vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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The race for greener cell phones and PCs

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | July 15, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Filed under: Environment Watch, Science and Technology

CONSIDER the following facts: There are 500 million obsolete computers in the U.S. alone. Some 130 million cell phones are disposed of annually while 20 to 24 million TV sets and computers are stored annually in homes and offices. Meanwhile, only 10 percent of unwanted and obsolete computers are recycled.

These, reports the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), make electronic waste the fastest growing part of the waste stream. The problem, says SVTC, has already reached crisis level as a result of the sheer volume of e-waste, no thanks to rapid obsolescence in electronic products, generated globally everyday.

And electronic discards are not your ordinary pile of trash. Composed of more than a thousand different substances, many of them toxic like lead, mercury, and cadmium, e-waste happens to be hazardous, and can pose serious threats to people’s health and environmental safety. (see Second Life for Dead PCs)

For this reason, groups like SVTC have constantly challenged the electronics manufacturing industry to employ green technologies in designing their products so that they are toxic-free, easily recycled, and allow for repairs and upgrades. Governments have also taken electronics firms to task, notable of which is the European Commission’s directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) holding manufacturers legally responsible for the reuse and recycling of their products.

To be sure, electronics companies have been rising to the challenge with computer take-back schemes and the extended producer responsibility (EPR) concept becoming the norm today in the electronics industry. Still, the industry is far from totally being green — that is, toxic-free.

This was the assessment of Greenpeace, which recently released its 4th “Guide to Greener Electronics,” a public ranking system of the environmental practices of electronics manufacturers. Developed in August 2006, the ranking system rates leading mobile phone and computer companies based on their global policies and practices on eliminating harmful chemicals and on taking responsibility for their products once they reach their end-of-life.

The latest ranking shows an industry-wide improvement in environmental policies with 12 of the 14 electronics industry leaders assessed since last year garnering scores of five or above (out of a total ten points).

Pacing the industry giants is mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, largely for phasing out the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in its handsets. Nokia has consistently led the quarterly ratings since the release of the first greener electronics guide, except last March 2007 when it dropped to second spot.

Tied at second place are Dell and Chinese manufacturer Lenovo, which dropped a notch for its unclear global take-back policy. They are followed by Sony-Ericsson and Samsung with limited recycling programs and good, though uneven performance with regard to removing toxic chemicals in their products.

Erstwhile bottom dweller Apple Computer had the most notable improvement, moving up four places primarily because of Steve Jobs’s pledge for a “Greener Apple” by phasing out PVC and other chemicals from Apple products.

Sony and LG Electronics are at the bottom of the ranking, both companies penalized for “double standards” on their waste policies. While Sony and LG support Individual Producer Responsibility elsewhere in the world, both were found to be part of a coalition in the United States opposing producer responsibility laws and calling for consumers, instead of producers, to pay for the recycling of e-waste.

Since Greenpeace started its public rankings, electronics companies have also been providing information on whether their products are free of the most harmful chemicals used by the industry. As of March 2007, Panasonic, for example, had many examples of 100-percent PVC-free products on the market, including DVD players and recorders, home cinemas and video players. The company also now provides a list of products that are PVC-free.

Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, to some extent, are introducing increasing numbers of models that are also free from PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

Moreover, companies are now providing more and more extensive voluntary programs and information to customers on what to do with discarded electronics, with leading computer manufacturers now going public with their recycling percentages.

Dell reports a recycling rate of 12 percent of its past sale. Hewlett Packard reports 10 percent; Apple 9.5 percent, and Motorola 3.32 percent. Lenovo’s rate, based on weight on weight of shipment and depending on the year of sales data, varies from 0.72 percent (2006) and 8.8 percent (1998).

“The world has benefited immensely from rapid developments in the electronics industry but the corresponding hazardous e-waste it has generated has negative environmental and health consequences, particularly when they end up in dump yards of poorer countries (like the Philippines),” says Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia toxics campaigner.

With the leading consumer electronic companies going public with their environmental policies, Baconguis is hopeful that this will put the spotlight on the industry and serve as a pressure on other companies to go public and improve their existing environmental practices.

But she acknowledges that it’s still a long way to go for many more companies before they can achieve a perfect score. “As it is, the challenge for companies to eliminate all hazardous substances from their products and to institute effective take-back and recycling policies still remains.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 15th, 2007 and is filed under Environment Watch, Science and Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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[...] RoHS-compliant products do not contain more than the agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, and other chemicals and are therefore less harmful. (see also “The race for greener cell phones and PCs“) [...]