Cell Phone

Day 51: Cell Phone and Case

The case is harder to give away
than the phone, because it
belonged to my greatly loved
father-in-law, Bill. So much
stuff has great sentimental value

Beam me up, Scotty.

In the 60's, the flip phone was the limit of our imagination, the apex of unattainable high tech, a fantasy as remote as traveling by molecular rematerialization. Now it's a piece of junk in the bedside table.

This is Rich's old phone. He was more Finnish than American in his attachment to it. Finns replace their phones every 74 months, Americans, every 21 months. The environmental consequences are severe.

Although the perky, dumbed-down language of the Story of Stuff: Electronics can be irritating, the analysis and recommendations are spot on. This tour bus we call Earth is heading for a cliff. No matter how well-meaning we are as individuals, legislative change - in this case, extended producer responsibility - is the only way to change course. In the meantime, given the questionable nature of electronic recycling, hanging on to your phone for 74 months - and writing your Congressional representative - is the best thing you can do to avoid poisoning the environment.

Sorry for the high horse. Have you seen the Global Change Research Program's report on climate change impacts, just released this week?

You can view it on your mobile device.