The most obvious and recent event that I can think about is the 1 laptop per child program. This non profit organization is striving to provide laptops to children in developing countries as cheaply as possible so the children of the region can learn with the benefit of a computer. Having a laptop is scarcely seen in these regions especially in the classroom since not a lot is spent on education in these third world countries and other areas where children have little education. There are several ways that you can get involved in this program and you can learn about them at the 1 laptop per child website

Although not directly related, I believe that poverty around the world has sparked companies’ interests in making computer more affordable to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to buy a computer or laptop at the current price. This spawned the making of the Eee PC by Asus who created an affordable laptop that has all the basics one would need in a computer.  Making computers more affordable allows more people to experience new things with the use of their computer. Research can be done on the internet which beats going to the library and sifting through hundreds of pages before finding what you need. This also allows people to work more efficiently and provides them with the knowledge on operating a computer if they’ve never touched one before. You can read more about the Eee PC and compare the different models over at Asus’ website here

Poverty is unavoidable in certain areas of the world but if we can all take a little time and donate a laptop or cell phone or even some spare cash we could start a chain reaction that one day would alleviate some of the burden felt in areas where technology and education are scarce.  To read more you can go to Blog Action Day’s homepage.

• Blog Action Day
• Recycle old electronics and cell phones
• The next technological advancement
• Wi-Fi is everywhere…almost
• How often do you do it?

Blog Action Day has chosen the topic of the environment for bloggers to speak up and have a unified voice about ways to protect it. You can check out Blog Action Day’s home page here.

Every year electronic waste accounts for 1% of the total municipal waste created by us. That may not sound that big but when you hear that it is growing at a rate of 3 times compared to normal waste, and that we are growing more and more dependent on electronics, that number will grow exponentially over the next few years.

Another benefit of recycling old electronics and cell phones is the retrieval of materials such as glass and precious metals. Electronic circuit boards contain copper and steel, which once recycled can be used for other products that we use everyday.

There are other benefits besides helping the environment, such as donating old cell phones and computers to charities that refurbish the electronics and give them to people who cannot normally afford to buy these products or even schools that can’t afford computers for their students. There are tax deductions that you can get if you donate your computer or cell phone instead of throwing it in the trash as well.

We only have one earth and at the rate we’re going, we are going to ruin it for our grand-kids and they’ll either live in a world with poisonous water and air, or they won’t have a world to live in at all.

Below are several links that can help you donate or recycle your old cell phone or computer. There are also links that can help you create a donation program in your local community or school.

Recellular is a site where you can buy refurbished cell phones, recycle your old cell phone, and also start a donation program to collect used and old cellphones.

Collective Good is another site where you can donate / recycle your old cell phone, and you choose a charity to give it to so they can help the less fortunate.

Earth 911.org This link will take you to Earth911.org’s post about non-profit organizations and charities that you can donate your old electronic, computers, and cell phones to. They also have some information about the impact of not recycling your cell phones and electronics have on the environment, click here to read it.

Recycle wireless phones is another cell phone recycling website that provides some helpful links as well as information on clearing your data so that the cell phone is completely clean before you send it in.

Another option to recycle your old electronics would be to contact a junk removal company.  A good one to consider would be Just Junk.

For those of you in school grades K – 12 or have kids in school, you can check out Motorola’s Race to Recycle website by clicking here. They are collecting recycled cell phones and donating money to every school that participates.

We need to make an effort to recycle our old electronics, computers, and cell phones so we can save the environment form being poisoned by the waste produced from them.

Contact your local community offices to see if they provide a recycling service for electronic devices, or have them provide bins for people to put their discarded electronics into. We already separate our paper and plastic, it wouldn’t hurt to throw batteries and obsolete computers into another bin instead of the trash.

• The Technology Age is Over
• Innovation is dead
• Blog Action Day: Poverty
• Is technology becoming a burden?
• Addressing an issue

• Blog Rush added to this site
• Recycle old electronics and cell phones
• Blog Action Day: Poverty
• DCR Blogs’ story links
• Thinking Blog laptop giveaway