Dirty Communication: The Problems Our Connectivity Causes

By Ryan Wagner, November 10^th, 2019

In today’s world our phones and other devices provide us with constant communication on a global scale. Most of the time we think nothing of these devices, they have become so important and ingrained in the way we live our lives. However, this connectivity and these devices all come with cost to both people and the environment.

                In Emily’s blogpost from Week 10, she conducts an analysis of the future of journalism in the context of our society’s ability to communicate and spread information. We are more connected than ever, and as Emily says, “Social media and rapid technological development have provided mediums for information to travel faster than ever.” This growth can allow us to do so much and learn so much more about the world but there are hidden costs to this connection and spread of information. The growth of environmental journalism plays a role in the advocacy of people and the environment, but its demand for the best technologies can negatively affect the environment.

                An example of highlighted in Rahul Mukherjee chapter on “Mediating Infrastructures…” focuses on the cells towers of India. In this chapter, readers are enlightened to the potential damages of cell towers being located so close to people and the costs to the health of individuals. The radiation emitted from the cell towers located next to people’s homes showed some correlation with cancer, but the evidence was not seen as clear cut because of the lack of clear evidence between the two. Due to the speculation many of the cell towers were not built and some taken down, but overtime as the need for connection and service increased the cell companies service could not be maintained with so few cell towers and so few users. In this we see the balance between the aid that the towers provide and the harm that they can inflict.

Often times when we think about our cell phones and how the radiation from their batteries may affect our own wellbeing. But according to a news piece from Gettysburg College student Katelyn Silva, the constant urge to upgrade our cellphones causes what is known as “e-waste” or electronic waste is highlighted. With up to 70% of this waste from the US being exported to China.

This e-waste generates radiation far more harmful that the new versions sitting in our pockets due to the sum of all the radiation from the endless mounds of outdated electronics. The effects of that waste being felt by communities who didn’t even create the waste.

The combination of our growing technologies and the need for fast and constant connection to the world has left us blind to the potential risks it may cause to both people and the environment.

In Pennsylvania, the DEP has begun a program to help people properly recycle their electronic waste, so “hazardous materials are prevented from creating environmental and public health hazards.”

Source

• Department of Environmental Protection PA. 2019. Electronics Recycling Collection Programs. Online Access: https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Land/Waste/Recycling/Electronics/Pages/Electronics-Collection-Programs.aspx
• Kurtz, E. 2019. What Will A New Age Journalist Do? Environmental Journalism. Online Access: https://envhumanities.sites.gettysburg.edu/environmental-journalism/week-10/what-will-a-new-age-journalist-do/
• Mukherjee, R. 2016. Mediating Infrastructures: (Im)Mobile Toxicity and Cell Antenna Publics. Sustainable Media: Critical Approaches to Media and Environment. 95-111                    
•  Silva, K. May 5^th, 2019. Digital Footprints. Gettysburg College News. Online Access: https://www.gettysburg.edu/news/stories?id=c651187e-dbbe-4b0e-90fe-e1113c9f167b