Statistics can be scary

Do a quick google search on electronic waste and you will see pages upon pages of statistics regarding production, dumpsites, and loss leaders. Those numbers can be intimidating to those who are uninitiated or not familiar with the space. But they don't have to be. 

In reality, the statistics are less important to the individual than that persons individual impact. The statistics are not really what matters in the grand scheme of things. What matters, is the effort of a person. 

Measureable numbers put out on a global scale are intimidating to anyone. How can one person make an impact on something so huge? It's an old adage but it holds true in this situation. How does one swallow an elephant? One bite at a time. It seems so siimple but every little contribution made towards the end goal has an impact even if it isn't measurable to the naked eye. Knowing that you did your part can be satisfying though. 

Worry less about the numbers and more about the effort. It will scare you less.

Are you really recycling?

Earlier in the week we posted a few quotes about recycling. These were by design and hold true in a lot of respects. The truth is, if you aren't on the back end of the recycling process, it's pointless. More directly, if you are not buying recycled products, then the recycling process is completely useless.

Follow the logical thought progression and it will make sense. Recycling is about reusing the products that were already processed and refined. This is meant to conserve natural resources and reduce the footprint on the environment. The proverbial hitch in the giddyup here is that if you aren't a part of the process of actually using these products then it's a zero sum. Unconsumede recycled products actually increase waste. The energy used to recycle in addition to producing new products has a greater negative impact.

The moral of the story here is that when you recycle there is another side to the coin. Consumption of the products is as important as the recycling effort itself. Finish what you start.

State of Decay

We can all agree that electronic waste is a problem. How big the problem is has been in question for quite some time but the measurable impact on the environment is staggering. Each year the footprint of electronic waste increases. Fortunately there are remedies that exist with new innovations occuring all the time.

The decay of electronic components left in dumpsites is one of the leading causes of toxic waste among these sites. Many components contain small amounts of mercury, levels that are insignificant on their own, but in amounts that can aggregate in landfills to levels of toxicity that is relevant to the surrounding areas. 

Capacitors, batteries, memory modules and many video components contain heavy metals that can poison water supplies. These effects don't go away over time. Water supplies can be damaged for decades due to the impact of electronic waste. The decay of the housing of these devices may slow the impact for years. The impact is real though. It's a time bomb that has an unknown countdown. 

You can help though. Go to www.pandabit.com to learn more. 

When the well runs dry

Sometimes the money runs out. Sometimes you have sheared the sheep too many times and it has no wool left. Sometimes the way you do things just doesn't work anymore. So what do you do when the well runs dry?

Simple - you dig a new well.

It seems like common sense but sometimes when that perplexing issue comes up people become paralyzed at the thought that their means have been cut off. The innovative and those who take inititaive look for alternate solutions. In some cases, they create one. 

Fundraisng is an age old concept. The first newspapers were crowdfunded. So was the Statue of Liberty. It's hard to imagine that with the limited technology that things like crowdfunding have existed for the centuries that it has. The way something is used is what shows innovation. 

Nihil sub sole novum - there is nothing new under the sun. While this is true, there are always new ways to innovate and use existing methods in new ways. Even fundraising can learn something from this school of thought. Try this lifehack. Repurpose your old mobile technology. Use it as a vehicle to fund a cause. Platforms exist to create your own fundraising campaign with no investment. You take a full benefit with no expense. This is efficient fundraising.