You might find this Ars Technica discussion of e-waste, a by-product of our connectedness, rather interesting. If we teach with information and communication technologies, should we also teach about the environmental side effects of the pervasiveness of those technologies?
Read, for example, this May 2009 BBC “From Our Own Correspondent” transcript about the impact of coltan mining in the Congo, and have a look at the slides from media scholar Sean Cubitt’s September 2009 talk on “”the environmental footprint of digital media and what to do about it“
Hi Lesley,
I couldn’t get your first link (Ars Technica) to work, but the other two did. I never realized the significant need in the eworld for the chemicals to be mined for use in cell phones and computers, as well as the environmental issues related to the manufacturing and processing of the silicon chips. Further, the recycle and refurbishing process for computers in Africa is pretty amazing, especially when it turns out that most of it is junk and they have to burn it with the accompanying ecological impact.
I wasn’t surprised that the waste of paper is phenomenal. It seems like most people over copy everything even though most businesses now are fully electronic. Having the paper copy to read and review and hold seems to be a way of life, especially for Americans. I don’t see this changing anytime soon.
Bob