Received an electronic gadget for Christmas? This sobering ABC story on electronic waste will make your toes curl:

315 million to 600 million desktop and laptop computers in the U.S. will become obsolete over the next 18 months. That’s the equivalent of a 22-story pile of e-waste covering the entire city of Los Angeles.

Read more: One Man’s Trash Doesn’t Necessarily Become Another Man’s Treasure

Received an electronic gadget for Christmas? This sobering ABC story on electronic waste will make your toes curl:

315 million to 600 million desktop and laptop computers in the U.S. will become obsolete over the next 18 months. That’s the equivalent of a 22-story pile of e-waste covering the entire city of Los Angeles.

Read more: One Man’s Trash Doesn’t Necessarily Become Another Man’s Treasure

Apple received flak recently when news stories revealed that some its iPods were being produced in sweatshops in China.

Alternet.org today introduces us the exploitation of workers mining for the materials that make cell phones and computers: War, Murder, Rape… All for Your Cell Phone

(Forgive the sensational title, but it does suit the story. Mining also causes considerable environmental destruction.)

The following link lists 36 chemicals/components that can be found in your typical desktop. (I was surprised to see cadmium!) Chemicals in a desktop computer

It’s also interesting to note that 70% of the heavy metals in landfills come from discarded computer parts. Hmmm…