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Pursell, 324-348 -- Andrew Ross, "Hacking Away at the Counterculture"
The author argues that hacking should be seen as a particular form of counterculture grounded in resistance and in the need for technoliteracy. In particular, the hacking community emerges from a decentralized, post-Fordist, rhizomatic, and even schizoid/paranoid mode of production. It was interesting for me to consider hackers and computer technology from this perspective, given that these technologies now constitute a major part of what Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri call the “Empire.” - Nikolai Kotkov
This article took an interesting perspective on something we’d commonly see as a danger to society: hacking. Ross provides a counter example arguing for using hacking to promote social good by using it for resistance efforts. - Grayson Donohoe
UN 2024 Report on Global E-waste
This is a report that studies and tracked all “E-waste” in different places. It's interesting how they defined E-waste as basically anything that is electronic. I would be interested to know what kinds of things they omitted from this list (they might have said it somewhere, but I can't read the whole thing) – Oliver M.
While it makes sense that richer countries would have more waste, the sheer amount MORE that they have than poorer countries is insane. A 109:4 shows just have much disparity there is, and how much waste and overconsumption there is in richer countries. Also interesting that even in the poorer countries, it still is 4, which indicated that it really is a problem everywhere, no matter where you are. – Oliver again
The report from the UN describes how e-waste is being produced by society at significantly faster rates than the waste can be recycled. This not only provides a safety issue but an environmental concern, as well. They attribute this to the mass consumption of products that produce e-waste. I often think of random fad products, like the Stanley cup, or fast fashion as products subject to overconsumption, so this is a really interesting additional example. - Grayson Donohoe
One thing that stood out to me in the report is how uneven the recycling infrastructure is across different regions. Some countries have laws and systems in place that allow them to recycle a quarter of their e-waste, while others barely recycle any at all. That gap makes me wonder how much of the problem is about consumer behavior versus the systems available to handle the waste. –James Clayberg
This report demonstrates the enormous rate of global e-waste generation (62 billion kg in 2022) compared to the relatively slow rate of recycling (22.3%). I think the report highlights a classic paradox of progress: while technological development promises human flourishing, it simultaneously contributes to environmental degradation and global injustice, as many environmental costs are externalized onto people in underdeveloped countries.- Nikolai Kotkov
What stood out to me is how many electronics are thrown away considering how many resources are available in them to be recycled. Especially given how damaging harvesting some of these resources can be to the environment. - Justin Hoskins
