2008 Woodie Awards
Iphone bad for environment?
Greenpeace attacking the iPhone; how petty
Lance Park
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Opinion
Greenpeace is up in arms over the iPhone. The reason is that the phone/MP3 player/ "kitchen sink" contains materials that are dangerous to people, in particular phthalate plasticizers and bromine. This is basically a ploy to grab media attention over a hotly debated and popular product, the reason being that every electronic device has hazardous materials in it.
Most consumer electronics contain hazardous materials harmful to the environment when disposed of improperly. This is why we have a particular act called the California Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003. The act requires cathoid ray tubes, or CRT's, to be turned into specific recycling centers to be disposed of. These CRT's include televisions, computers, monitors, and cell phones. Imagine that. Cell phones require proper disposal rather than haphazard tossing, lest the environment suffer. This is something Greenpeace must know, so although they're trying to knock Apple on not cutting down on potentially toxic phones, I'd say they're just trying to garner publicity by attacking a recently released and extremely popular product to grab some attention. I think they could spend their money better, however, than by dissecting and examining an iPhone.
Speaking with Kary Holmes, recycling coordinator for Vacaville, I learned that from January through August of 2007, the areas of Vacaville, Dixon, and unincorporated Solano County have had 240,254 pounds of electronic consumer goods dropped off at specific recycling centers. 164,230 pounds of goods dropped off were CRT's and the other 76,024 pounds were other electronics. On top of that, 8,650 pounds of electronic devices were picked up (yes, they can pick up one electronic device from your home once per year.) So CRT's are being disposed of properly, but that's not to say that Greenpeace shouldn't spend some cash to advertise proper disposal rather than outright bashing a product.
As far as the bromine and plasticizers, bromine is dangerous when ingested, when it's melted and the fumes are inhaled, or when the liquid form touches human skin (which it will corrode). I don't plan to melt or eat any cell phone, let alone a $300+ iPhone. The plasticizer is used in the iPhone's earphone cables, and plasticizers are lethal when ingested or mixed with bodily fluids. So don't eat your earphone cables or go sticking them in wounds, lest you have a notion to become sick. Failing that, Belkin has an adapter that will let you swap out the toxic earphones with more environmentally friendly earphones…if you have the money.
So if Greenpeace is up in arms over people potentially eating their earphone cables or melting the bromine, maybe they should get less proactive about the toxicity and more about proper disposal of these materials.
Most consumer electronics contain hazardous materials harmful to the environment when disposed of improperly. This is why we have a particular act called the California Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003. The act requires cathoid ray tubes, or CRT's, to be turned into specific recycling centers to be disposed of. These CRT's include televisions, computers, monitors, and cell phones. Imagine that. Cell phones require proper disposal rather than haphazard tossing, lest the environment suffer. This is something Greenpeace must know, so although they're trying to knock Apple on not cutting down on potentially toxic phones, I'd say they're just trying to garner publicity by attacking a recently released and extremely popular product to grab some attention. I think they could spend their money better, however, than by dissecting and examining an iPhone.
Speaking with Kary Holmes, recycling coordinator for Vacaville, I learned that from January through August of 2007, the areas of Vacaville, Dixon, and unincorporated Solano County have had 240,254 pounds of electronic consumer goods dropped off at specific recycling centers. 164,230 pounds of goods dropped off were CRT's and the other 76,024 pounds were other electronics. On top of that, 8,650 pounds of electronic devices were picked up (yes, they can pick up one electronic device from your home once per year.) So CRT's are being disposed of properly, but that's not to say that Greenpeace shouldn't spend some cash to advertise proper disposal rather than outright bashing a product.
As far as the bromine and plasticizers, bromine is dangerous when ingested, when it's melted and the fumes are inhaled, or when the liquid form touches human skin (which it will corrode). I don't plan to melt or eat any cell phone, let alone a $300+ iPhone. The plasticizer is used in the iPhone's earphone cables, and plasticizers are lethal when ingested or mixed with bodily fluids. So don't eat your earphone cables or go sticking them in wounds, lest you have a notion to become sick. Failing that, Belkin has an adapter that will let you swap out the toxic earphones with more environmentally friendly earphones…if you have the money.
So if Greenpeace is up in arms over people potentially eating their earphone cables or melting the bromine, maybe they should get less proactive about the toxicity and more about proper disposal of these materials.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
nigger please
posted 4/08/08 @ 4:29 PM NA
what the fuck is up with kookoo birds?
Post a Comment