Spring Break
Column: Cell phones not worth it
Issue date: 2/23/05 Section: Opinion
by Maceo Carrillo Martinet
Daily Lobo guest columnist
Many people ask me why I don't own a cell phone. The reason I have chosen not to own this common appliance goes beyond simply being rebellious or cheap, as some might expect.
The cellular phone has become the triumphant symbol of this technological age. You see people using this phenomenal gadget while waiting for the bus, walking to class or driving to work. If they are bored, there are cool games to occupy their time. Still, while this technology might add convenience to our lives, there are reasons to seriously question its benefits.
The electronic elements controlling the flow of electrical current in cell phones are composed of a refined mineral known throughout the mining and electronic industries as coltan. With about one-sixth of humanity now using this technology, and with cell phone subscriptions increasing at the tremendous pace of around 1 million every month, the demand for coltan has skyrocketed.
The United Nations Security Council, in conjunction with various community and environmental groups, revealed that much of the economic fuel sustaining the civil wars in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is directly connected to coltan profits. Some rebel groups have made $20 million per month selling coltan to industry buyers. The United Nations reports child labor in Africa has significantly increased in coltan and diamond mines. In some regions of the Congo, about 30 percent of schoolchildren are now forced to work in the mines.
Major electronics companies such as Nokia and Intel declare they only buy coltan from legitimate mining operations, but company officials will also admit it is close to impossible to actually know where the coltan in most phones originates from. In the Congo, where 80 percent of the world's known coltan reserves are, coltan mining and exports continue despite international sanctions on coltan trading.
Miners can make between $10 and $50 a week in the Congo. Most jobs only pay $10 a month, so laborers willing to mine coltan will always be available.
Daily Lobo guest columnist
Many people ask me why I don't own a cell phone. The reason I have chosen not to own this common appliance goes beyond simply being rebellious or cheap, as some might expect.
The cellular phone has become the triumphant symbol of this technological age. You see people using this phenomenal gadget while waiting for the bus, walking to class or driving to work. If they are bored, there are cool games to occupy their time. Still, while this technology might add convenience to our lives, there are reasons to seriously question its benefits.
The electronic elements controlling the flow of electrical current in cell phones are composed of a refined mineral known throughout the mining and electronic industries as coltan. With about one-sixth of humanity now using this technology, and with cell phone subscriptions increasing at the tremendous pace of around 1 million every month, the demand for coltan has skyrocketed.
The United Nations Security Council, in conjunction with various community and environmental groups, revealed that much of the economic fuel sustaining the civil wars in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is directly connected to coltan profits. Some rebel groups have made $20 million per month selling coltan to industry buyers. The United Nations reports child labor in Africa has significantly increased in coltan and diamond mines. In some regions of the Congo, about 30 percent of schoolchildren are now forced to work in the mines.
Major electronics companies such as Nokia and Intel declare they only buy coltan from legitimate mining operations, but company officials will also admit it is close to impossible to actually know where the coltan in most phones originates from. In the Congo, where 80 percent of the world's known coltan reserves are, coltan mining and exports continue despite international sanctions on coltan trading.
Miners can make between $10 and $50 a week in the Congo. Most jobs only pay $10 a month, so laborers willing to mine coltan will always be available.
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