Snow! eh-actually I'm not a big fan. I like the summer, fall ,and spring. But it did prove to be fun today as my sister and I went and took pictures out in the snow. We found this old window and the pictures came out really cool. She's getting so good with that camera :)
Remember when you saw the movie Blood Diamond? I remember thinking that I would either never buy a diamond or I would be obnoxious about making sure they were conflict free. That wasn't really a life changing moment for me because I'm really not a frequent diamond buyer. But what if something that I used on a daily basis was fueling conflict?
The minerals that are found in our cell phones, laptops, and other electronics- tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold- are being mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The money that is being poured into the Congo is being used by the government to fuel the deadliest war since World War II. More than 5.4 million people have been killed there in the last 15 years. When we buy cell phones or other electronics, we are putting money into the hands of armed groups who are murdering and raping innocent Congolese men and women.
There ARE practical ways to help. The Enough Project is a great source for more information. Look at the bottom of the page for a link to the Enough Project where you can send a message out to the top electronics companies asking them about there minerals. You can also email your Senate and House reps. and ask them to sign either the Congo Conflict Minerals Act (S. 891) or the Conflict Minerals Trade Act (H.R. 4128).
Go enjoy the snow if you have it or the sun if you are lucky enough to have that.
Thanks for reading!
So, my phone is an LG. I was trying to find out if they are careful about the minerals they use but I could only find that they improve education and health facilities in several countries under their Social Responsibility section. Then I found a site where you can send the top 21 electronics companies a letter, so I did that and sent it to you as well.
ReplyDeleteThat link is here:
http://www2.americanprogress.org/t/1659/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6265
Sunday was a really pretty day. Ryan and I cleaned off our porch. I had all of my oil paint tubes out there in a rotting plastic bag (who says it takes 7 years for those things to rot? It's been out there 6 months and it's crumbled to a million pieces!) so I cleaned them up with warm soapy water and paint thinner and now I really want to start painting again.
No chance of snow for us I believe. Some years we get a little bit around Christmas but it doesn't seem like it this year. I didn't even wear a coat this morning. I'm with you - I prefer the sun and so do my little plants (c:
OK I got an email from Nintendo back... it was just an auto-reply thing but it said that they require all of their suppliers to sign a "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Procurement Guidelines, which stipulate suppliers comply with applicable laws, have respect for human rights, and conduct their business in an appropriate and fair manner."
ReplyDeleteSo there you see, it is moral and ethical to play tons of MarioKart (c:
yay for painting! what did yall paint? I'm jealous that you can actually do things outside :/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the email. I attached a site at the bottom of the blog with a similar type deal and also heard only back from Nintendo. I emailed them back to ask them more about the CSR and haven't heard back from them yet.
Miss you
IiiiiiiIIIIiiii think you should post some more!
ReplyDelete