How to make your cell phone greener By Amy Gahran, Special to CNN

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How to make your cell phone greener By Amy Gahran, Special to CNN

(CNN) -- Cell phones have become one of the most ubiquitous hallmarks of life in the 21st century, but they aren't necessarily good for the environment.
First of all, there are the materials. From plastics to the rare, powdery precious metal tantalum (mined primarily in Central Africa, where it's become implicated in local exploitation and violence and is now known as a conflict mineral), cell phone materials present a variety of environmental and even human rights issues.
Then there's energy use. Smartphones are especially notorious energy hogs, with most models rarely getting more than a day of usage without some pretty drastic energy-saving strategies.
In addition to the power needed to charge any cell phone (smart or otherwise), there's also the power required to transmit calls, text/media messages and data across wireless carrier networks. Plus, all wireless networks transmit a large volume of "signaling traffic" to help route calls and data to customers.
All of this electricity consumption adds up to greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier this summer, the UK Guardian's Green Living Blog discussed the carbon footprint of cell phones and their usage:
"The footprint of your mobile phone use is overwhelmingly determined by the simple question of how often you use it.
"One estimate for the emissions caused by manufacturing the phone itself is just 16 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e), [similar to the carbon footprint of about] 1 kg of beef.
"If you include the power it consumes over two typical years [of use,] that figure rises to 22 kg. But the footprint of the energy required to transmit your calls across the network is about three times all of this put together -- taking us to a best estimate of 94 kg CO2e over the life of the phone (47 kg per year)."
Aware that cell phones have an eco image problem, nearly all cell phone manufacturers, U.S. wireless carriers and office supply or electronics vendors now offer recycling programs (both in-store and mail-in) where they'll take back your used phone for free and recycle the materials as much as possible.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides links to many vendor-sponsored programs.
Find electronics recycling programs in your state
Keeping your used cell phones out of landfills is one important way to green your cell phone use. But green is the color of money, too. You can make money by selling your used cell phone for reuse, either directly (such as via Craigslist or eBay) or through a service.
An even greener (and generally cheaper) option is to buy a used cell phone rather than a new one. If you don't absolutely need all the latest features, you can probably get a good price on a model in good condition that's a year or less old.
If you simply must have a brand new cell phone, there are several new models that claim to be greener than most. Samsung's Blue Earth feature phone, slated for a U.S. launch later this year, features a built-in solar panel for charging. (See MobileBurn review.) And several phones, like the LG Remarq, tout that they (or their packaging) are made of recycled or recyclable materials.
This summer, CNET published a comparison chart of some leading green phones.
Also this summer, the UK wireless carrier O2 presented its first eco ratings of popular mobile phones. This effort proved controversial because Apple (maker of the iPhone) and Research in Motion (maker of the world's most popular smartphone, the BlackBerry) declined to participate.
However, ThinkQ reported that RIM says it will participate next year. And Greenbiz.com questioned why several smartphones made it onto O2's eco-friendly phone list.
Back in the U.S., it may soon get easier to tell which cell phones are really green. UL Environment Inc. (part of Underwriters Laboratories) is designing its initial sustainability standards for cell phones. The draft standards are due out in late 2010.
In the meantime, when using your cell phone, keep in mind that texting is your most energy-efficient (and thus eco-friendly) communication option. Or if possible, call from an old-fashioned land line instead -- that uses far less power to transmit calls.

Arctic species under threat, report warns By Matthew Knight for CNN.

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Arctic species under threat, report warns By Matthew Knight for CNN.

London, England (CNN) -- Polar bears clinging to melting ice sheets have become one of the most frequently used images to portray the perils of climate change.
But a new report by the U.S. Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and UK-based Care for the Wild International (CWI) is bringing attention to the predicament of other equally endangered Arctic species.
Seventeen Arctic animals are highlighted in "Extinction: It's Not Just for Polar Bears."
Shaye Wolf, lead author and climate science director of the CBD told CNN: "The plight of the polar bear due to global warming is very well known and familiar. But many other Arctic species are suffering a similar fate -- from plankton all the way to the great whales."
The impacts of climate change are "unfolding far more rapidly in the Arctic than any other area on the planet" threatening its ecosystem, the report said.
A 2009 study by Donald K. Perovich and Jacqueline A Richter-Menge -- "Loss of Sea Ice in the Arctic" -- reported that the sea ice extent in 2007 was one million square miles below the average figure recorded between 1979 and 2000.
This, and other data suggests, say scientists, that summer sea ice could completely disappear in the Arctic by 2030.
The ice retreat is already spelling trouble for marine mammals like the Pacific walrus and the harp seal.
Pacific walruses, like many of the mammals in the report, are sea ice dependent says Wolf, with many having already suffering population declines.
"As we speak, there are 10 to 20,000 walruses holed up on Alaskan Arctic coastline. And that is attributable to sea ice loss," Wolf says.
"Walruses need sea ice for resting because they can't swim continuously. When they lose that sea ice, especially moms and calves, they are forced to come to shore -- where calves are very vulnerable to be trampled in stampedes."
Last year, Wolf says the stampede claimed 131 young walruses.
The number was even higher off the Russian coast in 2007 where several thousand calves died when around 40,000 walruses were pushed ashore.
Ocean acidification -- caused by increased uptake of carbon dioxide -- is happening more quickly in the Arctic than in warmer waters, says Wolf.
Shell-building marine creatures like the sea butterfly (Clione limacina) are particularly vulnerable to acidification.
Their loss would be potentially devastating for other species.
On land, the Arctic fox -- found on the southern edges of the Arctic tundra -- is facing "myriad threats from climate change," including shrinking sea ice and tundra, declines in lemming prey and increased competition from the larger, more dominant red fox -- which is edging north as temperatures rise.
All the animals in the report are at risk of extinction due to climate change says Wolf.
"What is going on in the Arctic isn't something that we can consider completely remote from ourselves. Actually, it's a fantastic barometer of what is going to happen in the rest of the world," CWI's Rebecca Taylor told CNN.
"The Arctic is ground zero for climate change and we're already pushing many species towards extinction. The key to preventing their loss is reducing our greenhouse gas emissions -- specifically carbon dioxide -- to a level of 350ppm or below. That is a level many leading scientists have called for to restore Arctic sea ice," Wolf said.