E-waste

As technology advances, more plastics and dangerous metals are being thrown out. As per usual the victims of 1st world progression are third world countries. The same countries that have boat loads of food leaving starving homes to reach America and Europe are getting electronic waste imported to their shores. This waste contains metals that are worth at least some money, but the process of extracting these metals are incredibly dangerous for one's health. Inhaling toxic fumes is the only way to cook out the precious metal. Spending money on gas masks or even face masks is not in the price range of the people who are forced in to this line of work, and long term health is a distant second to earning money to feed one's family. These old computers are not going in to landfills, so an electronics recycling company could argue that shipping these old computers out to third world countries is recycling them. The human rights violations in this process are clear and undeniable. However, some people don't really mind the suffering of people in third world countries, so for these soulless people one must construct an argument that hits closer to home. The environmental tole of this process is almost as devastating as the human rights atrocities. These items are being shipped out, which uses fossil fuels that deplete the atmosphere. When the metals are cooked, it releases toxic fumes in to the atmosphere, once again harming it. We don't need anything else hurting the atmosphere than we already have. All of this crime-- and yes, the environmental and human rights violations are worse to me than most of the crime we have here-- is all done in an effort to save money. Money and the pursuit of saving it and earning it has caused more bad than good. Some say money makes the world go around, I say money will stop the earth in her tracks and ultimately end all of our lives. But that's just my opinion.