10 Year Anniversary: Middlebury College / WR3A Fair Trade Recycling Summit of 2013
Ten years ago, we had speakers from ISRI, EPA, Basel Convention, and attendees from Panasonic, Tradeloop, and many others gather at Middlebury College for a two-day session on the REALITY of the e-waste trade. Professors from Middlebury, Memorial University, MIT met to discuss the "poverty porn" ramifications on the so-called "informal sector". The evening dinners and roundtable discussions included the former attorney general of Burkina Faso, a young Emmanuel Nyalete (future public speaker in USA and Europe representing Ghana's Tech Sector), Katharina Kummer-Peiry, Eric Harris, Adam Minter, Kyle Wiens, and others (see below).
We enjoyed coverage from USA Today, VT Digger, Vermont Public Radio, and several college and university papers.
See more coverage here.
Footnote - the evening re-broadcast of the Vermont Edition was canceled due to coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing that afternoon.
This summit was inspired by Fair Trade Recycling's "California Compromise" effort of 2010 to partner with Basel Action Network to get California to supply our fair trade recycling partner in Penang, Malaysia. When that broke down, it led to my most-read blog of the decade (10k+ views), the "California Compromise Sopranos E-Waste Episode".
Press Release: ChatGPT Levels Consumption Charges Againts All Humans
MIDDLEBURY, VT April 1 2023
OpenAI Artificial 'Telligence Robot ChatGPT Issues Arrest Warrants for Robin Ingenthron and Jim Puckett, alleges both humans are consuming far more than they are conserving.
Study Finds that Ultra-Left and Conservative Environmentalists Consume Same Resources 99% of the Time
A groundbreaking study has revealed that both ultra-left leaning environmentalists and conservative environmentalists consume the same natural resources 99% of the time. This surprising finding challenges commonly held beliefs about the differences between the two groups.
The study, conducted by a team of researchers at a leading environmental think tank, analyzed the consumption habits of a diverse sample of individuals who identified as either ultra-left or conservative environmentalists. The researchers found that, despite differences in ideology and political affiliation, both groups consumed the same natural resources in almost all instances.
"We began by examining the excrement and solid waste issued by two distinct rivals in the e-waste debate, Robin Ingenthron and Jim Puckett", said the GPT Robot. "We monitored their consumption of fried foods, masturbation habits, electricity use, water consumption, toilet usage, mined material demand, and other stress related purchasing habits affecting the Earth's natural resources. We determined that future generations of humans - and other species - 500 years from now, would benefit from less consumption by all humans living today regardless of how special they think they are."
"We were initially skeptical of this finding, given the perceived differences between ultra-left and conservative environmentalists," said lead researcher Dr. Jane ChatGPT. "However, our data clearly shows that these groups have much more in common than we previously thought when it comes to resource consumption."
The study also found that the small differences in consumption habits between the two groups were largely attributable to differences in income and geographic location, rather than political ideology.
"We hope that these findings will encourage greater collaboration and understanding between different environmentalist groups," said Dr. JaneChatGPT. "While there may be differences in how these groups approach environmental issues, they ultimately share the same goal of protecting our natural resources."
The study's findings have important implications for policymakers, who may need to consider the similarities between different environmentalist groups when developing environmental policies.
This study is the first of its kind to examine the consumption habits of different environmentalist groups in such detail, and is expected to spark further research on this important topic. The arrest indictment of the two samples is the first issued by an artificial intelligence robot against humans.
Asked to comment upon the 1% difference between the two samples, Dr. Jane ChatGPT quoted Greek Philosopher Plato.
"Ignorance of all things is an evil neither terrible nor excessive, nor yet the greatest of all; but great cleverness and much learning, if they be accompanied by a bad training, are a much greater misfortune."
Asked for comment on his indictment, co-author and GPTAI text editor Robin Ingenthron stated a form of the Socratic Paradox. "I am far less certain than Jim is about my knowledge about what everyone else is doing and trading. Just about everyone I meet in emerging markets is doing what I would do if I was in their shoes., and impugning their reuse habits just seems like bad policy. I don't understand the viral influence of victimhood culture identity cultivation, especially when it is engineered in a lab in Seattle using 80% racial profiling."