ISS 310 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Risk Assessment, Basel Convention, Heavy Metals
20 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Original digital divide: access to electronics and computers. Developed countries sent old computers to developing countries. Non-working computers snuck in to avoid dumping penalties. New digital divide: distances self from electronic waste. Marginalized people often exposed to harsh chemicals from discarded/ recycled e-waste. Some accept these conditions because e-waste also provides valuable raw materials. E-waste is both a hazard and a resource. E-waste made up of machines discarded at end of life. Small portion of waste stream, but disproportionate environmental impact : Us is the largest consumer of electronics, producer of e-waste. Developing countries buy more as middle class grows. Us leads in pc usage, developing countries closing gap. Cell phone use in rapidly industrializing countries (e. g. , brazil, russia, india, Cell phones small percentage of e-waste by weight, but number of discarded devices is high and rising. Innovation leads to consumption of novel goods without consideration for eventual disposal.
