High Tech Trash Analysis

Have you ever heard of the term “e-waste”? If not, you’re not alone. Thankfully two very like minded individuals, Annie Leonard, and Chris Caroll dedicated their time to enlighten people into the unseen life cycle of our outdated house held tech, “e-waste.” In Leonard’s essay, “The Story of Stuff: Electronics,” and Caroll’s short film script “High Tech Trash,” the reader gets an in-depth understating of the tremendous impact the technological empire has on the environment, and the individuals involved in the circulation of their products. Although Leonard and Caroll concede that e-waste is negatively impacting our environment, due to technologies unsustainable nature and the worlds unconscious recycling habits, both activists differ due to
Caroll forms relationships with the people that are being affected by the harsh toxins in our e-waste, thus creating an emotional appeal for the reader. For example, Caroll depicts a young boy living in Ghana, and the process he goes through to make a living off our old technological garbage. “With the flame retardant burned away-a process that has released a bouquet of carcinogens and other toxics- the wire may fetch a dollar from the scrap-metal buyer (79). The picture Caroll paints of a young boy surrounded by toxic fumes while burring “e-waste,” to only scrape by with a dollar creates a very unsettling image. Although Caroll and Leonard want to open the readers eyes into the negative effects of e-waste, both use separate focus points, such as Caroll’s detailed imagery and first person point of view of the climax of e-waste circulation, and Leonard’s brief but chronological order of e-waste