- In 150-250 words, respond to all questions. This is your initial discussion post, due by Thursday at midnight. - Post a 100-200 word response to a peer's post by Monday at midnight. - See this description of what a substantial discussion response/post looks like. - See this rubric for how discussion posts are graded. Using the reading from Ch. 11 ("Mining for Cell Phones", and "Recycling Metals from E-Waste") as a resource to answer the following questions. The use of the metal tantalum, mined from the ore coltan, has had a variety of societal, economic, and environmental impacts on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Tantalum is such a useful metal that it is used in an even wider array of items than cell phones. including other electronics, turbines, capacitors, biomedical supplies, and a variety of products used in the chemical, textile, and aerospace industries. The story of coltan in DRC is just one example of how an abundance of exploitable resources can often worsen or prolong military conflicts in nations that are too poor or ineffectively governed to protect these resources. In such wars, civilians often suffer the most as civil society breaks down. Question 1: Suppose you are the head of an international aid agency that has $10 million to help address conflicts related to mining in DRC. You have access to government and rebel leaders in DRC and neighboring countries, to ambassadors of the world's nations in the United Nations, and to representatives of international mining corporations. Based on what you have learned in this section, what steps would you consider taking to help improve the situation in this nation? Due to grassroots activism, the international community became aware of the conflicts associated with tantalum mining in Congo and since the early 2000 s, steps have been taken by several countries to reduce the societal and environmental impacts of mining this mineral. One example is when the U.S. Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, which required publicly traded companies on the U.S. Stock Exchange to disclose if their minerals were coming from the DRC or any adjoining country, and to guarantee they were conflict-free. Your book also outlines the push for recycling e-waste in order to re-use tantalum and some of the other rare metals present in electronics. This case study highlights several aspects of environmental studies (science, law, policy, activism) which have all played a role in this issue. Question 2: Do you see a role for activism in solving environmental crise i ? Do you think the role of an activist is contrary to or supportive of the role of politicians and governments or industries? How do you think they can work together? Question 3: Several municipalities in our region have e-waste recycling programs, although they are not as comprehensive as recycling programs for paper, plastics, and metal cans and jars. If you had e-waste right now, what would .

1. - In 150-250 words, respond to all questions. This is your initial discussion post, due by
Thursday at midnight. - Post a 100-200 word response to a peer's post by Monday at midnight. -
See this description of what a substantial discussion response/post looks like. - See this rubric for
how discussion posts are graded. Using the reading from Ch. 11 ("Mining for Cell Phones", and
"Recycling Metals from E-Waste") as a resource to answer the following questions. The use of
the metal tantalum, mined from the ore coltan, has had a variety of societal, economic, and
environmental impacts on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Tantalum is such a useful
metal that it is used in an even wider array of items than cell phones. including other electronics,
turbines, capacitors, biomedical supplies, and a variety of products used in the chemical, textile,
and aerospace industries. The story of coltan in DRC is just one example of how an abundance of
exploitable resources can often worsen or prolong military conflicts in nations that are too poor
or ineffectively governed to protect these resources. In such wars, civilians often suffer the most
as civil society breaks down. Question 1: Suppose you are the head of an international aid
agency that has $10 million to help address conflicts related to mining in DRC. You have access
to government and rebel leaders in DRC and neighboring countries, to ambassadors of the
world's nations in the United Nations, and to representatives of international mining
corporations. Based on what you have learned in this section, what steps would you consider
taking to help improve the situation in this nation? Due to grassroots activism, the international
community became aware of the conflicts associated with tantalum mining in Congo and since
the early 2000 s, steps have been taken by several countries to reduce the societal and
environmental impacts of mining this mineral. One example is when the U.S. Congress passed
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, which required
publicly traded companies on the U.S. Stock Exchange to disclose if their minerals were coming
from the DRC or any adjoining country, and to guarantee they were conflict-free. Your book also
outlines the push for recycling e-waste in order to re-use tantalum and some of the other rare
metals present in electronics. This case study highlights several aspects of environmental studies
(science, law, policy, activism) which have all played a role in this issue. Question 2: Do you see
a role for activism in solving environmental crise i ? Do you think the role of an activist is
contrary to or supportive of the role of politicians and governments or industries? How do you
think they can work together? Question 3: Several municipalities in our region have e-waste
recycling programs, although they are not as comprehensive as recycling programs for paper,
plastics, and metal cans and jars. If you had e-waste right now, what would you do with it? Do
some research to find the closest place to you where you can drop off e-waste and let us know
about it!