Challenge for anyone who uses a computer

Here’s a challenge to give to folks who start quoting the environmental friendliness of their latest computer.    All new computers and especially laptops come with claims of “green” and most laptop users are pretty smug about their energy use.

This map shows the sources of the components of a typical laptop.  It’s a Sourcemap representation of  PCMag’s What’s inside your laptop.

So here’s the challenge:  click though to the map and see if you can find a source component that isn’t described somewhere as being linked to unsustainable practices.    Pick any of the parts and source area eg “Cobalt Congo”.   Put that phrase in your favorite search engine and see what you find.    For some you don’t have to look very hard,  for others you can speed the search by adding key search phrases such as environmental degradation, human rights injustice, war, pollution and so on.

Let me know if you find a genuinely sustainable component.   I bet you can’t.