Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
FOR OUR POWER NEEDS...
AS MUCH COAL AS IN THIS COAL YARD.
MANY GADGETS WE'VE COME TO DEPEND UPON
HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE WORLD'S RESOURCES,
NONE MORE SO THAN THE CELL PHONE.
FOR ALL ITS SOPHISTICATION, THE CELL PHONE HAS GONE
FROM COSTLY MIRACLE DEVICE TO DISPOSABLE PLAYTHING.
156 MILLION AMERICANS USE A CELL PHONE,
INCLUDING NEARLY 50% OF AMERICAN TEENAGERS.
RIGHT NOW, ACROSS THE GLOBE,
1.2 BILLION CELL PHONES ARE IN USE.
AND BECAUSE NEW MODELS ARE ALWAYS COMING OUT,
PEOPLE THROW OUT 125 MILLION OLD CELL PHONES EACH YEAR.
EACH HANDSET CONSISTS OF 40% METAL, 40% PLASTICS
AND 20% CERAMICS AND TRACE ELEMENTS.
A CELL PHONE IS MADE UP OF MANY COMPONENTS.
ITS BRAIN IS A TINY CIRCUIT BOARD
MADE FROM MINED RAW MATERIALS
INCLUDING COPPER, GOLD, LEAD, NICKEL, ZINC, BERYLLIUM,
AND A LITTLE KNOWN NATURALLY OCCURRING MINERAL CALLED COLTAN.
COLTAN--THE KEY INGREDIENT--
IS MADE UP OF COLUMBIUM AND TANTALITE.
TANTALITE IS A RARE, HARD, DENSE METAL,
VERY RESISTANT TO HIGH TEMPERATURES AND CORROSION,
AN EXCELLENT HEAT AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR.
IT'S WHAT'S ENABLED OUR CELL PHONES TO BECOME SO TINY--
BUT FINDING THESE UNIQUE MATERIALS
IS AN ENORMOUS CHALLENGE.
OUR LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE CELL PHONE
HAS AN IMPACT HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD.
80% OF THE WORLD'S COLTAN IS MINED IN THE RAINFORESTS
OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO IN AFRICA.
THIS TERRITORY WAS THE HOME
OF GORILLAS AND OKAPIS, ELEPHANTS AND MONKEYS.
BUT MINING DISRUPTS THEIR HABITATS
AS WELL AS ATTRACTING POACHERS AND ILLEGAL MINE OPERATORS.
THE MINING OF COLTAN HAS HAD HUMAN COSTS AS WELL,
AS INDIGENOUS TRIBES HAVE BEEN DISPOSSESSED
AND THE INFLUX OF WEALTH
HAS HELPED TO FUND GUERRILLA WARFARE IN THE REGION.
EVEN THOUGH WE MAY BE MANY MILES AWAY
FROM WHERE OUR CELL PHONES ORIGINATE,
WE CAN EACH HELP TO LESSEN THE IMPACT.
SO IF EVERYONE RECYCLED THEIR CELL PHONES
INSTEAD OF TOSSING THEM,
WE COULD REUSE PRECIOUS METALS
AND SAVE RESOURCES, WILDLIFE, AND EVEN HUMAN LIVES.
OUR COLLECTIVE HUMAN FOOTPRINTS
ARE NOT ONLY REDUCING THE UNSPOILED WILDERNESS,
THEY ARE ALSO CHANGING THE ENVIRONMENT
AROUND OUR HOMETOWNS.
AS OUR CHILDREN QUICKLY GROW UP AND BECOME ADULTS,
THEY ALSO WANT TO SET UP HOME.
THE DEMAND FOR CONSTRUCTION AND SERVICES INCREASES,
CUTTING INTO THE COUNTRYSIDE.
MORE THAN ONE MILLION ACRES
OF PRODUCTIVE FARM LAND AND OPEN SPACE GETS BULLDOZED
TO MAKE WAY FOR SPRAWLING DEVELOPMENT
EVERY YEAR IN THIS COUNTRY.
THAT'S TWO ACRES OF OPEN LAND-- THE AREA BEHIND ME--
DISAPPEARING EVERY MINUTE, EVERY DAY.
JUST LOOK AT OUR TOWNS AND CITIES.
IT'S NOT JUST THE NEW HOMES--
IT'S ALL THE PARKING, THE GAS STATIONS,
THE SHOPPING MALLS, AND THE ROADS CONNECTING THEM ALL.
AS GROWTH SPREADS,
NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS FIND THEIR HABITAT SHRINKING.
AND SURPRISINGLY AS MANY AS 13%
OF THREATENED SPECIES IN THE U.S.
LIVE ALONGSIDE US IN METRO AND SUBURBAN AREAS.
AND AT THE CURRENT GROWTH RATE,
BY THE YEAR 2025 OUR EXPANDING TOWNS
WILL TURN A NATURAL HABITAT THE SIZE OF WEST VIRGINIA
INTO SUBURBIA,
FORCING WILDLIFE TO MOVE ELSEWHERE
OR DRIVING THEM INTO EXTINCTION.
BUT THE ULTIMATE THING IS THAT OVER A LIFETIME
WE'LL LOSE MORE THAN 93 MILLION ACRES.
THAT'S AN AREA THE SIZE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA.
TODAY THERE ARE MORE THAN 550 ANIMALS LISTED
AS ENDANGERED OR THREATENED IN THE UNITED STATES
BECAUSE OF OUR EXPANDING FOOTPRINT.
THEY RANGE FROM THE MOSQUITO-EATING GRAY BAT
TO THE GRIZZLY BEAR.
EACH YEAR, DEVELOPMENT DRAINS 110,000 ACRES OF WETLANDS--
A UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM HOME TO MANY SPECIES UNDER THREAT.
AND OUR EVER-INCREASING DEMAND FOR WATER
ALSO ALTERS OUR LANDSCAPE.
THE ONCE-MIGHTY COLORADO RIVER
NOW BARELY TRICKLES INTO THE SEA.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF WE LOSE A GRAY BAT OR A FISH OR A BEAR?
MOST OF US WILL NEVER SEE THESE CREATURES ANYWAY.
WITH SO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT IN OUR OWN LIVES,
WHY SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED?
WELL, BECAUSE THEY'RE IMPORTANT.
LIKE US, THEY ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY
IN THE OVERALL BALANCE OF THINGS.
THE PROBLEM IS WE'RE ONLY JUST STARTING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT THAT ROLE IS.
TAKE THE GRAY BAT, FOR EXAMPLE.
IT LIVES IN RIVERSIDE CAVES IN THE SUMMER,
AND IT EATS UP TO A THOUSAND MOSQUITOES AN HOUR EVERY NIGHT.
A THOUSAND MOSQUITOES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BREED MORE MOSQUITOES.
THAT LITTLE BAT LEAVES A FOOTPRINT--JUST LIKE US.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD STEP BY STEP,
IT'S EASY TO OVERLOOK THE MAGNITUDE OF OUR ACTIONS.
BUT WHEN WE LOOK BACK OVER OUR ENTIRE LIVES,
WE WILL HAVE A SURPRISING PERSPECTIVE
OF OUR HUMAN FOOTPRINT.
WE'VE BEEN LAYING OUT
SOME OF THE FOODS AND MATERIALS WE CONSUME IN OUR LIVES--
TO BUILD UP A PICTURE OF OUR HUMAN FOOTPRINT.
WE HAVE ALSO SEEN HOW FAR
SOME OF OUR EVERYDAY GOODS HAVE TRAVELED.
WE'VE SEEN WHAT GOES INTO A SNEAKER.
WHAT MAKES UP A CELL PHONE.
WE'VE SEEN PART OF WHAT WE ACCUMULATE IN OUR HOMES.
AND ALL THE CLOTHES WE WEAR IN A LIFETIME.
NOW OUR COUPLE ARE RETIRED.
EVEN THOUGH WE CAN KEEP REASONABLY FIT AND HEALTHY
AS WE GET OLDER,
WE'LL VISIT THE DOCTOR MORE.
ON AVERAGE, WE'LL SEE OUR PHYSICIAN
OR GO TO THE HOSPITAL 263 TIMES.
WE'LL HAVE UNDERGONE SURGERY AND WAITED IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM...
BEEN ATTACKED BY UNKNOWN VIRUSES,
COMPLAINED ABOUT STRESS AND SUFFERED COUNTLESS COLDS.
WE WILL HAVE TAKEN DIFFERENT MEDICINES,
BOTH PRESCRIBED AND OVER THE COUNTER.
WE WILL HAVE HAD MANY INOCULATIONS--
AND WE WILL HAVE SWALLOWED THOUSANDS OF PILLS.
THIS MANY--37,320 OF THEM IN A LIFETIME.
THE OLDEST PART OF US IS OUR BRAIN,
THE BLACK BOX OF OUR LIFE-- CONTAINING ALL OUR MEMORIES.
AS WE LOOK BACK THROUGH AN ALBUM OF OUR LIVES,
WE ARE REMINDED OF ALL THE STAGES WE HAVE GROWN THROUGH.
EVEN AS WE GET OLDER AND WISER, WHEN WE REFLECT ON OUR LIVES,
IT'S EXTRAORDINARY HOW THE NUMBERS ADD UP--
ALL THE THINGS WHICH WE'VE NEVER HAD TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF.
THE 1,700 PEOPLE WE HAVE KNOWN...
THE 62,433 MILES WE HAVE WALKED...
THE 24 MILLION IMAGES WE WILL HAVE SEEN...
AND THE MILLIONS OF SOUNDS WE WILL HAVE HEARD.
THEY GIVE US THE CHANCE
TO THINK ABOUT OUR LIVES IN MATERIAL TERMS.
ALL THE MILK WE DRINK
AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO MAKING THE DIAPERS WE WEAR
FOR OUR FIRST YEARS...
THE EGGS WE EAT...
THE ORANGES WE PEEL...
THE BANANAS WE DEVOUR...
THE BEER WE DRINK...
THE BOOKS WE READ...
THE SODA WE SNAP OPEN...
THE SHOWERS WE TAKE...
AND THE WASTE WE THROW AWAY.
WE HAVE LAID OUT JUST A PART
OF WHAT WE EACH GO THROUGH IN A LIFETIME
AND ASSEMBLED IT IN ONE PLACE--
IT LOOKS LIKE THIS.
WE BRING NOTHING INTO THIS WORLD,
AND WE CAN TAKE NOTHING OUT OF IT.
BUT WHILE WE'RE HERE, WE HELP TRANSFORM IT--
FOR BETTER OR WORSE.
A LIFE GONE BY IN 415 MILLION BLINKS OF AN EYE.
THIS IS THE LEGACY WE WILL LEAVE BEHIND FOR THOSE YET TO COME.
THIS IS OUR IMPACT ON PLANET EARTH.
THIS IS OUR HUMAN FOOTPRINT.