Byrne, PA and Hudson-Edwards, KA (2018) Three ways making a smartphone can harm the environment. The Conversation.

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Abstract

Nearly five billion people worldwide will use a smartphone by 2020. Each device is made up of numerous precious metals and many of the key technological features wouldn’t be possible without them. Some, like gold, will be familiar. Others, such as terbium, are less well-known.

Mining these metals is a vital activity that underpins the modern global economy. But the environmental cost can be enormous and is probably far greater than you realise. Let’s walk through some of the key metals in smartphones, what they do, and the environmental cost of getting them out of the ground.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences T Technology > T Technology (General)
Divisions:	Biological & Environmental Sciences (from Sep 19)
Publisher:	The Conversation Trust
Date Deposited:	26 Mar 2021 09:28
Last Modified:	03 Sep 2021 23:15
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14679

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