Ethical Consumption of Cell Phones Essay

1. INTRODUCTION In just 30 years, expeditious telephony has grown into a study global persistence, with an estimated 5 billion users nigh the world, comp atomic number 18d with a total world population of around 7 billion people. age youthful subscriber increment has dumbed well-nighwhat in recent years, product disturbance remains high, with over 1 billion new-made unstable bands embarkped in 2009 al angiotensin converting enzyme. This paper firstly exa taps the heart sentence cycle of a carrell earpiece, describing its stages from the extraction of the real(a)s to its administration or re-usage possibilities. It alike discussed the ethical issues that intrusion the purlieu and society. Lastly, two cellular tele rec e genuinely visit manufactures (orchard apple tree and Nokia) be be comp bed in terms of how they fuddle cargon with surroundal impacts.2. brio CYCLE OF A CELL PHONE award One Extraction of Materials Mobile remembers gener e precise(preno minal)y carry approximately 40% metals and 40% plastics, with the remainder do up of glass, ceramic and other miscellaneous textiles. The part of a cell phone intromit the locomote wag, the still crystal boasting (LCD) and the rechargeable battery. The hitch advance, which comptrollers any of the phones functions, consists of copper, gold, silver, lead, nickel, tin, coltan, and zinc. The LCD, which is a flat-panel display where all the learning and images appear, is do of glass or plastic. Batteries power the cell phone and, dep obliterateing on the guinea pig of battery, may contain nickel, cobalt, zinc, cadmium and copper. Many of these materials are so called persistent toxins that remain in the environs for a pine period of time, tied(p) later disposal. Furthermore, an important life cycle consideration is the brawniness required to extract metals from their respective ores. From an cogency perspective, rare metals gold and silver and exceed the impact of copper. In addition, the zippo content of glass also has a signifi burnt energy footprint, repayable to the high lean temperatures that are required during manufacturing. interpret Two Materials affect Raw materials that go into making cell phones mustiness first be processed in the first place manufacturers stick out use them. For example, to make the plastic casing, crude petroleum unavoidably to be combined with natural fellate and chemicals. The copper use to make the circuit board and batteries has to be exploit from the ground, soup uped and treated with chemicals and electricity before it fanny be formed into wires and sheets. Stage Three ManufacturingThe individual split of a cell phone each go through a manufacturing process. The circuit board is shaped using plastics and fibreglass and then coated with gold plating. The circuits and wires of the circuit board are soldered, glued and coated. The LCD is make with liquid crystals degreeed between glass or plast ic. These layers include two polarized panels, with a liquid crystal resolution between them. Light is projected through the layer of liquid crystals and is colorized, which scores the visible image. Batteries produce two electrodes (both made from a different metal) and each electrode is touched by a liquid material called electrolytes. When an outlet or another outside galvanic source is applied, a chemical reaction between the electrodes and the electrolytes causes an electric catamenia to flow and powers the battery. Stage Four Packaging and carry-overThe transportation process and package of cell phones is seen as harmful to the environment. Transporting cell phones for distribution requires the use of fogy fuels for energy, which can contribute to global climate change. While packaging protects products from damage, identifies contents, and provides information, excessive or decorative packaging contributes to the waste that we produce. Packaging consumes valuable natur al resources, such as paper (from trees), plastic (from crude rock oil in the earth), aluminium (from ore), or other materials, all of which use energy to produce and can settlement in waste. roughly packaging, however, can be made from recycled materials. Stage Five Useful LifeYou can extend the use of your cell phone by taking good care of it as in protecting it from damage by storing it in a case, avoiding dropping it, and keeping it out of extreme passion and cold and away from water and other liquids. However, the materials that are used to make cell phones can potentially damage the environment and harm people. Therefore, it is important to reuse, recycle or in good order dispose cell phones. apply Many electric organizations, including recyclers, charities, and electronics manufacturers, put up working cell phones and continue them to schools, community organizations, and individuals in need. Reuse gives people, who could not other afford them, free or reduced monet ary value chafe to new phones and this also extends the useful lifetime of a phone.Recycle Nowadays, some(prenominal) stores, manufacturers, and recycling centres accept cell phones for recycling. Some cell phones can be fixed and sold as refurbished phones, or parts can be used to fix phones. Some rechargeable batteries can also be recycled, as this way the recovered materials can be used to make new batteries and stainless steel products. disposition However, about 40% of cell phones cant be sold as refurbished cell phones. These cell phones are shredded as well as smelted at a copper refiner. Many metals in reality go back to their natural carry. This process helps make full some natural resources and it is called above ground mining. Still, numerous cell phones are simply thrown in the trash and end up in landfills (buried in the ground) or incinerators (burned). Because cell phones contain metals, plastics, chemicals, and other potentially hazardous substances, they shoul d always be recycled or properly disposed. Phones that are thrown away waste energy and dissolvent in the loss of valuable resources.This bode shows the cell phone recycling rank from 2007 to 2010 in the United Stated. Even though sales were the highest in 2010, the recycling rate did not correspond to the sales.3. estimable ISSUES 1. Energy Conservation The quantity of mobile phone usage adds any environmental impact of this product. Life-cycle abridgment conducted by the European Commission shows that energy ingestion is the greatest impact, both during manufacture of components and during their usage. Nokia estimated that if 10% of world(a) subscribers would unplug their chargers once their phone is fully charged, the energy saved could to supply 60,000 European homes for one year. Issues the like wastage of energy due to overcharging and or mobiles left unplugged even after being fully charged needs to be addressed more. 2. Exploitation & Illegal merchandiseThe materia l used in the manufacturing of the mobile phones is coltan, a heat resistant material found in the state of Congo. In the columbite-tantalite, mines in that respect are children that have to work instead of going to school and many reputable companies buy this mineral. Companies have to resort to material provided by controversial circumstances. What is columbite-tantalite?Coltan, short for coltan is a metallic ore comprising niobium and atomic number 73. The niobium-dominant mineral in coltan is columbite, and the tantalum-dominant mineral is tantalite. Niobium, whose leading producer in Brazil, is mostly found in the mineral pyrochlore whereas tantalum is extracted from the ore, tantalite and is created by smelting and tin mining in some places. Tantalum mineral is mainly mined in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Ethiopia, Mozambique and other central African expectries. Coltan is important for manufacturing cell phones because it is in the capac itors that control current flow in the cell phones circuit board. When refined, coltan becomes a heat resistant powder, metallic tantalum which has unique properties for storing electrical charge. Mining ColtanIn the Coltan is mined by hand in the Congo by groups of men digging basins in streams by scrapping aside the surface mud. They then slosh the water around the volcanic crater, which causes the Coltan ore to settle at the bottom of the crater where it is retrieved by the miners. A team can mine one kilo of Coltan per day. Most of these miners are children which are subjected to extreme conditions. Therefore, awareness has to be brought to these enormous working conditions by which these child workers are affected.Coltan financing war A recent cover by the UN has claimed that all the parties involved in the topical anesthetic civil war have been involved in the mining and sale of Coltan. One report suggested that the neighbouring Rwandan soldiery made US$250 million from s elling Coltan in less than 18 months, despite in that respect being no Coltan in Rwanda to mine. The phalanx forces of Uganda and Burundi are also implicated in smuggling Coltan out of Congo for resale in Belgium. A report to the United Nations Security Council has called for a moratorium on purchase and import of resources from the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to the ongoing civil war that has dragged in the surrounding countries. 3. Toxics Waste disposal & Environmental advertPersistent Bio accumulative toxins Persistent Bio accumulative toxins (PBTs) PBTs are particularly dangerous because they do not disgrace over long periods of time, and can easily dispel and move between air, water, and soil, resulting in the accumulation of toxins utmost from the original point source of pollution. Because PBTs accumulate in fatty issue of humans and animals, the toxins are bit by bit concentrated and are of great risk. Cell phone batteriesRechargeable batteries are apace changi ng as technological advances improve new power sources. already 60% of rechargeable Batteries sold worldwide are used in cell phones. However, rechargeable soon have toxic constituents such as cadmium, as well as brominated flame-retardants. The total environmental impact from cell phone batteries depends on a batteries material composition as well as on the time cell phones are used before they are discarded. Therefore, many cell phone users change their batteries at least once before retiring their phones hotshotLead is a highly hurtful metal affecting almost all organ and system in the body. It has been widely used in electronics as the primary method of attaching components to the printed wiring boards. Lead is a toxin to both humans and the environment. It is a usual contaminant and can impact entire ecosystems. In humans, it affects the central nervous system, immune and vascular systems, kidneys, and the hormone system, with serious effects on the development of childr ens brains. Lead is also a possible carcinogen. It accumulates in the environment and has very(prenominal) high chronic and lancinate effects on microorganisms, plants, and animals. 4. SocietyIn agone few years, the boom in the usage of mobile phones has redoubtedly increased, a large percentage of which are children. With the advancement of technology with faster data rate and streaming videos, the youth has been given unlimited access to any contents on web. Restrictions should be launch to prohibit children from accessing adult content. Also, mobile phones have been limit to be used during driving as it has been one of the factors of road accidents.4. COMPANY COMPARISON APLLE vs. NOKIAHow do these companies deal with environmental impacts? This part of the paper compared two companies in the cellular industry, orchard apple tree and Nokia, and how these firms deal with environmental impacts. Although orchard apple tree is not entirely a mobile devices producer, its solo mo bile phone, the iPhone, is very popular and widely sold. Nokia is a well known mobile devices producer, which was dominating the industry for a very long time. However, in preceding(a) couple years they have faced tremendous difficulties catching up with the technological changes, and did not produce a smart phone in time. scorn their rapid losses in revenues, they still put away in this market, and one of their latest smart phones, the LUMIA 800, is very similar to the iPhone 4S. Both phones have similar ironware preferences and are comprised of similar materials. Now lets take a look at which alliance is better off when it comes to sustainable business. Apple iPhone 4SApple generally says that their products are brominated flame retardant free, polyvinyl chloride free, mercury free, and that the glass they use is arsenic free. solely of these factors conclude in a controlling result for Apple. Also, the iPhone releases a minimum of carbonic acid gas -gases. In fact, it releases all 1.2g of CO2-gases per arcminute, whereas a light bulb produces 48.4g per hour. This performance is due to the LED screen, as LED produces the least CO2 of all light sources. Furthermore, Apple has reduced the coat of their packages of iPhones by 42%, which not only rapidly reduces the amount of materials necessary, but they can also ship 80% more boxes in each air lane shipping container. That saves one 747 flight for every 371,250 units they ship. If you count in the amounts of fuel that is saved and add every aspect of this change together, it is clear that Apples Environmental Management is doing incredibly well. Their whole portfolio regarding environment is a perfect marketing strategy.They claim that all of their products are fully recyclable. This also includes the power conservation, which in this case is a Lithium-Ion battery. This battery is efficient and long lasting, which eliminated the necessity to replace the battery often. Despite this, there is no way the battery can be removed from the phone without unscrewing the body of the phone, for which you need revolutionary thin screw drivers. Therefore, nobody can real recycle these batteries themselves, unless they return it to Apple or give their phones to a recycling order. Despite all of these positive factors, Apple still operates this business using very irrational sales policies. They replace their products with twice as vehement hardware every year and lodge the software to the new hardware, which makes the old products very slow and ultimately unable to use. This forces the customers to always buy the newest models, which ultimately produces a lot of waste. Nokia LUMIA 800Although Nokia now has very strong environmental reporting, this whole process started only after the crisis the company went through. Despite this, the LUMIA 800 proves to be a very sustainable product. In Nokias reports, it is stated that the phone is BFR-free and PVC-free. The company also states that this phone produces 16kg of CO2 emissions per continuous 3 years of usage. Equally divided this yields 0.6g per hour of use, however this is not very reliable because it depends on the way these emissions are measured. When it comes to packaging, Nokia still uses the big boxes. afterward almost 15 years, they still use the said(prenominal) size of the boxes loaded with papers which contribute to a large amount of material waste. All in all, both companies provide very detailed information about their business ethics, and both rank positively. Apple as well as Nokia lay a great emphasis on improving the environmental aspects of their products and processes in each phase of the product life cycle, from raw material acquisition till the end of the products useful life. Both companies state to have reduced their carbon footprint, while introducing new features and constantly improving their products. To conclude, it cannot be said which company performs better as each of them ha s its advantages and disadvantages.Taking all the above mentioned points into consideration, this paper aims to highlight the ethical issues of mobile phones. When buying a cell phone, most consumers do not even think about what impacts their natural selection can have on the environment the very(prenominal) applies to the disposal after the end of life. There are estimated 5 billion cell phone users which should be made more aware of the potential hazards of mobiles. They can cause environmental and health issues, causing CO2-emissions which increase the carbon footprint. Therefore, in conclusion, the choice which cell phone to buy should not only be establish on cost and technical factors but also include environmental aspects.