Electronic Waste

One of the key messages in Living Beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-Being states, “Everyone in the world depends on nature and the ecosystem services to provide the conditions for a decent, healthy, and secure life” (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, p. 3). The assessment further suggests that people are under the impression that we no long depend on natural systems because we rely so heavily upon human built structures, machines and technology.  If people are unaware of their consumption of the natural environment it is extremely difficult to ask people to reduce and preserve natural systems. The emergence of technology has created a disconnect between humans and nature.  An important issue raised in lecture is the common perception that people are saving paper by reading literature off of a tablet or laptop.  At a first glance this seems to be a wonderful alternative to printing documents however a further look into this issue shows that the amount of electronic waste is so overwhelming that it is becoming very harmful to the environment.  Above is a video from BBC news that identifies how there is an overabundance of E-waste and the issues that arise from this.  In The Unbroken Chain article, Cone acknowledges the ways in which new sources simplify issues of environmental concern and suggests that communication often takes one of two forms: scaring or boring the reader.  These two approaches generally result in the reader learning nothing of the issue at hand.   The BBC news clip on E-waste is oversimplifying what is a colossal problem.  The issue is addressed however there is no sense of urgency for the viewer to make a change.