Indium!

Indium was discovered in 1863 by German chemists that were testing ores in the mines of Saxony. It is the metal used in LCD displays and touch screens. It is produced from the byproduct of zinc.  In 2002 the cost was around $94/kg, but high demands increased the price to $382-918 by 2009. It can be fatal to humans if ingested or if it comes in contact with internal organs. China is the primary producer of Indium, which produces 280 metric tons a year. The next highest production is by Rep of Korea and Japan, who produce 70 and 67 metric tons/yr, respectively. As LCD tvs and touch screens become more commonly produced in the world, the sources of indium and the countries who produce it may decrease in the future. This will cause the price to increase, and possibly start the search for another way to produce these news technologies.

Env Policy Cause and Effect

The Solid Waste Disposal Act was passed in 1965 to better handle the country's waste. The reasons for the passage of this bill were based on new technologies, which increased the types of waste present, as well as metropolitan population growth that caused more waste to be present, which presented health and sanitation issues as well as economical and logistical issues. There have been amendments since the initial bill, however this set the groundwork for more efficient ways to deal with waste management than those that existed in the 60s.  

Early Forms of Env Policy

While there have been regulations and guidelines for environmental protection for many years before, the first act of Environmental Policy in the U.S. was in 1899, with the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act. The act bans the dumping of any waste into a navigable body of water without a permit. It also makes illegal the modification of any port. harbor, channel, or navigable body of water or its floor without a permit. Earlier forms of policies are the Royal Anti-Coal Proclamation of 1306, and Benjamin Franklin's efforts to stop the dumping of waste in Philadelphia's central districts, as well as removing tanning factories that caused pollution and health issues, as well as bad smells and the lowering of local property values.