My alarm goes off. I’m up and preparing for my work day and out the door. After a hectic day, it’s home to do things around the house, then dinner, bed and start it all over again. That’s a common narrative for most of us, and our technology is with us every step of the way. Our phones aren’t just phones. They are an alarm clock, a calendar, an email device, a GPS... and so much more.
And while it may feel like wildlife is far away, the decisions you make with technology have an impact on wildlife, particularly gorillas. It’s all because of a mineral used in our handheld technology. Nearly all cell phones and laptops utilize coltan. Columbite-tantalite (or coltan for short) is an ore found in high quantities in eastern Congo. When refined, the tantalite minerals create a heat resistant powder that is used in capacitors in miniature circuit boards. These tantalite capacitors are everywhere. If you use an electronic device, you’re using tantalite.
Given that coltan is mined heavily in eastern Congo, it has a negative impact on habitat and the wildlife that lives there. Gorilla populations in Kahuzi Biega National Park have been reduced by half as a result of coltan mining. The demand for devices, and therefore coltan, is incredibly high. Every new cell phone created and purchased is linked to tropical forest destruction. It may seem far away, but your device is having a real impact on habitats and wildlife.
Now you may think that I would be telling you to stop using technology. Stop consuming the resource and everything will be fine. But that’s just not realistic. Do people want to go back to the days of a single landline connected to a corded phone in your home, and give up all the advantages technology provides?
Probably not. Giving up our technology is not the answer, BUT we can be smarter. We don’t have to follow the trends and get the new phone or laptop as soon as the device comes out. We don’t have to get rid of a perfectly good phone just because a better one has hit the market. That step alone is the single biggest step we can take to reducing the demand for coltan. Hang on to your device for a while. You can reduce the demand by simply not purchasing a device so frequently… and you can save a lot of money as well.
But inevitably your device will stop working and you’ll need a new one. That’s OK, but you shouldn’t simply throw your old device away. That coltan that was mined for your device, regardless how old it is, can be recovered, recycled and reused in another device. If you throw your device away, that tantalite is lost in the landfill. That’s why AZA zoos and aquariums have created the
Gorillas on the Line program. Through this program we encourage our guests to recycle their old cell phones or electronic devices to help provide recycled coltan to manufacturers. This is an easy way to do good when you come to enjoy the animals at the Zoo.
Drop off your old phone in the Zoo’s Exhibit Hall to reduce the demand for coltan.
Here at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, we’ve taken it one step further. Last summer we opened the
MCPc Gorilla Experience near our indoor gorilla habitat. MCPc is a data protection company here in northeast Ohio that is committed to helping recycle those capacitors and protecting gorilla habitat. MCPc fully funded the Gorilla Experience and are committed to educating citizens of northeast Ohio on how they can help protect gorillas and their habitat.
The next time you get a call or text, your alarm goes off, or you check your email or social media accounts, remember that wildlife is not far away. You have the power to make decisions in northeast Ohio, or wherever you live, that can help protect gorilla habitat in Congo. Gorillas are on the line. Will you answer the call and help secure a Future For Wildlife?
~Dr. Chris Kuhar, Executive Director of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo