"But we demand the cheapest electronics China can build for us, use it for awhile, then throw it on a toxic slag heap in a third world country, and just buy a new one. The Earth can only handle so much of that, and it is already saying "enough!".

Nicely put, Az. It's one thing to replace an item when it wears out with the newest technology, but I've been thinking lately that there is an ecological mini-disaster brewing from millions of perfectly good TV's ending up in dumps (or by the side of the road) because people think 'flat screen' TV's are 'cooler.' Same goes for millions of strings of Xmas lights replaced before their time by those sombre-looking LED lights. Reminds me of a story my Dad told me of a rule during WW2 that pants must be sold uncuffed to save material - this led to a tailor trimming his already-cuffed pants to comply.