The Environmental Footprints of 5 Items You Use Before Breakfast

Cell phones are composed of gold, silver, platinum, and copper, which are all rare earth elements that are in finite supply and drive the global extractive industry. Sources of such rare earth elements are located all over the world, but the majority of these mines are in China. Toxic mine drainage is probably the biggest environmental concern associated with gold-mining and it can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, and destroy pristine environments. It pollutes water and land with mercury and cyanide, endangering the health of people and ecosystems. Unfortunately, the extraction of most metals and minerals exhibit similar environmental impacts and there are currently no effective metal substitutes for producing cell phones.
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