All-electric cars about to be resurrected

Check out this article in San Francisco Chronicle written by Micheal Taylor

 

“The all-electric car, which had a brief heyday less than a decade ago and then went the way of the dodo, killed off by the car    companies, is about to make a comeback”. More

 

 

Part1 : Sexy electronic gadgets – Risk to Human life?

Many of us here in the silicon valley, home of innovation and the tech industry, have little to no knowledge of the human risk  the sexy gadgets like cell phones , PDAs, TVs, Computers, Printers etc pose.  These gadgets do make our life much easier and convenient and are big part of our day to day activities. They are needed, absolutely needed, to keep pace with the rat race we have introduced our selves into.  

 

I have numerous obsolete electronics in my garage – cell phones, cameras, batteries, printer, scanner, computer, speakers, entertainment set, and TVs, the list goes on. These occupy quiet a bit of space in my garage. How do I dispose these? I have known from the brochures of the local waste management, left at my front door - never to dispose these with the rest of the household waste, not even in the recycle bin.  Why, I ask myself. Well, they contain hazardous materials (hazmat). In my mind, I think, Hazmat….in my house….sounds dangerous….why would I have hazmat in my house…you must be kiddin, right! I'm paying to get hazmat in my house….don't they have laws about it!? 

 

If a nice hot cup of coffee says 'Caution – coffee is HOT', wouldn't they say on the electronics 'Caution – contains Hazmat' I turned the computer upside down to see if it said anything like that, in really small print. Nope, didn't find it (Surprise! Surprise!).

 

Many questions started popping in my head and I set to find out what is in these sexy gadgets, that we all tote about, think is cool to own, and cannot live without.

 

Searches on Google quickly lead to the realization that this is a bigger beast than I thought.   Computers, stereos, TVs, printers , scanners,   cell phones , PDA, electrical appliances like Fridge, Toaster, Telephone, washer dryer, air conditioners, fluorescent lamp bulbs all come under the 'E-waste' umbrella. Apparently 'E-waste' is emerging global environmental problem which could pose a serious risk to human health.

 

There was a time, when the electrical and electronic equipments were repaired and re-used. But now we are in, what I would like to call 'The disposable Era' where once the appliance malfunctions, we buy a new one. You don't call a technician if your toaster broke, you just get a new one. This is true for most electrical equipments. In the case of electronic gadgets I would like to say, we are in 'The upgrade era'. We are constantly upgrading our gadgets, even though the previous one functions just fine.

 

"Every year, 20 to 50 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment waste ("e-waste") are generated world-wide, which could bring serious risks to human health and the environment " (UNEP,2005)

 

Since there was so much to blog on the topic of e-waste, I decided to break it into parts and this is part 1.

 

 More later!

Moral Obligations for Citizens

'America thinks of itself as a generous country, but is actually not', says Peter Singer. 'It is a wonderful myth'.  America is worst of all the industrial countries from the percentage of the income point of view. The countries that actually lead the way is Sweden and Norway

 

Peter Singer, Princeton university bioethicist appeared on Michael Krasny's Forum on NPR

 

He says

'Take the death of this small boy this morning, for example. The boy died of measles. We all know he could have been cured at the hospital. But the parents had no money and so the boy died a slow and painful death, not of measles but out of poverty'

 

People in developing and underdeveloped countries die of conditions that don't exist in the developed world. We have to make the people in the country real, put face on them.'

 

Go to lifeyoucansave.com  and find out how much percentage of your income should you donate to make a difference. While you are there, take a pledge!

 

Although hard cash is good, donations don't have to always be hard cash. Some of the everyday decisions and conscious choices have impact on state of affairs. Shop ethically i.e buying organic – maybe pricey – consider that your contribution towards protecting mother earth. More you support the organic movement the less negative impact on the environment. Buy in the local farmers market. Buy fair trade, where possible. Recycle and Reuse.

 

It's time we reconsider our consumption, our values and think about the people in need!