“Americans replace their cellphones every 22 months, junking some 150 million old phones in 2010 alone. Ever wondered what happens to all these old phones? The answer isn’t pretty.”
Indeed, not pretty as I explain in my book Toxic capitalism. A lot of the e-waste ends up in China, with the dramatic impact on the health of the people involved in recycling, Chinese way, hence the “cancer villages”. The cover of my book shows the arrival yard of e-waste in a Beijing factory, one of the few that handles e-waste correctly.
I always try to buy “top of the line” electronics, so I can use them much longer than normally. I had a mobile that I used for at least five years (twice repaired). My old iMac, reaching ten years is still doing a good job for some of the software – even better than my now 3-year old MacBook Pro.
The article in the NYT also shows some frightening statistics about how many tons of e-waste is generated (computers, monitors, TV, printers and so on):
We should stop this madness.
Gilbert the adventurer?
Kind of, according to the one page story about me in China Daily:
7 May 2013 – Adventure advocate
By Xu Lin ( China Daily) http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2013-05/07/content_16481357_3.htm
See the pics of the interview: https://blog.strategy4china.com/?p=4527
China Daily was professional enough to send me the draft, allowing me to correct some mistakes (some kinda big…). The only errors they made: my name spelled wrong (van instead of Van, happens a lot but they had my business cards…), and the name of Sun Bin (not Bing…).
All in all they did a good job 🙂
Our Annual Ball Fundraising Event is now set and tickets available and donations accepted!
The Rotary Club of Beijing announced that their annual charity ball will take place on June 15 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing. Tickets are 1,200 RMB per person and are available now (discount for early birds!!!). All proceeds benefit the charitable projects of Rotary Club of Beijing.
“Rotary Club of Beijing’s volunteers, all long term residents of China, are committed to making our city a better place to live for everyone. This annual event is a great way to have fun with friends while at the same time making a positive difference in our Beijing home,” said Rotary Club of Beijing president David van Meerendonk.
This annual gala is the club’s largest fundraising event of the year. The event, with a theme of The Roaring 20’s, includes a cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, excellent wine, late night bar, live entertainment, and swing dancing on the ballroom floor.
Watch the great promotional movie about the Ball of the Roaring 20 (link is open in China): http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTQ4MzgyNjk2.html
Or also here (without VPN not available in China):
Projects of our Club
Past, present and future projects funded through Rotary balls include:
Beijing Sun Children’s Village – A safe haven for children; currently supporting 130 children
Gift of Life – Children’s heart surgery program for underprivileged children. More than 300 surgeries have been done since 2000
Gubeikou Village Education Program – Assisting with the educational expenses of rural families; 240 families have been supported to date
New Wheelchair Program – 2000 people have been helped
Library Project for Rural Schools – Provided 48,000 books to 168 of China’s western rural schools
Sichuan Earthquake Relief – In conjunction with Rotary International, provided temporary homes for 50,000 victims; including 4,400 tents and 800 emergency shelter boxes.
About Rotary Club of Beijing
Established in 1924, the Rotary Club of Beijing is a group of international professionals who come together to make friends and perform community service.
Rotary Club of Beijing members, most of whom make Beijing their home for many years, are deeply linked to China and historically committed to the long term health and well being of the Chinese community. We volunteer and donate funds locally to assist those in need. Club members contribute to development of the Chinese economy in their day job and do hands on charitable service with their friends in their spare time.
Rotary Club of Beijing is non-political and non-religious. There are 1.2 million Rotarians and 33,000 Rotary Clubs on all seven continents. The Beijing club is an independent club that is a part of this large international Rotary family. The Rotary Club of Beijing helps connect China to the world.
EUCCC stands for the European Chamber of Commerce in China. I use “Ambabel” as my abbreviation for the Belgian Embassy in Beijing.
On 24 April we had the Annual General Meeting of the EUCCC where we had, again, a real election competition: 4 candidates for 3 positions of vice president.
As usual the meeting was opened by our host, the EU Ambassador Markus Ederer (see pic).
Just recently I was also reelected as Chair of the Public Procurement Working Group in the EUCCC.
The EUCCC now has 1700 members in China, with 483 in Beijing and 590 in Shanghai. According to the EU, the EU is still the number one trading partner of China.
I had to leave early as I had another reception in the Belgian Embassy, hosted by our Ambassador Patrick Nijs. Also a good opportunity to enjoy the buffet from our friend and Belgian chef Renaat Morel.
The occasion was the visit of two politicians: Charles Michel (Président, Mouvement Reformateur) and Gilles Mahieu (Secrétaire Général, Parti Socialiste). Luckily for me, they explained a bit about respective roles as I am pretty lost in today’s Belgian politics.
It was a good opportunity to see again other Belgians as it was quite some time I was in an embassy party.
See the article in SCMP:
26 April 2013 – Dozens pulled alive from Dhaka factory as toll hits 256
Screams filtering through the cracks in the concrete suggest more survivors awaiting help
Agence France-Presse in Savar http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1222144/bangladesh-factory-collapse-kills-124-injures-hundreds
“Toxic Capitalism” at work. Consumers are happy around the world to buy all the cheap stuff from countries such as Bangladesh, ignoring where and how it was made, then criticize the horrible conditions. The companies involved strike it rich while the workers suffer, or worse, perish. Once more hypocrisy from the West as long as they do not enforce the due diligence of the complete supply chain. The horrors will not stop as long as the West does not change its habits of over-consumption and not paying a fair price for durable goods. Shop till you drop and waste our planet. Never mind the workers in Bangladesh, China etc.
