|
|
Mobile phones kill great apes
Every time we buy a high-tech electronic gadget, says Ian Redmond, we may be pushing the great apes closer to extinction, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. "Mr Redmond, the chief consultant with the United Nation's Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP), said that if the animals vanish, the developed world, including Australia, will share some blame. The mining of tantalum, a metal used in electronics, was a serious threat to gorillas clinging to survival in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "When you buy a mobile phone, a laptop or a games console you are buying tantalum capacitors. One of the metal's biggest sources is the Democratic Republic of Congo." The mining was destroying the forests and the animals were being killed to feed the miners. While he doubted that electronics manufacturers now knew where the metals were mined, they should be pressured to certify that their goods were not a threat to the apes. "There isn't a global conspiracy to wipe out the great apes. They are disappearing through global negligence." Related article: -- Recycled phones and "blood Tantalum" - There is an even deadlier reason why it is critical that old phones don't get tossed away- people are literally dying for them. The legacy of "blood diamonds" is well known, however the fact that a similar arrangement exists to mine coltan (Columbium Tantalum) is lesser known. |
|
BULK SMS GATEWAY