E-Wastes

The past few decades have witnessed amazing advancement in technology, especially in the field of electronics. Despite the remarkable facilities offered by these advances, they have given birth to a new type of hazardous waste, called e-waste. E-waste, containing numerous poisonous wastes, makes hazardous impacts and renders recycling problems.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is any broken or unwanted electronic device or appliance; sometimes, it is also called WHEE—waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Discarded computers, monitors, televisions, printers, scanners, fax machines, mice, keyboards, CD players, digital cameras, walkie-talkies and cell phones form the major chunk of e-waste.

It has been estimated that around 50 million tons of electronic products are discarded annually around the world. Most of the electronic wastes are produced by developed nations, which are later exported to developing countries for disposal. Since the government regulations are absent or are not enforced in these third world countries, the used electronic products are often easily accessible to the general public, who are exposed to health hazards associated with e-wastes.

The primary concern with e-wastes is the hazardous content they carry. Studies indicate that more than 1000 chemicals including PVC plastics and various types of gases are used for manufacturing electronic products and their components. For instance, computer monitors typically contain lead, a heavy metal known for causing brain damage among children.

Similar to monitors, flat panel TVs contain large amounts of mercury, which is likely to cause cancer. Switches and batteries contain cadmium (镉) and nickel, which are harmful to humans, animals and plants. Metal housing and joints, often coated with chromium corrosion protector (镀铬防护层), cause damage to liver and kidney. Similarly, beryllium (铂) dust generated from relays, connectors and motherboards are highly poisonous to humans.

The waste management of electronic appliances is complicated, primarily because most of the countries are not able to recycle more than 20 percent of the e-waste they generate. The leading reason for this low rate of recycling is the lack of information and initiative on part of the consumers. In addition, in many pans of the world, tons of electronic waste is discarded in illegal dump sites, where no waste monitoring system exists.

The extensive variety of the materials involved in electronic appliances also makes the sorting tedious, thereby rendering the e-waste recycling business less effective. The problem can only be resolved by adopting improved recycling solutions and generating public drive for e-waste recycling.

E-waste represents one of the most diverse mixtures of the waste categories. Increasing at an alarming rate, e-wastes pose serious health hazards to humans and wild life. Consumer awareness and commitment are necessary for controlling the problem. Technological advances such as clean computers and appliances are also beneficial since they can address the problem at root.

Nowadays, a lot of freshmen are escorted by their families to the university on the enrollment day.

Write a 300-word expository essay expressing your views on the phenomenon.

The Doubt That Haunts

When most people are asked to produce something creative, they freeze. They panic. They choke. They seize up with self-doubt. “Creativity?” they say. “Not me!” If you disbelieve this statement, consider how often you try new things in your life. How readily do you try something creative, such as writing, drawing or singing? Most of us believe we can't create and have believed it for so long that the belief has become reality. People possess a large capacity for self-doubt about their creative ability in terms of writing, drawing, and music.

Writing offers a classic example. About 90 percent of adults believe they cannot write, although nearly all young children believe they can write. Self-doubt seems to creep in as we grow older. I witnessed this last year in a college writing class when the instructor asked the students if they ever wrote outside of school. One student raised his hand. When the instructor asked how many students thought of themselves as writers, no students—zero out of twenty—raised a hand. By contrast,a first grade teacher had asked her students the same questions and received quite different responses. Did any first graders write outside of school? Twenty out of twenty-two hands shot up. Did any first graders think of themselves as writers? Twenty-two out of twenty-two hands went up. Plainly, adults are more self-conscious about their creativity than children are.

Drawing is another creative ability that many adults doubt they have. For instance, at a recent family party I suggested we play “Piclionary,” which involves drawing clues for secret words. “Absolutely not!” my family said “We can't draw.”The interesting part, however, is that we played “Pictionary”, and had a wonderful time with some very creative drawings. This experience showed me that people often doubt they can be creative because they haven't tried.

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Self-doubt about creativity in areas such as writing, drawing, or music seems nearly universal among adults. It seems probable, however, that almost all adults have the capacity for creativity in those areas. People all have the potential to be creative and would be able to express their creative side as long as they try. What keeps people from being creative? In my opinion, people are afraid of looking inept,so they hesitate to try creative things. If people would learn to do things to please themselves rather than to please others, maybe their doubts would disappear.

E-Wastes

The past few decades have witnessed amazing advancement in technology, especially in the field of electronics. Despite the remarkable facilities offered by these advances, they have given birth to a new type of hazardous waste, called e-waste. E-waste, containing numerous poisonous wastes, makes hazardous impacts and renders recycling problems.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is any broken or unwanted electronic device or appliance; sometimes, it is also called WHEE—waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Discarded computers, monitors, televisions, printers, scanners, fax machines, mice, keyboards, CD players, digital cameras, walkie-talkies and cell phones form the major chunk of e-waste.

It has been estimated that around 50 million tons of electronic products are discarded annually around the world. Most of the electronic wastes are produced by developed nations, which are later exported to developing countries for disposal. Since the government regulations are absent or are not enforced in these third world countries, the used electronic products are often easily accessible to the general public, who are exposed to health hazards associated with e-wastes.

The primary concern with e-wastes is the hazardous content they carry. Studies indicate that more than 1000 chemicals including PVC plastics and various types of gases are used for manufacturing electronic products and their components. For instance, computer monitors typically contain lead, a heavy metal known for causing brain damage among children.

Similar to monitors, flat panel TVs contain large amounts of mercury, which is likely to cause cancer. Switches and batteries contain cadmium (镉) and nickel, which are harmful to humans, animals and plants. Metal housing and joints, often coated with chromium corrosion protector (镀铬防护层), cause damage to liver and kidney. Similarly, beryllium (铂) dust generated from relays, connectors and motherboards are highly poisonous to humans.

The waste management of electronic appliances is complicated, primarily because most of the countries are not able to recycle more than 20 percent of the e-waste they generate. The leading reason for this low rate of recycling is the lack of information and initiative on part of the consumers. In addition, in many pans of the world, tons of electronic waste is discarded in illegal dump sites, where no waste monitoring system exists.

The extensive variety of the materials involved in electronic appliances also makes the sorting tedious, thereby rendering the e-waste recycling business less effective. The problem can only be resolved by adopting improved recycling solutions and generating public drive for e-waste recycling.

E-waste represents one of the most diverse mixtures of the waste categories. Increasing at an alarming rate, e-wastes pose serious health hazards to humans and wild life. Consumer awareness and commitment are necessary for controlling the problem. Technological advances such as clean computers and appliances are also beneficial since they can address the problem at root.