Green Options

Think about how often your cell phone is plugged into a jack. What if there was a way to eliminate all that power use? There may be, according to Tahir Cagin, a professor at Texas A&M University. Cagin and his colleagues have discovered a way to power cell phones using sound waves produced by the user.

I often have email exchanges with ecopreneurs, non-profits, NGOs and various business folks that don’t necessarily end up as a blog post. Sometimes I start in one direction and end up in another. That’s what happened here when I received an email from Rob Wallace at Keep America Beautiful.

Rob had one of those ironic moments. He sent out an email and press release to us asking:

How can recycling wireless phones support the new administration’s energy policy?  Our recycling partner, ReCellular, is a reuse-oriented recycler of cellular equipment, and we’re confident that their structure and operations support zero-waste wireless recycling.

Great email pitch. Bookmark this page for next time you send out a press release. However, this pitch landed on my screen the day after I wrote this post on 60 Minutes and Executive Recycling. I immediately asked Rob if he’d be interested in commenting on the whole issue of dumping of e-waste in China instead. And he was and here is what he had to say:

According to Walter Stahel — one of the founders of the sustainability movement and original thinkers behind the Cradle-to-Cradle design philosophy – social ecology is one of the five pillars of sustainability. He defined social ecology as encompassing “…the fabric of societal structures, including peace and human rights, dignity and democracy, employment and social integration, security and safety…” Simply stated, addressing issues of social sustainability is equally important as the economy and the environment for ensuring the survival of our species.

Many of the initiatives addressing the issues of social ecology rely on bringing modern technologies — like cell phones, computers, and Internet access — to populations in need. These initiatives are helping to “bridge the digital divide” and are often referred to as ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development). ICTs are used either directly by the disadvantaged population in some manner, or can be used to assist aid organizations and NGOs to improve socio-economic conditions. We can’t remember what our lives were like before the use computers and mobile phones; we often take these tools for granted, but for many people in developing regions these communication tools can have a profound impact on improving their lives and communities.

I recently read Seventh Generation’s new guide to keeping kids safe from everyday household chemicals. It is a great starting point, and guide that emcompasses many areas such as pesticides, BPA, vinyl, and flame retardants. If you are wondering how to make your home safer for your babies, this is a valuable resource.

I know I have written here and on Non-Toxic Kids about the radiation emitted from cell phones, and the increased risk to children. The Organic Consumer’s Association shared an article about a new study done in Sweden.

The gist? “Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.” Yes, I thought that would make you stop and read it again. I sure did. The article goes on to explain the risk is much greater for adults who started using cell phones in their teens, and encouraged parents to limit their children’s use of cell phones to emergencies and the usage of headsets and hands-free devices.

I’m certainly listening!

[image by IamSAM]

The average American replaces an old cell phone with a new one about every year and a half. With around 256 million cell phone users in the U.S., that’s a lot of electronic waste. Because we replace them so often, cell phones are major contributors to the “wireless waste” in this country.

Cell phones contain a number of toxins that build up in the environment over time, like arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc. These chemicals are linked to all sorts of nasty health problems, such as neurological disorders and cancer. That’s the bad news. The good news is, there are lots of free, easy ways to safely dispose of your old cell phone and keep it out of the landfill. Rather than pitching your old phone in the trash, check out a few ways you can use your old phone to do good or even score some cash!

From a recent survey Italy turns out to be the first consumer of cell phones in Europe, with an average of 1.22 per head. Italians change them like dresses and the result is a huge amount of old cells in their houses. This passion for cell phone communication is all too audible on crosswalks, motorbikes, restaurants, theatres… Italians just have an unquenchable desire to talk and you can see people shouting into cell phones and not looking where they are going..

What about the waste management of these “prosthesis” of our hands??

A couple weeks ago Apple filed a patent to explore the use of solar power in their next generation of mobile devices. With battery life being a long running issue for Apple’s laptops and mobile phones, solar power could help extend use time without having to plug in.

The patent filing discusses placing the solar technology behind the LCD screen of the devices so that the panels would absorb ambient light without adding additional width [...]

I’ve been following the stories about cell phones and cancer closely. It’s not that I use mine very often (in fact, I can rarely find it), and coverage is spotty in rural Vermont. No, I am thinking about all of my students who probably started using cell phones in the seventh grade, and do so heavily (can you say teenager and phones?) now as high school students. I also think of my young daughters, growing up quickly, and their many years of cell phone use when they are older (much, much older-).

Having spent a lot of time in the wireless industry and being hopelessly addicted to my Blackberry and my Helio Ocean, I wanted to take a look at how manufacturers and carriers stand up when it comes to enviro-friendly action.

Nokia: Remaking Mobile
Nokia is one of my favorite handset manufacturers. Not only do they have some amazing concept devices, such as the Nokia Remade, a handset made entirely of pre-used parts from old tires to aluminum cans, they also currently have working devices on the market that are reducing impact. With covers made of recycled material and chargers that are Energy Star compliant and then some, Nokia is making bold strides in the right direction.

The 3110 Evolve’s biocover is made with 50% renewable material, and the packaging has been reduced by 60% for the handset. Along the a charger that uses 94% less energy that Energy Star compliance requires.

Recycled cell phones as art.

Boston, Mass.—In yesterday’s Boston Globe, I came across an article in the Lifestyle/Green Living section that really caught my eye…and my ear. An art student from Allston, Mass. has an installation in Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) that consists entirely of discarded cellular phones.

Rob Pettit, 26, has been spending months collecting, sorting and arranging old cell phones, even using their ring tones and camera shots in some of his pieces.

“It’s just interesting to see what an explosion of products [this is], and realizing that every time you get one, it’s on the verge of being replaced by another,” Pettit told the Boston Globe. “There’s an estimated half a billion cellphones just sitting in people’s desk drawers.”