Det er University of St Andrews i Skottland som har publisert en artikkel (Chemical elements which make up mobile phones placed on ‘endangered list’) som DN sprer til deler av det norske folk.
Det «alternative periodiske systemet» viser med farger og former tilgangen – eller mangelen på tilgang – på grunnstoffer i framtiden. Med grønn farge er vist de som det vil være mer enn nok av, mens gul farge viser grunnstoffer som det kan bli mangel på. Tilgangen på grunnstoffer farget oransje og rødt er truet av økt bruk av elektronikk.
«Chemical elements which make up mobile phones are included on an ‘endangered list’ in the landmark version of the periodic table to mark its 150th anniversary. »
«Smartphones are made up of around 30 elements, over half of which give cause for concern in the years to come because of increasing scarcity – whether because of limited supplies, their location in conflict areas, or our incapacity to fully recycle them.,» skriver universitetet.
Professor David Cole-Hamilton said: “It is astonishing that everything in the world is made from just 90 building blocks, the 90 naturally occurring chemical elements.
“There is a finite amount of each and we are using some so fast that they will be dissipated around the world in less than 100 years.
“Many of these elements are endangered, so should you really change your phone every two years?”
«This year (2019) is the United Nations International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT2019) and the 150th anniversary of scientist Dmitri Mendeleev’s discovery of the periodic system as we now know it. The Periodic Table of chemical elements is one of the most significant scientific achievements and is today one of the best-known symbols of science, recognised and studied by people around the globe.»