The Earth Institute and Earth Institute Student Advisory Council (EISAC) present the EISAC 2013 Spring Event: Closing the loop – Technology & Sustainability.
7:00-9:00 pm – Panel Discussion and Q&A
9:00-10:00 pm – Screening of “Terra Blight”
This event is being held to educate, inform and engage people on sustainability issues related to the extraction, manufacturing and disposal of technological devices. With the ever-increasing widespread use of technological devices, from cell phones to computers to video games, there is surprisingly little discussion on where the materials come from that go into these devices and where they go upon disposal. Experts in the field will discuss topics ranging from environmental and human rights issues, including armed conflicts, associated with the extraction of minerals and materials used in the manufacturing process, to local and international e-waste disposal mechanisms, contamination problems and innovative re-use and recycling programs.
Following the panel discussion, at 9:00 pm, there will be a screening of Terra Blight, a 55 minute documentary. Terra Blight traces the life cycle of computers from creation to disposal and juxtaposes the disparate worlds that have computers as their center. From a 13-year-old Ghanaian who smashes obsolete monitors to salvage copper to a 3,000-person video game party in Texas, Terra Blight examines the unseen realities of one of the most ubiquitous toxic wastes on our planet.
SUMASA 