Sue Williams/2016/74 min/Waste
CHICAGO PREMIERE. FILM DESCRIPTION: Consumers love – and live on – their smartphones, tablets and laptops. A cascade of new devices pours endlessly into the market, promising even better communication, non-stop entertainment and instant information. The numbers are staggering. By 2020, four billion people will have a personal computer. Five billion will own a mobile phone.
But this revolution has a dark side, hidden from most consumers. In an investigation that spans the globe, filmmaker Sue Williams investigates the underbelly of the electronics industry and reveals how even the smallest devices have deadly environmental and health costs. From the intensely secretive factories in China, to a ravaged New York community and the high tech corridors of Silicon Valley, Death by Design tells a story of environmental degradation, of health tragedies, and the fast approaching tipping point between consumerism and sustainability.
Wednesday, March 8, 7-9 p.m. [North]
Northwestern University, McCormick Auditorium
Norris University Center, 1999 Campus Dr., Evanston
Tom Cushing will facilitate a post-film discussion, and Julie Cahillane, Northwestern University's Manager of Sustainability and Resource Management, will provide information about how to responsibly recycle electronics locally. Light refreshments will be served.
Older children and teens accompanied by an adult encouraged to attend.
Thursday, March 9, 7-9 p.m. [Dupage County]
College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Room HSC 1234, Glen Ellyn
Please join us for discussion with local environmental advocates, including Shantanu Pai from Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and Mac Robinet from Repair Cafe.
Older children and teens accompanied by an adult encouraged to attend.