- Playing
- E-Waste
- From
- Pat Maxwell
What happens to our consumer electronics after they've served their useful life? Unfortunately, discarded computer monitors often get shipped to Asia or Africa, where the world's poorest workers strip them down by hand, exposing themselves and their surroundings to toxins like chromium, mercury and lead. It's all illegal, but it happens...
Also in the July 2009 - Isla Earth Radio Series series
National Parks Welcome Ecotainers
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
There are plans underway to eliminate waste in our nation’s parks. One cup at a time.
Organic Spuds Could Bring Home the Bacon
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
Americans love potatoes. Fried, baked, steamed, boiled, and broiled. On average, each of us scarfs up about 140 pounds of this delectable tuber a year. It’s a $2 billion ...
Bio-Gas Your Ride
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
"Unleaded, super unleaded, or tree fungus." It could be an option someday!
Picture Perfect
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
Have you ever opened a pdf file? Or used slick software like PhotoShop to manipulate images? Just a click or two with the trusty mouse, and it’s bye-bye double chin. Well, ...
Ready Reeds
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
The common reed looks harmless as it waves in the wind of America’s wetlands. But, this exotic plant is one of nature’s most effective invasive species, and it’s killing the ...
Pond Diversity Lost After Drought
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
When rain refills a dried out pond, life soon returns to normal. Frogs croak, algae grows and dragonflies dart back and forth. But that’s only part of the story.
Tailpipe Carbon Recycling
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
Imagine a conventional, gas-powered car, with no carbon emissions. I mean, absolutely zero.
Tiger Tales
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
It may not be plain to see “we’ve got a tiger by the tail” -- as the song Buck Owens made popular insists. But we do seem to have ’em right where we want them.
Bottle Bills Promote Green Manufacturing
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
Believe it or not, just two generations ago, it was unheard of not to recycle glass beverage bottles. Today, that idea itself is getting recycled.
Three Cheers for Biofuel
(01:30)
From: Pat Maxwell
What to do you get after you empty a barrel of fermented beer or whiskey? Besides a hangover, that is.
Piece Description
What happens to our consumer electronics after they've served their useful life? Unfortunately, discarded computer monitors often get shipped to Asia or Africa, where the world's poorest workers strip them down by hand, exposing themselves and their surroundings to toxins like chromium, mercury and lead. It's all illegal, but it happens...
Additional Credits
Isla Earth is produced by the Catalina Island Conservancy with support from its Fund for a Sustainable Planet.




