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Saturday, May 22, 2010

How do you listen to Music?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/09/planned_obsolescenceinduced_in_1.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1353

It’s a known fact that after 13 months of heavy use, the lithium-ion battery of the iPod can lose more than half of its functionality. Even if you recharge the iPod more it can fade out by the end of a long day. Simply put, even though an iPod can cost you $350, these digital music players are designed to be disposable.
Also Apple deliberately seals the battery inside the iPod. Replacement costs $65 (a new 1-gig iPod shuffle costs $79), takes several weeks, and worst of all because the new battery comes in a refurbished and wiped-clean iPod you'll lose all your songs.
Another is by introducing new models shortly after you've acquired the latest thing. The screen is probably already scratched. Time, then, to let you know about the three models of next-generation.
Apple's amount of waste produced by the electronics is alarming, since the iPod is designed to be all too easy to throw away. Of course, if you live near an Apple store, you can recycle your obsolete iPod for free. In this context, the disposability of the iPod and the fight among manufacturers over DVD formats seem irresponsible if not criminally negligent. iPods are crammed with lead, mercury, and flame retardant, and the 70 million already sold represent a sizable amount of toxic chemicals that seep through landfills and contaminate groundwater. Electronic waste accounts for 2 percent of America's trash in landfills but 70 percent of its toxic garbage. In 2003 alone, 3 million tons of e-waste was generated in the United States.
Here are models of the IPod starting from 2001-2010….crazy amount of new models every year with same or small changes. It’s no surprise that the U.S. 2% of total waste is electronic.   Lets look to another country.  China already produces about 2.3 million tonnes (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States with about 3 million tonnes. And, despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries. As one of the worlds leader the United States shouldn't be second in the world in E-waste!! Here are some things that are being thrown away with our IPODS, cell phones, and other electronic goods. Global e-waste generation is growing by about 40 million tons a year.  Manufacturing mobile phones and personal computers consumes 3 per cent of the gold and silver mined worldwide each year; 13 per cent of the palladium and 15 per cent of cobalt. Modern electronics contain up to 60 different elements -- many valuable, some hazardous, and some both carbon dioxide emissions from the mining and production of copper and precious and rare metals used in electrical and electronic equipment are estimated at over 23 million tonnes -- 0.1 percent of global emissions (not including emissions linked to steel, nickel or aluminum, nor those linked to manufacturing the devices)
Countries like Senegal and Uganda can expect e-waste flows from PCs alone to increase 4 to 8-fold by 2020. Given the infrastructure expense and technology skills required to create proper facilities for efficient and environmentally sound metal recovery, the report suggests facilitating exports of critical e-scrap fractions like circuit boards or btteries from smaller countries to OECD-level, certified end-processors. We must start recycling and reusing our resources before it becomes to large of a problem to reverse. 


Ryan Flitcroft

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