“Story of Electronics” (Richardson)

I’ve always been a fan of those animation fused with live action videos. These “Story of Stuff” videos remind me of those UPS “whiteboard” commercials—which remind by of The Postal Service (the band)—who I saw in concert this summer in Raleigh. And they were great.

Irrelevant.

I watched a couple videos on the site but the “Story of Electronics” video draws attention to a very applicable subject. I’ve always taken the “out of sight, out of mind” approach when considering what happens to my tech when I’m done with it.

Being able to see the journey of these gadgets is quite eye opening. I knew our electronics weren’t environmentally conscious, but I had no idea exactly how toxic some of these items are (Five pounds of lead in a TV! Yikes…).

25 million tons of E-waste per year is almost unfathomable. Where are we going to put all of this stuff? That’s a shocking statistic. I can’t even picture 10 tons of e-waste, let alone 25 million tons.

I appreciate the fact that this video wasn’t a guilt trip, but rather an informational film. I find those to be more effective. Because in the end, I feel more informed, not worse about myself. Although maybe I should…

“Story of Electronics” leaves us with a lot to consider, ideas like working towards a future with longer lasting, less toxic, and more recyclable products. “Product take back” seems like a great idea in theory, but I have never seen it demonstrated by the electronics companies from which I buy my products. And even if it is a better environmental strategy, who’s to say that these electronics companies will toss out a moneymaking marketing strategy of “designing for the dump”.

Time will tell, but I’m willing there won’t be any meaningful change until we have already done too much irreparable environmental damage. It’s kind of sad, really; not only because of the environmental concerns, but also for the workers who have significantly lower health due to manufacturing electronics. These people are so often forgotten about.