Is having the latest technology a want or a need?
How often do you get a new cel phone or mp3 player? Did you really need a new model? Do you consider the environmental impact of these purchases? If you are addicted, how can you break your addiction?
Wants or Needs? >
Where the graphite in our phones comes from
The advantages of keeping your older devices working extend well beyond the carbon footprints of producing, shipping, packaging and disposing of phones. Here's one consequence of our fascination with the latest technology that I never heard about until today.
Hi Jason, my name is Austin and I'm from Newport, NC. I find this to be a fascinating topic. I had no idea about the graphite pollution in China. I mean I know that it is really bad in Beijing, having personally been there, but this was a terribly depressing article. Unfortunately we have these problems though. Perhaps the governments, local and national, can work with companies investing factories into China to decrease the pollution emissions. When the production of our products starts to impede on other people's well beings and lives is when we have a huge problem. What do you think we should do? Thanks for sharing.
Dear Austin
The first thing we ned to do is to confront the truth.
On the one hand, phones give us tremendous opportunity to connect to others and stay informed, and as such are incredibly empowering. In poor countries, the availability of cell phones in one step gave them phone service where they previously may have had to walk for miles to use a shared landline. Smart phones again offer an opportunity for internet connection to people from places with no other reasonable chance for internet connection in their homes.
On the other hand, this technology comes with a cost, so when I say we have to confront the truth, we ned to be honest about both the advantages and disadvantages of new technology.
The reason that I posted this issue in 'Wants & Needs" is that I believe that it is important to think about what aspects of having a smart phone is a want versus a need. Doing so, may lead us to conclude, for example, that we need smart phones to stay connected but do not always need the latest model. If consumers shifted their attitudes in this way, then the phone man ufacturers would be incentivized to make phones that last, and can be easily repaired if they do fail.
One idea I have is to have tax on new electronics and/or a rebate on electronics repair (or government subsidy for repair shops) -- some way to incentivize people to continue to use devices that work just fine for longer than the average right now, which in the US is about 2 years.
Also cell companies offer new phones as an incentive to renew one's contract - that makes people replace their phones earlier than they otherwise would.
Anyway, it's a complex issue - what do you think?