What’s a smartphone made of? - Kim Preshoff

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

As of 2018, there are around 2.5 billion smartphone users in the world.

截止到2018年， 世界上有大约有25亿手机用户。

If we broke open all their newest phones,

最新款的手机 只占手机总量的一小部分，

which are just a fraction of the total that’ve been built,

若我们将这些手机拆开，

and split them into their component parts,

分解成组装手机的零部件，

that would produce around 85,000 kilograms of gold,

这将产生大约85000千克的金，

875,000 of silver,

875000千克银，

and 40 million kilograms of copper.

以及4千万千克铜。

How did this precious cache get into our phones,

这些珍贵的矿藏 是如何进入我们的手机的？

and can we reclaim it?

我们能否对其进行回收？

Gold, silver, and copper are actually just a few

金、银、铜只是其中一小部分，

of the 70 or so chemical elements that make up the average smartphone.

构成一只手机的化学元素 平均可达70多种。

These can be divided into different groups,

这些元素可以分成不同的类别，

two of the most critical being rare earth elements

其中最为重要的两种是

稀土元素和贵金属。

and precious metals.

Rare earths are a selection of 17 elements that are actually common in Earth’s crust

稀土元素是17种元素， 普遍存在地壳中，

and are found in many areas across the world in low concentrations.

在世界上许多地区都有少量富集。

These elements have a huge range of magnetic,

这些元素具有很强的磁性，

phosphorescent,

可以发出磷光，

and conductive properties

并且具有传导性，

that make them crucial to modern technologies.

这些特性使得它们 对现代科技发展十分重要。

In fact, of the 17 types of rare earth metals,

事实上，在17种稀土金属元素中，

phones and other electronics may contain up to 16.

手机及其他电子产品包含多达16种。

In smartphones, these create the screen and color display,

在手机中，这些稀土元素 被用来制作屏幕和显色，

aid conductivity,

帮助传导电路，

and produce the signature vibrations,

产生来电震动，

amongst other things.

以及实现其他功能。

And yet, crucial as they are,

虽然他们十分重要，

extracting these elements from the earth

但是从土壤中开采稀土

is linked to some disturbing environmental impacts.

会造成一些令人担心的环境问题。

Rare earth elements can often be found,

我们经常能发现稀土元素，

but in many areas,

但是在很多地区，

it’s not economically feasible to extract them due to low concentrations.

由于数量量太少， 开采稀土在经济上并不可行。

Much of the time,

大多数情况下，

extracting them requires a method called open pit mining

开采稀土元素需要用露天采矿的方法，

that exposes vast areas of land.

这会暴露大片土地。

This form of mining destroys huge swaths of natural habitats,

这种开采方式会严重破坏自然栖息地，

and causes air and water pollution,

造成空气和水污染，

threatening the health of nearby communities.

危害附近居民的身体健康。

Another group of ingredients in smartphones

用来生产手机的另一组原料

comes with similar environmental risks:

也会带来相似的环境问题：

these are metals such as copper,

这些金属包括铜、

silver,

银、

palladium,

钯、

aluminum,

铝、

platinum,

铂、

tungsten,

tin,

钨、

锡、

lead,

铅、

and gold.

以及金。

We also mine magnesium,

为了生产手机， 我们同样也会开采镁、

lithium,

锂、

silica,

二氧化硅、

and potassium to make phones,

钾，

and all of it is associated with vast habitat destruction,

这些都与栖息地大面积破坏、

as well as air and water pollution.

空气以及水污染相关。

Mining comes with worrying social problems, too,

开采这些金属也会带来 令人担忧的社会问题，

like large-scale human and animal displacement

例如人类和动物需要大规模迁徙

to make way for industrial operations,

从而为工业生产让路，

and frequently, poor working conditions for laborers.

劳动者也经常面临的较差工作环境。

Lastly, phone production also requires petroleum,

最后，生产手机也需要石油，

one of the main drivers of climate change.

这是造成气候变化的主要成因之一。

That entwines our smartphones inextricably with this growing planetary conundrum.

我们的手机与 这个日益明显的全球性难题密不可分。

And, what’s more,

此外，

the ingredients we mine to make our phones aren’t infinite.

这些用以生产手机的原料 并不是无限量的。

One day, they’ll simply run out,

它们也会在未来某天被耗尽，

and we haven’t yet discovered effective replacements for some.

我们尚未发现某些原料的有效替代品。

Despite this,

尽管如此，

the number of smartphones is on a steady increase;

手机的数量仍在稳步上升，

by 2019 it’s predicted that there’ll be close to 3 billion in use.

预计到2019年， 在用手机将达到30亿部。

This means that reclaiming the bounty within our phones

这意味着 对手机中的宝贵金属进行回收

is swiftly becoming a necessity.

很快将成为必须。

So, if you have an old phone,

因此，如果你有不用的手机，

you might want to consider your options before throwing it away.

你或许可以在扔掉它之前考虑其他选择。

To minimize waste, you could donate it to a charity for reuse,

为了最小化浪费， 你可以将它捐给慈善机构用于重复使用，

take it to an e-waste recycling facility,

或是将其拿到电子垃圾回收机构，

or look for a company that refurbishes old models.

再或者找一家可以翻新老机型的公司。

However, even recycling companies need our scrutiny.

但是，即便是对回收公司 我们也要保持警惕。

Just as the production of smartphones

正如同手机的生产过程

comes with social and environmental problems,

会伴随社会及环境问题，

dismantling them does too.

拆解手机同样也会产生这些问题。

E-waste is sometimes intentionally exported to countries

电子垃圾有时会被刻意 运送到某些国家，

where labor is cheap but working conditions are poor.

这些国家的劳动力价格低廉， 但工人的工作环境却很糟糕。

Vast workforces, often made up of women and children,

大量的劳动力，通常是妇女或儿童，

may be underpaid,

仅能得到很少的薪水，

lack the training to safely disassemble phones,

并且未受过安全拆除手机的培训，

and be exposed to elements like lead and mercury,

她们会接触到铅和水银等元素，

which can permanently damage their nervous systems.

从而永久性地伤害神经系统。

Phone waste can also end up in huge dump sites,

报废手机也可能会出现在大型垃圾场，

leaching toxic chemicals into the soil and water,

有毒化学物质因此渗入土壤和水中，

mirroring the problems of the mines where the elements originated.

与开采这些元素时造成的问题互相映照。

A phone is much more than it appears to be on the surface.

一部手机看上去远不止表面这样简单，

It’s an assemblage of elements from multiple countries,

它的组装集合了 来自于多个国家的零部件，

linked to impacts that are unfolding on a global scale.

可以在全球范围造成影响。

So, until someone invents a completely sustainable smartphone,

因此，在发明完全可持续性的手机之前，

we’ll need to come to terms

我们需要开始了解

with how this technology affects widespread places and people.

这项科技如何 对广泛的地区和人群造成影响。