Lecture file:

There is no lecture this week. You should watch the two films available online through the IS. The link is below. Both films were produced by an American environmental non-governmental agency called the Basel Action Network (BAN). This group was created to help monitor implementation of the Basel Convention on the shipment of hazardous waste, which is a United Nations treaty signed by most countries in the world to try to prevent dangerous waste products being sent from wealthy nations to poorer nations that may not be able to dispose of the waste properly.

The first film is called "The digital dump: Exporting high-tech re-use and abuse to Africa" and the second films is called "Exporting harm: The high-tech trashing of Asia."  Each film is about 23 minutes long, and is divided into two sections for you to watch online.  If you have any questions about how to watch the films, please contact me.

Link to this week's films: https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/1423/jaro2008/SOC165/um/vid/index.html?fakulta=1423;obdobi=4043;kod=SOC165;lang=en

You are also required to read the three articles below. Next week there will be an essay assignment and you will write about the topic of sustainability and environmental justice.

 

Required reading:

• Selva: Toxic shock
• Bullard: Can Americans trust the government to protect them?
• Slade: Electronic waste a ticking time bomb

Required videos:

• The digital dump: Exporting high-tech re-use and abuse to Africa
• Exporting harm: The high-tech trashing of Asia
• “Mountaintop removal” coal mining in the US Appalachian Mountains (youtube)
• Greenpeace: The Mexican electronics industry