When I read the title 'Go green and give up your cell phone?', I thought 'what absolute rubbish!'. I am an Honours student in the school of Environment Studies. I have both academic experience and knowledge on environmental issues, as well as being passionate about the environment.

So you ask, why then do I think this statement is rubbish? Well to begin with it alludes to the notion that cell phones are the only environmentally damaging technological items. It fails to acknowledge other means of 'becoming green' and lastly it assumes that it is easy to give up your cell phone!

Through the discussion of these three fallacies, I will convince you that you a) won't necessarily 'be green' if you discard your cell phone, b) there are other things you can do to 'go green' and c) you won't give up your cell phone without a fight.

Sure, I admit, if EVERYONE suddenly disposed of their cell phones (through a sustainable environmentally friendly method of course) and the associated infrastructure was dismantled, then arguably, there would be an improvement in our environment. But this isn't going to happen. Cell phones are not the only environmentally damaging item you own, I assure you! How about your noxious household cleaners, the asbestos in your roof, the fertilizer you put on your garden, the emissions from the car you drive constantly, and your daily accumulation of household rubbish? For example your 'cell phone' isn't even a consideration when calculating your ecological footprint - whereas the other items I mentioned are considered and calculated into your footprint.

I bet you are not going to give up your cell phone for the shear purpose of 'going green', so what are the other options? How else can you 'go green'? To begin with, I suggest you calculate your Ecological Footprint. This is a very easy, quick method to help you understand your personal impact on the environment. Simply type "Ecological Footprint Calculator" into a search engine such as Google, and follow the links. You will be asked for estimates on how often you drive your car, shower, buy goods from the supermarket and so forth. It should only take a minute. With this understanding, you can then begin to see your personal affect on the environment, and make educated steps towards 'going green'. I now want you to walk through each room of your house and consider each object, your radio for example, how many raw materials do you think were used to manufacture it? What emissions and

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