Fill in the gaps with the words from the box. Each word is used only once. You may need to change the word in order for it to fit the context. There are 2 extra words in the box.
Recyclable Gadgets
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ASK – BUILD – CONSUME – CATER – FORTUNE – HOPE-
MAKE – LIVE – LONG – POINT – REPLY – RUIN
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Every year, we buy zillions of digital cameras and cellphones — and then, a couple of years later, send them to the nearest trash bin. “New every two” isn’t just Verizon’s offer to sell you a new, discounted phone every 24 months; it also describes the average person’s habits for cameras, phones and other gadgets.
, no matter how well intentioned the consumer, it’s hard to fulfill that pledge to recycle, at least when it comes to electronic gadgetry. The phrase “sustainable electronics manufacturing” is almost an oxymoron, like “humble actor.”
That’s because the electronics industry itself upon frequent renewal. The iPhone, iPod or iPad you buy today will be obsolete within a year. Every pocket camera model on sale today will no be sold six months from now. And Android phones — forget it. They seem to come out every Friday afternoon.
Does technology really advance that quickly? Or is planned obsolescence at work? It doesn’t matter. In the end, we’re as much to blame as the electronics companies. The manufacturers simply to some fundamental human drives. It’s style; it’s status; it’s the confidence of knowing that we not missing out on anything. Owning outdated technology us feel outdated ourselves.
Are there solutions? In hopes of harnessing much brighter brain power, recently I my 1.3 million followers on Twitter for suggestions.
The response was surprisingly and voluminous. Unfortunately, most people weren’t “It’s not the gadgets — it’s the people,” wrote @calcrash.
A sizable number of people suggested that the industry should stop cranking out so many models. Several respondents out that a Rolex watch is so finely crafted that it’s handed down through generations.
