47% Will Upgrade to new i Phone

The newest, the latest, the greatest… What a waste!

Consumers are still not getting it.  We are destroying our planet with outrageously damaging consumerism.  What ever happened to Reuse, Reduce, Recycle?

Are there really so many people out there that sit and wait with baited breath for the new version to hit the shelves so they can run out and be the first?

According to a reader poll in the Wall Street Journal over 47% of i Phone users plan on upgrading to the new version.

Why?  Because they need it? I doubt that.  More likely it’s because they are sheep.  They follow the herd of wasteful consumers who covet experience of belonging to the hip and cool gang.

So big deal right?  Who cares how other people spend their money?  I do.  Think of something as small as an i Phone.  Do you have any idea of the carbon footprint associated with upgrading to the new mobile device?  I found data that went back to 2007 (previous versions of i Phones were not environmentally friendly at all!) but found nothing relevant to today.  I find that slightly suspect, but I’m prone to “conspiracy theory” thinking.

During my search I did discover an interesting site that lets you calculate your personal carbon footprint.  (Because I flew internationally in the past year my score wasn’t very good, sorry Mother Earth, I’m doing my best to offset that damage)

Cell phones contain toxic material.  The energy required for manufacture, packaging and distribution is significant.  Why throw away a perfectly good product solely to follow a trend?

I just don’t get it!  But then again, I never was a follower.