The life of a TV

Extraction

One of the extraction processes used in underground mining would be block caving which is the process using explosives to blow up areas and let it cave in on itself then remove the access dirt and ore. There is another process that includes water (a flow resource) where water is used during underground mineral mining by either flooding, pumping out the water or using it to prevent fires. Water is also used when the minerals are being processed and made into a liquid-like substance to be transported by waterway in pipelines. Although the machines are powered by diesel so their extraction would be using non-renewable and flow resources.

What can the government do?

The government could make rules to restrict miners from mining close to town and limiting the amount they can mine in one go. The government can also make a law that says that you cannot use dynamite to the extreme and also to a limit. The government can also put money into the research of making mining more eco-friendly. Restrictions could be made for how many square meters a site can be.

How it affects us.

When they pump the water out of the ground it can take away the surface water along with causing pollution to the water source of nearby towns. Along with the fact that there are so many explosives and toxic matter that they are around the area can become toxic making the residents in the nearby towns sick. The mineral extraction can lead to the production of toxic water and chemicals as byproducts (secondary products produced through the processing of a primary product) that can contaminate groundwater and kill flora and fauna leading to trees being more flammable.

And a TV was born

All of the raw materials come from china so it was an easy decision to have them made there as well. TVs are manufactured in China after they are transported there. Although they are manufactured in China, they are assembled in the United States for business purposes and further shipping purposes like putting them up on the shelves in places like Best Buy in the US & Canada. They are usually transported by truck, cargo planes and cargo ships, which are powered by non-renewable sources. The ships produce 1 million tones of greenhouse gases, the planes produce 11% of the total US greenhouse gas emission but transportation, in general, is accounted for 11% of the world's greenhouse gas emission.

From This to That

All the minerals are all turned into some part of the product. The aluminum, tin and other metals turned into the frame. The copper is used in the Cathode ray tube (wires) and the crystal is used in the LCD (Liquid crystal display) screen. Although, they do have to make glass for the screen by taking sand and heating it to 3090°F turning it into a liquid substance then letting it cool, along with the silicon that is used in the glass. With all these materials they create TVs.

From Trash to Cash

Most of the minerals are crushed downs, heated, processes and molded into the parts that are used to make TV parts all of these machines are either oil-powered or battery-powered, which are non-renewable resources, the fact that oil comes from fossil fuels and batteries are made from lithium, cobalt, aluminum, vanadium, nickel, phosphate, sulfur, and manganese which are mined goods, which are non-renewable.

The Cost of Tech

TV parts are manufactured and put together in factories in China which give of smoke and gases that make their way into the atmosphere, leading to air pollution. Along with the sewers leading to the ocean on rivers that cause water pollution and contamination, all of this pollution from factories is one of the many contributions to climate change and global warming.

Point A to Point B

TVs are assembled in the US taken there by cargo ship, plane, and truck. These choices of transportation are fuel-powered. The oil coming from fossil fuels, making these sources of transportation non-renewable.

End of the Line

The typical life span of a TV is 11 years if taken of properly. When TVs are taken to recycling centers or landfills they are taken apart and the usable metals and plastics are taken back to manufacturers in China or other places in Asia to be used again in other TVs, tablets or phones. Although when they are thrown into landfills and other places they rot and leak chemicals into the ground and the air, contributing to air pollution and groundwater contamination affecting the drinking water of nearby towns.