Look at your mobile phone for a minute. Your mobile is your connection to all your friends, an invaluable social tool and connects you worldwide in many different ways.
It's looking a bit out of fashion as it is now six months since you replaced it. But did you know that the Democratic Republic of Congo is directly responsible for your phone's ability to work in the first place? That war-torn African nation contains 80% of the world's known supply of coltan, an element without which our mobile phones simply wouldn't work.
So buying a new mobile will keep the miners of the DRC in work you think? Not quite as simple as that. The Western world's demand for coltan is now so great that expanding mining is displacing the local populations who in turn are slaughtering the lowland Gorillas to sell their meat (the gorilla population there having declined by 90% in the last five years!). Coltan profits are also partly financing the civil wars in Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.
The natural life of a mobile is actually seven years on average. And upgrading your PC rather than buying a new one will help to reduce the one million tonnes of toxic electrical waste that was dumped in the UK last year alone. So when your mobile does reach the end of its life take it to O2, Vodaphone, Orange, T-Mobile or Tesco as they recycle phones.
So you got a real bargain on a cheap flight to Paris, Prague, or wherever! But what was the real cost of that ticket?
Global warming is now a part of our world...today. The more flights we take (and car journeys we make), the more CO2 gets pumped into the air. So we might want to consider offsetting these emissions by choosing a travel organisation that will replace the carbon we burn by flying.
A recent report by Climatesure revealed that 85% of people in the UK believed that climate change will significantly affect their lives if action wasn't taken now. Many are still unsure of what they can do to help improve the situation.
Organisations such as Climate Care help tourists and businesses make reductions in greenhouse gases in many practical ways. For example, you can buy carbon offsets calculated on the flight you make. Your money is then used by Climate Care to fund projects that reduce emissions on your behalf. As well as making savings in greenhouse gases, these projects have wider benefits for local communities and the environment.
Of course this doesn't only apply to air travel but to many of our "civilised" modern activities. Check www.climatecare.org for more information on what you can do.