would be afraid of this IF HE LIVED ON THE MOON. But he lives on Earth and this is a poison that will not degrade for hundreds of years. And it's not just going to hang out in Africa killing Africans. Did Aids stay in Africa? Well, chemicals and metals like Mercury and Lead are even less discriminatory. They will unfortunately not single out the true criminals who designed these products with no concern for post-use processing. But those irresponsible scientists will unquestionably pay for their error. It's inevitable.
Oggy is also watching The War on PBS. He has decided that the challenge now facing Americans (and the world) is as great as the challenge we faced when Hitler occupied all of Europe. Maybe this is even harder, because we don't just have to defeat another army, we have to completely change our way of thinking about consumer electronics. Fortunately, that industry has only existed for 50 years. Unfortunately, the entire world is addicted to those products.
Here is a list of things to do:
1: Boycott all consumer electronics. If you own consumer electronics already then learn how to fix it.
2. Support service shops. If it can be fixed instead of replaced then fix it. As long as consumers dispose of products then manufacturers will have no incentive to facilitate repair. The mentality that leads to statements like "It'll cost more to fix it than to replace it." must stop. Imagine throwing away your car because the blinker lever breaks. That's what's happening when a 0.006 gram processor or transistor in your computer fails and you toss the entire14 pound computer out.
3. Oggy doesn't recommend bombing your local Best Buy, but if you see one burning then you should do nothing. Just walk away. Pretend it's a Polish concentration camp and for every Best Buy that shuts down an entire country in Africa is freed of pollution.
4. In the words of the great George W. Bush, "The time for diplomacy is over." Do not trust the EPA to solve anything. They are part of the problem. Do not trust senators. They are owned by IBM and Pentium. If the debate comes to violence (and it will) just remember what you see in this video. PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DYING. The revolution will not be bloodless. It has already started.
Here's a clip from Basel Action Network to get you motivated. They produced a study called "Exporting Harm" which you can read in full here: http://ban.org/E-waste/technotrashfinalcomp.pdf
sample text:
"Between the years 1997 and 2007,
experts estimate that we will have more than 500 million obsolete computers in the United States. As this wave of
electronics surges into the waste stream, the environmental
and economic challenges will leave no community untouched.
How much waste is in 500 million computers?
Plastics 6.32 Billion Pounds
Lead 1.58 Billion Pounds
Cadmium 3 Million Pounds
Chromium 1.9 Million Pounds
Mercury 632,000 Pounds"
In this book Grossman researches the cause and effects of electronic waste, waste that Oggy consider the most hazardous to humanity. Oggy never thought he would say that automobile manufacturers actually set a very good model for managing products through their life-cycle, but it's true. Because computers are so diverse in parts and shapes and mostly because they are being redesigned so quickly and the components are becoming obsolete immediately following purchase there is no way to easily reuse or recycle the components. The computers are also relatively inexpensive considering they actually take about as much work to manufacture as an average automobile once you factor in the smelting of copper and tantalum and heavy metal refinement. So why aren't computers priced at $9-20K like autos? Because they are being disposed of like paper bags and because the labor (mostly Chinese) that manufacturers and disassembles the products are exploited from start to finish. If a computer were priced to provide a living wage for the employees involved they would only be purchased by the supremely wealthy. We're talking tens of thousands of dollars instead of a few hundred.
Just to make sure you know that you aren't getting away with anything, Oggy has provided a short movie showing what happens to most computers and televisions. WE ARE ALL DOWNSTREAM FROM CHINA AND AFRICA. No one is getting away with anything. The recent toy recalls from China are just the tip of the knife. The country's resources are completely depleted and they can not manage the waste that is coming in. NO COUNTRY CAN. That's the problem. U.S based recyclers are just brokers for China-based scrap heaps. In the case of the video the scrap heaps are in Africa. These are the most persistent chemicals and heavy metals being released into the food chain. Oggy would be afraid of this IF HE LIVED ON THE MOON. But he lives on Earth and this is a poison that will not degrade for hundreds of years. And it's not just going to hang out in Africa killing Africans. Did Aids stay in Africa? Well, chemicals and metals like Mercury and Lead are even less discriminatory. They will unfortunately not single out the true criminals who designed these products with no concern for post-use processing. But those irresponsible scientists will unquestionably pay for their error. It's inevitable.
Oggy is also watching The War on PBS. He has decided that the challenge now facing Americans (and the world) is as great as the challenge we faced when Hitler occupied all of Europe. Maybe this is even harder, because we don't just have to defeat another army, we have to completely change our way of thinking about consumer electronics. Fortunately, that industry has only existed for 50 years. Unfortunately, the entire world is addicted to those products.
Here is a list of things to do:
1: Boycott all consumer electronics. If you own consumer electronics already then learn how to fix it.
2. Support service shops. If it can be fixed instead of replaced then fix it. As long as consumers dispose of products then manufacturers will have no incentive to facilitate repair. The mentality that leads to statements like "It'll cost more to fix it than to replace it." must stop. Imagine throwing away your car because the blinker lever breaks. That's what's happening when a 0.006 gram processor or transistor in your computer fails and you toss the entire14 pound computer out.
3. Oggy doesn't recommend bombing your local Best Buy, but if you see one burning then you should do nothing. Just walk away. Pretend it's a Polish concentration camp and for every Best Buy that shuts down an entire country in Africa is freed of pollution.
4. In the words of the great George W. Bush, "The time for diplomacy is over." Do not trust the EPA to solve anything. They are part of the problem. Do not trust senators. They are owned by IBM and Pentium. If the debate comes to violence (and it will) just remember what you see in this video. PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DYING. The revolution will not be bloodless. It has already started.
Here's a clip from Basel Action Network to get you motivated. They produced a study called "Exporting Harm" which you can read in full here: http://ban.org/E-waste/technotrashfinalcomp.pdf
sample text:
"Between the years 1997 and 2007,
experts estimate that we will have more than 500 million obsolete computers in the United States. As this wave of
electronics surges into the waste stream, the environmental
and economic challenges will leave no community untouched.
How much waste is in 500 million computers?
Plastics 6.32 Billion Pounds
Lead 1.58 Billion Pounds
Cadmium 3 Million Pounds
Chromium 1.9 Million Pounds
Mercury 632,000 Pounds"
posted by Oggy Bleacher | 2:11 PM
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