Yesterday we watched Blood in the Mobile.  A documentary about the mining of minerals like coltan and cassiterite from mines controlled by arms group in the Congo.  We had a large class discussion about action we can take when an issue happens and we want change.  It is us as consumers buying products, large companies purchasing from companies that in turn purchase raw materials from arms groups in the Congo.  Our consumerism is funding civil conflict and destruction.  We watched the Story of Electronics (from the creators of Story of Stuff) and then we talked about action we can take.  I showed them the Phone Apes program from the Toronto Zoo that recycles the minerals in the phones so that forests don’t have to be torn down in the Congo.  This is a environmental, social, and political problem all combined in one.  Science and Technology do not operate in silos but infused in our lives.

An action I showed my students today was a powerful message using hip hop and spoken word to relay a message about blood minerals in our phones.  Watch below:

Come Clean for Congo: http://www.enoughproject.org/