The Almighty Mobile Phone

I chose to write about something we are all familiar with, but perhaps do not consider the environmental ramifications of, everyday.

Most people these days have one on them at all times.  In fact, there is often a sense of panic when we can not find it.   Or alternatively,  if we accidentally leave home without it, there is a feeling that something is missing all day.

God FORBID we should run out of power and not be close to a charger and an outlet for any more than a few hours at most!

I speak of course of the almighty cell phone.  I spent the first 28 years of my life without one (somehow!)  but now, like the rest of the modern world, am very much used to having it around.

How often do we consider though, the complexity of these devices and the amount of labor and materials that go into manufacturing them?

They say that the cell phones we use today are over 100 times more powerful than the computer which got our astronauts to the moon and back in 1969.  That computer being not much more than a modern calculator.

But how are they made?

The primary material is plastic, which is derived from crude oil.
These are generally coated with a flame retardant chemical.

The second largest material is the liquid crystal display, which is thin layers of glass sandwiching liquid crystals and usually a bit of mercury.

Thirdly, the phones power source, the battery, often contains any combination of the elements: nickel, lithium, cobalt, cadmium, zinc and/or copper.

The phones' charger also contains copper wires in plastic casings.  Some may even include traces of gold or cadmium.

There are a whole slew of "minor" ingredients, which are difficult to attain but are essential for the functionality of the phone.  (i.e. the microprocessors and microchips)

All of these "ingredients", once collected, have to be shipped to facilities to be assembled, then packaged and shipped all over the world.

When you consider the effort that goes into it, it is remarkable that cell phones are so affordable.