[LAU] OT: mineral wars in Congo

andy baxter andy at earthsong.free-online.co.uk
Mon Jul 5 19:46:32 UTC 2010


On 05/07/10 18:43, Renato wrote:
> Hello, I know this might be very OT here, but I think anyone involved
> with modern technology should know about this:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/opinion/27kristof.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
>    

This is something that's bothered me for some time - pretty much any 
piece of electronic hardware you use contains minerals which have been 
dug out of a big hole in the ground somewhere, usually in a poor country 
and often without respecting the rights of local people and their 
environment. With some products you can buy fair trade in the hope that 
this is making some difference at least to the unfair trade practices 
that are the root of the problem, but there's no such thing as fair 
trade usb sticks.

Seeing as I like computers, I've found this quite painful over the years 
- every now and again I hear of another story of people being forced off 
their land or having to live in a polluted environment, and if I'm going 
to think honestly about it, there's no escaping the fact that the things 
I buy are part of what's causing these problems.

On a personal level the only answer I've come up with is to think before 
I buy something whether it's something I'll actually use, and try to 
stick with old hardware as long as possible (e.g. I still use a 
non-internet mobile phone). Also to give stuff away when I don't need it 
rather than throw it away.

On a wider level I'm not sure what the answer is, but publicising the 
issue and calling companies to account for their responsibility in the 
worst cases of social and environmental abuse can only help. So I think 
it's ok to post stuff like this every now and again.

andy


More information about the Linux-audio-user mailing list