Week 7: Economy and Fairclough

I had no idea that lead in toys and jewelry was from recycling electronics here in the US. It saddens me to think that we are not only extraordinarily wasteful, but when we try to recycle products that are otherwise very wasteful we are actually doing more good than harm in cases like these. It is frustrating to see that it is yet another area where the easiest and cheapest way out is the most dangerous, and China is embroilled in it because of the role it has come to occupy as world producer with the cheapest efficient labor. "It's too costly to make lead-free products," says owner Wang Qinjuan. "Chinese products have to be sold cheaply in foreign markets, or they are not competitive." I hate that Qinjuan is right, and it is a frustrating problem in that it seems not to have a solution, or at least not one that could be implemented soon. Where does one start when faced with problems that are threefold, such as this, and which are so international in their scope? The entire process is cyclical, which is infuriating, because there does not appear to be a beginning or end, only a constant, and how is one to work with that kind of continual downward spiral?