☰

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to changes in temperature and weather patterns. These changes may be natural, such as through the variations in the solar cycle. Ever since the 1800s, Human activities such as burning fossil fuels generate greenhouse emissions that trap the sun’s heat and raise temperatures.

Earth Melting

People are Experiencing Climate Change in Different Ways

Temperatures are rising due to greenhouse gasses which trap more heat in the atmosphere. Droughts are becoming more extreme around the world.Tropical storms becoming more severe due to warmer ocean water temperatures. As the temperatures rise, there is less snowpack in mountain ranges and the snow melts faster which results in glaciers melting at a faster rate.This causes the sea levels to rise which threatens the marine ecosystems.

Earth Feeling The Heat

Effects of Climate Change

  • The Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit .
  • Summer temperatures are projected to continue rising, and a reduction of soil moisture, which exacerbates heat waves. The intensity, frequency and duration of hurricanes, as well as the frequency of the strongest (Category 4 and 5) hurricanes, have all increased.
  • Global sea level has risen by about 8 inches. It is projected to rise another 1 to 8 feet by 2100. This is the result of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
  • The Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before the mid-century.

Climate Change and Human Exploitation to Blame For Historic Decline in Atlantic Salmon

Salmon Decline Graph Due To Climate Change

Learn About Earth Week!

Click Here to Learn More!

 EARTH WEEK

Electronic Revolution = E-Waste

E-Waste or Electronic waste means the discarded electronic devices which are meant for disposal.

E-waste facts:
  • 40 million tons of electronic waste is generated every year, worldwide. That’s like throwing 800 laptops every second.
  • An average cell phone user replaces their unit once every 18 months.
  • E-waste comprises 70% of our overall toxic waste.
  • Only 12.5% of E-Waste is recycled.
  • 85% of our E-Waste is sent to landfills and incinerators are mostly burned, and release harmful toxins in the air.
  • Electronics contain lead which can damage our central nervous system and kidneys.
  • A child’s mental development can be affected by low level exposure to lead.
  • The most common hazardous electronic items include LCD desktop monitors, LCD televisions, Plasma Televisions, TVs and computers with Cathode Ray Tubes.
  • E-waste contains hundreds of substances, of which many are toxic. This includes mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, chromium, and flame retardants.
  • 80% of E-Waste in the US and most other countries are transported to Asia.
E-Waste

Attempts to Solve E-Waste

E-waste is a major problem, as only 12% of tech that is thrown out is recycled. This is bad for the environment as tech has a lot of heavy metals and it also has rare materials like silver, gold, etc. Here are some attempts to solve this problem.

There can be a reward system for people that donate and/or recycle tech, meaning that people get a small sum for donating/recycling the e-waste. Apple is already doing this, as seen here: Apple Trade-In, Canada. Doing this can be more profitable for companies as they salvage the materials used on the hardware and use it for newer technologies and people can get some money to buy something new than throwing the technology in the trash can.

A simple solution can be to put a fine if someone throws out hardware instead of recycling it. Doing this can help prevent people from throwing out valuable materials instead of wasting them. But there can be cases where people don't get caught not recycling and they wouldn't have to bother with the fine.

Another solution can be to repurpose the old tech if it can still be used. If the hardware cannot be repurposed or it is damaged, try to find working parts inside and if all the parts do not work, then please try remembering to recycle rather than throwing it out.

Issues faced due to E-waste

Social Issues Economic Issues Environmental Issues
  • Causes a lot of health problems such as, miscarriages, cancer, etc.
E-Waste Health Effects
  • There were old tv’s that had contained 5 pounds of lead which caused lead poisoning
  • Unsafe work environments
  • Making more profits going with unethical decisions
  • Companies use a tactic called Externalizing cost which companies use to make more profit at the cost of everyone else. (Design for the dump)
Plan For The Dump
  • Poisonous/harmful chemicals are used to make electronics
  • E-Waste in Landfills
  • Poisonous gases release on disposal of electronics
  • Water contamination
  • Millions of tons of e-waste is generated
  • Global toxic emergency

Connection between Climate change and E-waste

It is also worth considering the effects electronic goods have on climate change. Every device ever produced has a carbon footprint and is contributing to global warming. Did you know that the manufacture of a tonne of laptops results in potentially 10 tonnes of CO2 being emitted. When the carbon dioxide released over a device’s lifetime is predominantly released during production, before consumers buy a product. This is the key determinant of overall environmental impact.

We have to recognise that we all can make a big difference in both e-waste reduction and preventing climate change.

Help keep electronic waste from growing.

Save The Planet!

Global Warming

Works Cited